Shaw Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Like a lot of kids my age, my friends and I would play Star Trek. But we had a rule... no one could command the Enterprise. So we each picked a different ship from the Technical Manual, kit-bashed a model of our own ship (no one picked a heavy cruiser) and designed our own insignia. I had picked the scout Columbia, which was cool as when we all saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture we heard it specifically called out in the background communication chatter, and later the first Space Shuttle to go into space was named Columbia. In 2015 I was working on a one-sixth scale scratch build of the Enterprise to check my work on my plans of the 11 foot studio model (here). While I had most of the masters and molds done, I wasn't quite ready to start in on building the Enterprise, so I decided to experiment with the parts to make the Columbia. I wanted to add something to the model that would make her unique, and I remembered that one of the features of the Space Shuttle Columbia was a sensor pod on the top of her tail fin. And while playing with ways to use that idea I also recalled one of my favorite variations on an early design of the Voyager by Sternbach which included sensor masts on the top and bottom. So I echoed that in my upgrade of the Columbia. I designed the insignia to honor the crew of the space shuttle Columbia. And this is the resulting model... This is what it looks like now (I was testing my wife's iPad camera, my camera needs new batteries)... And you can see the build process here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Very cool and nicely executed. Looks great! 🏆 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Excellent design. Well done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kellyF15 Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Thats awesome, USS Republic was always my game pick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Delanie Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 I love the design. I hadn't known about the sensor on the shuttle fin, it just shows what you can learn on these forums. Did i read right, a 1/6th scratch build Enterprise? (one of my other hobbies is 1/6th figures ) how big was that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shaw Posted June 27, 2023 Author Share Posted June 27, 2023 So the one-sixth scale and 1/500 scale were chosen mostly for mathematical convenience. The primary hull of the large studio model is approximately 60" in diameter, and my model's primary hull is 10" in diameter... making it one-sixth the size. The fictional starship's primary hull is 5004" in diameter, which means my model is also about 1/500 scale (so the Enterprise would be just under 23" long). Because I wanted to make the model match the real life studio model (missing elements and all), yes, I've entertained the idea of making a diorama with effects and camera crew members working with the model. I never thought too seriously about it because I'm not experienced with figures, but knowing that someone is out there (like yourself) who works with figures at one-sixth scale is making me reconsider. Of course I'd need to return to the project and finish the model first. And a couple years ago I did finally make the molds for the nacelle bodies (which was a major missing element), so (hopefully) reconstituting the project wouldn't be too difficult. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattP Posted August 2, 2023 Share Posted August 2, 2023 OUTSTANDING ship!!! You've done the TOS a great service!!! Thank you for sharing your ART!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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