Topic: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length  (Read 9685 times)

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Offline Bernard Guignard

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Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« on: August 08, 2010, 08:05:07 am »
A gentleman is creating a Model of the Kearsarge class NCL and there was a discussion on warp engine lengths.

http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/viewtopic.php?t=85873

It got me thinking   ;D

The heavy cruiser Enterprise has a warp engine Length
of 153.6 Meters  the SSD shows 15 power units

The Kearsarge warp engine SSD shows 12 power units
By gettinga ratio you come up with a warp Engine length
of 122.8 Meters

If you take 2/3 rds of 153.6 it works out to  102.4 meters

The Frigate has a warp engine of 6 power units
this works out to 61.44 Meters

If you make the engine 1/3 the length of a Constitution
class it works out  51.2 meters


Offline Brush Wolf

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2010, 08:47:03 am »
I think it is more of what looks good on the model. Your ratio system would only work on ships of the same vintage. Look at the advances in engine performance over the years, the 302 in my '97 Explorer has about the same horsepower as the 460 that was in my '79 F150, ~220 hp. Extend forward to today and the Mustang GT has about 400 HP from a 5.0 liter/302ci engine.
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Offline Bernard Guignard

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2010, 09:32:59 am »
Well keep in mind that pretty much all the SFB Material is base on the Same Vintage warp engine Technology
I'm not talking early years  I'm talking approx TOS time line and thier Miniatures  ;D


Offline Starfox1701

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2010, 10:24:26 am »
The NCL used somthing called "hot warp" tech that produced more power but needed alot more maintance so was unsutivle for peace time use. The model looks to be 1/2 the size of a Coni necelle so I would think their a slightly different ratio there.

Offline Bernard Guignard

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2010, 11:00:35 am »
The NCL used somthing called "hot warp" tech that produced more power but needed alot more maintance so was unsutivle for peace time use. The model looks to be 1/2 the size of a Coni necelle so I would think their a slightly different ratio there.

Yes that was the explanation for the old Starline 2200 series of miniatures since then ADB revised the miniature
and gave it Larger warp engines  approx 2/3rds the size of thier constitution class engines.  They never revised
the paint instruction schematic.  ;D I still don't own the new series NCL I just have the original starline 2200 series.

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2010, 01:15:46 pm »
The NCL used somthing called "hot warp" tech that produced more power but needed alot more maintance so was unsutivle for peace time use. The model looks to be 1/2 the size of a Coni necelle so I would think their a slightly different ratio there.

I thought "hot warp" was used to make the fast cruisers, and the "war" ships (CW, DW, etc) were designed without caring for all the structural issues (more stresses on the frame), devoting more space to weapons etc. over the usual things like bowling alleys and crew quarters, etc... ;)

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Offline Dizzy

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2010, 01:46:15 pm »
A gentleman is creating a Model of the Kearsarge class NCL and there was a discussion on warp engine lengths.

http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/viewtopic.php?t=85873

It got me thinking   ;D

The heavy cruiser Enterprise has a warp engine Length
of 153.6 Meters  the SSD shows 15 power units

The Kearsarge warp engine SSD shows 12 power units
By gettinga ratio you come up with a warp Engine length
of 122.8 Meters

If you take 2/3 rds of 153.6 it works out to  102.4 meters

The Frigate has a warp engine of 6 power units
this works out to 61.44 Meters

If you make the engine 1/3 the length of a Constitution
class it works out  51.2 meters


Id say its a combination of what looks good on the model and trying to stay within prescribed comparate boundaries. Hey Bernard, arnt you the one that made the Enterprise kitbash with the reliant weapons bar on the top and the excelsior type engines? Man that is my fav Fed Battlecruiser.

Offline TAnimaL

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #7 on: August 10, 2010, 04:58:41 pm »
I think the question  of what looks good on the model is the more important one, but, for what it's worth, some SFB history:

The War Cruisers (CW) came into being in Volume 2 (1984), and were described as "the cheaper, faster production units with shorter lifespans." Later, the descriptive term "hot warp" was added, maybe in Rules Update #2 (88), to clarify that CAs couldn't have hot warp engines (and the above-combat speed power they provided. When there was enough of a demand, ADB relented and released the Heavy Cruisers with "fast warp," the CFs, in Module R6, with this description:

--THE FAST CRUISERS: These ships, an experiment from the dawn of the General War that was not repeated,
sacrificed some of their heavy weapons for increased speed. They were an outgrowth of the same "hot warp" technology
that yielded the war cruisers and war destroyers - ships with more warp power than was needed for top tactical speeds.
Experiments proved, however, that the hulls could not stand the shock of a full heavy weapons load in addition to the
"hot warp" drive. These ships were originally considered an alternative cruiser design, then became a "special mission"
type used for raids and reconnaissance missions. [-The concept of "fast cruisers" was originated by Stephen Latus] 

So, "hot" warp and "fast" warp are closely related but with different uses. You could make the argument that the "CFs that could withstand the shock" became known as X-ships.

The model of the NCL just went through a design change - the Starline version just had nacelles that were too small. I have one sitting in a diorama on my desk, and every day I say I have to get new nacelles someday...

One more observation - the nacelle size ratios Bernard Guignard listed just seem to be 10.24 meters per warp box. 10.24x6=61.44. 10.24x12=122.8, etc. To me, it's the whole NCL that has 2/3 the mass of a CA, but that doesn't necessarily apply directly to the parts.

For what it's worth.

Offline Bernard Guignard

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2010, 05:32:59 pm »
A gentleman is creating a Model of the Kearsarge class NCL and there was a discussion on warp engine lengths.

http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/viewtopic.php?t=85873

It got me thinking   ;D

The heavy cruiser Enterprise has a warp engine Length
of 153.6 Meters  the SSD shows 15 power units

The Kearsarge warp engine SSD shows 12 power units
By gettinga ratio you come up with a warp Engine length
of 122.8 Meters

If you take 2/3 rds of 153.6 it works out to  102.4 meters

The Frigate has a warp engine of 6 power units
this works out to 61.44 Meters

If you make the engine 1/3 the length of a Constitution
class it works out  51.2 meters


Id say its a combination of what looks good on the model and trying to stay within prescribed comparate boundaries. Hey Bernard, arnt you the one that made the Enterprise kitbash with the reliant weapons bar on the top and the excelsior type engines? Man that is my fav Fed Battlecruiser.


The Banting was a compromise design when we were looking for a starship design for our Star Trek club. We wanted something different from all the Constitutions, Enterprises, and Galaxy classes that were around. We were also looking for a design that any one
with a little modeling skill could make if they wanted to. Thus the Banting was Born it really was a collabrative effort. I just did the
ship schematics. My first officer at the time was a model builder and we put her together at a friends Apt. I'm glad that you like her

Offline Dizzy

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2010, 04:20:58 pm »
The Banting is my ALL TIME FAV F-BC model, man. It so rocks... Its like exactly how I'd envision the Feds response to klink and Rom BC designs, how to make the science cruiser pack more of a punch.... Add some sh*t to the enterprise class and beef her up. Oh man that model is sex on warp drives. WHOOOO!
« Last Edit: August 16, 2010, 02:15:39 pm by Dizzy »

Offline Kreeargh

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2010, 05:56:33 pm »
Excell warps on a conie  :-\ ? Looks too much like a kitbash and scale dont work but  ;D :crazy2: all good.
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Offline Dizzy

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Re: Warp engine Power units to Warp engine Length
« Reply #11 on: August 16, 2010, 08:02:40 pm »
nah, excelsior style warps, shortened to make it fit the connie and the weapons roll bar looks tight. Total battlecruiser makeover for the F-CB.