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Taldrenites => Starfleet Command Models => Topic started by: Darth Chandley on December 10, 2004, 08:49:40 pm
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As the thread name suggests, this is to do with modelling ship-borne weaponry, specifically their appearance... To start with I'll throw some base assumptions... We all know that Federation phaser emitters are little domes with emitters on, phaser cannon are tubed with funnel shaped emitters stuck on each end and photorp launchers of ANY race are just tubes (be it square/rectangular or circular)........ My query really is to do with what the other races have as beam weapon hardpoints and since phasers seem exist on most other vessels (at least as far as SFB goes) what do they look like??? Are disruptors always "barreled"? etc etc etc....
You may be wondering WHY I'm asking so I'll share.... A lot of TMP era Federation models have the phaser emitters modelled on them for detailing/aesthetic reasons but I've yet to come across a Klingon or Romulan design bearing the same (photorps aside of course) so if I go and build a Klingon or Romulan vessel (shock horror :o :o :o :o :o) then how do I model those little details that can make a difference.....?
Any suggestions are welcome and "cheers in advance"....
DC (which I might change from Darth Chandley back to Destiny Calling, who knows ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D)
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It depends on the race and the type of weapon. Some races are more warlike and would have full arc coverage or more weapon locations. Other races prefer sheer punch factor so they would have limited weapons arrangements but more powerful guns. The number, shape, and appearance of the emitters would also vary with the design of the ship.
I don't know about anyone else, but all of my non-Feds have modeled weapon points where suitable. The Klingon disruptors I have (aside from the obvious cannons and engine mounted guns) are typically octagonal domes placed at strategic points over the hull. The Romulans and Andromedans are just the same, except I tend to use rounded hemispheres since they have more organic styling. The Cardassians have small reddish boxes across their ships for the phaser emitters.
The Klingons and Romulans don't really have that many barreled weapons, in fact the only obvious ones are on the B'rel. Most Trek weapon emplacements tend to be dome like or not clearly shown for whatever reason. It's a slight irony that people go to great lengths to model in those tiny little phaser domes on TMP Feds, and they're hardly even noticeable. When it comes to the other races though, nobody seems to bother much.
Modeling the weapons does tend to make a difference since it adds that little bit of extra detail, and makes the ship seem somewhat more 'real'. Not to mention it beats having disruptors and phasers come from out of nowhere on a ship. In the end, it just depends on how far you want to go, the polygon limits, and whether you think it would make any difference.
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You raise an interesting question.
It seems as though most "externally viewed " weapons are from the "earlier" stages of ST. The more advanced the era the less externally displayed the weapons. This, of course is not always "etched in stone" .. but rather a guideline. I have a sketch of an external torp launcher tubes on the Sovy ( one dual rearward launcher above the main hanger deck on the primary hull ... and one single above the shuttle bay on the secondary hull).... I'll see if I can find those sketches.
Most external weapons on ships are like the obviously displayed Klingon disruptor's on the "Bird of Prey". However, the disruptors on the early Klingon battle cruisers are not externally mounted. Only a "discharge" focal point is visible.
Still ... making some sort of distingushed marking or "pod", for lack of a better term, I think is an excellent idea. Perhaps if we all work togeather we can come up with some sort of "standard" for each of the races. Some of them will be more easily identified and modeled because there are clear records available ... others it will take a certain amount of a "sanctified imagination" to assimilate. In any case ... this seems to be an interesting proposition.
(example of the few Federation "external" displayed torp launchers)
(http://www.olbuzzard.com/SovyTorpL01.jpg)
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Good stuff chaps..... It seems that other race emitters barely exist, either canon or on ship models.... Looks like I can make my own up then... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Time to be creative again I think.... ;) ;) ;)
Unless anyone else has some useful info??
DC
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On top of all that, the firing points used in the series were prone to inconsistency; the FX guys didn't always know where the modellers/designers had placed them.
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The K'T'inga did actually have disruptor hardpoints on the studio model, in the form of WWII style tank turrets festooned all over the hull, except for the big ones on the nacelle-tips which were just a metal plate.
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Case in point:
(http://www.strategyplanet.com/sfc/omega/drs/krwpnref.jpg)
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hmmm... I think we've got this sorted..... soooo, phasers are little domes, disruptors are either little turrets or barrelled and photorps and whatnot are tubular.... good good...
thanks all....
DC
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Actually in WZ's post he showed the D'Deridex which has disruptor hardpoints as large domes, infact the 'eyes' on the head are the same such disruptor points, the FX people were never told about this though and instead made it fire from what was actually intended to be the deflector. ::)