Tease

Now that  my warp nacelle is a little further along in completion, I feel a little better about showing off this long term project.   I figured I would post it now, as I won’t be able to play with it again for a few weeks until after I return from vacation.  😀

Little more than an amalgam of rough-hewn parts and organic shapes so far, this is the Northampton; A Federation starship class of the frigate type and an element from FASA’s Star Trek: The Role-Playing Game. I have been working on her for some years now but I’ve had some major bumps in the road along the way.  It has been difficult to conceptualize in 3D, since the design’s original orthographic drawings from FASA’s Federation Ship Recognition Manual were small, messy, and somewhat conflicting.  Some structures don’t line up properly, and some necessary features aren’t even visible so I have had to totally speculate as to their locations (such as the impulse engines and landing bays).

FASA certainly had a few clunkers throughout its Star Trek RPG run, but they managed more than few true gems, and I have always loved the design of this particular class above the others, even though many think it is functionally goofy at best, with its peculiar engine configuration.  Nevertheless, I’ve always thought it was a graceful yet sturdy design and would look great in any rendezvous scene with another fine starship.

In that vein, here are some silly test shots of both the Northampton and the Abbe, which I have also let languish in the dusty closet of my hard drive.  Thankfully so many of Starfleet’s design elements cross over into many ship designs, they are easily transferred into multiple projects; a concept better known as “kit bashing” that I tend to love.

Still a lot to do on both ships, but I’ll have something to look forward to when I return home.   You can’t keep me away from starships (and starbases) for long. 😉

~ by starstation on September 9, 2010.