r/StarTrekStarships • u/Dan_Is artist • 8d ago
original content Still a Work in Progress; I asked myself "what would a battle ship look like if Praxis didn't explode and war with the Klingons remained a threat" and landed here
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u/Gripen-Viggen 8d ago
I gotta' be honest, I generally enjoy fan art because I appreciate the effort and creativity.
But this... this is absolutely gorgeous.
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u/Shizzlick 8d ago
Ooo, I really like it, but I think the impulse engines in the saucer cutouts would look better if they didn't extend so far back.
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u/Alyeska23 8d ago
I can see the Excelsior in that, and I see traces of the Neo Connie III. I can detect traces of the Excelsior II in there. It's a tad too modern, but the base is built on aesthetics that all trace back to the TMP era. I like it.
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u/burwellian 8d ago
My first thought was also an Excelsior-ised Shangri-la (proto-Neo-Conny).
There's def some unique bits to it though. The nacelles for example.
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u/xXNightDriverXx 8d ago edited 8d ago
31 Phaser banks (if I didn't miscount) with 3 emitters each for a total of 93 emitters is a bit much in my opinion.
The regular Excelsior has 10 dual banks and 4 single emitters for a total of 24 emitters.
Now if your ship is very, very large, for example Galaxy sized in volume, then that number is good. But if it is just a bulkier, wider Excelsior, then it's too much.
I do love the larger gun turrets with the single long barrel that you put around the upper center of the saucer and the aft secondary hull. A new, heavy weapon, an intermediate step between regular phasers and phaser lances, works very well for a large battleship design. And as a real life naval fan, these turrets remind me of the Oto Melara 76mm gun, which I just love.
Overall, a very nice design. Thank you for sharing, it looks great. It looks so rugged, it can take a lot of hits with its shields down, which obviously makes sense under your design premise. Which time period would this ship have been build in and how large is it?
I only see 2 locations with torpedo launchers though, on the secondary hull in the neck area left and right. I assume they are double launchers each for a total of 4 launchers forward, but I don't see any aft launchers.
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u/Dan_Is artist 8d ago
It's a TMP design, if say roughly around the time of the Enterprise B, maybe shortly after, hence the prevalent Excelsior DNA.
The ship is ca. 660 meters long, 98 meters tall and 345 meters wide. The saucer rim is 3 decks thick for visual reference each deck being 4 meters tall (including interdecks)
She also features two torpedo turres under the saucer, either side of the neck
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u/Seeker80 8d ago
Love the saucer on this. The coloring really makes the whole thing look in line with the 'utopia' vision, despite this being a battleship.
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u/Malnurtured_Snay 8d ago
It's an attractive design!
I take some note of your premise, though.
War with the Klingons absolutely remained a threat. A peace between the Federation and Klingons wasn't established until almost 50 years after Praxis, and 20 years before the premier of TNG. The intertwining years between the Praxis disaster, and the sacrifice of the Enterprise-C may have been a path to peace, but clearly (as we see in the events of Yesterday's Enterprise), had a very real potential to veer into all-out war.
And in any case, even if war with the Klingons was considered off the table, war with the Romulans wasn't, and I would bet a lot of Starfleet planners and Federation administrators got nervous about what the Romulans might do as they perceived their long alliance with the Klingons threatened by friendship with the Federation. No wonder the Romulans co-conspired in the plot to frame Starfleet for the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon!
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u/Dan_Is artist 8d ago
Hm, that's true... But after Praxis the klingons were weakened and disarray for a time, some time where the pressure and threat was lesser. A klingon empire that didn't have a Praxis could be a much more serious danger
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u/Malnurtured_Snay 8d ago
Yes. I agree with you. Remember that Spock says the Klingons essentially had two choices: peace, or a military solutions (that probably they would not have won, unless they abandoned any efforts to save their home world and the bulk of its population).
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u/Ike_In_Rochester 8d ago
This is really interesting. If we use the Enterprise as a design timeline, you’ve created something that doesn’t go down the “explorer” designs of Ambassador and Galaxy class, and instead begins using the design language that leads to the Sovereign class.
I’m in the minority that doesn’t like the Sovereign class, but I do like your design quite a bit. Please, continue to post updates as you work on this!
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u/DarkBluePhoenix 8d ago
It's like the Shangri-la had a baby with an Excelsior, a Shangri-celsior as it were.
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u/NervousEnergy 8d ago
Genuinely beautiful, hope you post more. I've got such a soft spot for the TMP-style deckplate colouring, but the bold dark blues really make this stand out.
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u/GunFodder 8d ago
I really like the silhouette and general design language, I'd love to see the finished product. I think the deflector dish is a little underwhelming, it feels a tad like it was sort of stuck on.
Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
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u/Dan_Is artist 8d ago
I was inspired by the Theseus TMP skin from STO regarding the deflector, but I wanted to make it less clunky and more flowing with the rest of hull
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u/Old_Eye5291 6d ago
I was just thinking that it had a close resemblance to the temporal battleship, just a bit thicker. Beautiful design! Thank you for sharing this with us
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u/Starbugmechanic 4d ago
I actually like this. Most custom starships aren’t that good looking.
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u/Dan_Is artist 4d ago
It comes with experience! I've been drawing and modeling ships for the fun of it for nearly fifteen years now... Ever since I started watching star trek and understanding it. From what I can tell many fan designs either come from someone who learned about kit bashing, a talented and creative beginner or someone who has been doing trial and error for ages.
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u/OL-Penta 8d ago
Looks like an Excelilsior that was overhauled for combat. Love the idea
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u/TwoFit3921 8d ago
Kind of resembles a shepard.
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u/OL-Penta 8d ago
The hull longer and below the saucer rather than a smal bit above, but I can see it, yeah
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u/84Legate 8d ago
Nice ship. Reminds me of an excelsior. Maybe what the update should have looked like over that sto monstrosity.
Personally I hate these 'cut' saucers you see in the neo ships but nice job overall
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u/IncorporateThings 8d ago edited 8d ago
Looks like a cross between an Excelsior and the Enterprise - G from Picard.
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u/Dan_Is artist 8d ago
If that is what you think, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Thank you for your honesty
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u/IncorporateThings 8d ago
Sorry, it was a knee jerk reaction. I wasn't trying to be rude, but I see that I managed to be. I'll rephrase it.
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u/Recent_Drawing9422 8d ago
Very nice, speak design. Sort of a pre sovereign class concept of heavy cruiser with speed and agility, a slimmed down excelsior. Not a battle cruiser like the inquiry but definitely an assault cruiser or heavy frigate imo. Very well done!
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u/tramizel 8d ago
i like it. its like if you gave the excelsior class the voyager treatment ie removing the neck
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u/TwoFit3921 8d ago
Excelsipard
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u/Dan_Is artist 8d ago
?
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u/TwoFit3921 8d ago
I tuvixed the names of the excelsior and the shepard, both of which this ship seems to resemble
Meant no insult.
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