If you wanna have some more fun, you could explore the designs Frantz Jeosephs came up with for the "StarFleet Technical Manual". It listed Constitution Class as a Class 1 Heavy Cruiser, but also featured designes for Destroyers, Scouts, Dreadnauts, and Tug/Transports, and then there are the WIDELY diverse designs that came later - I don't recall the book title, but it was something about "Ships of the Line" and had what must have been 100s of designs, some radical, some simple variations of previous designs.

And finally the modeling is pretty much done.http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k282/Ben...nterprise12.jpgThe cuts in the nacelles were a royal pain, and took the longest of anything modeled. I was amazed at just how fast everything else could be created. I'm pretty happy with the result so far.

I have enjoyed following the process , adding conditional display phasers and animating a photon torpedo or two is in my humble opinionobligatory.... are you thinking of doing the bridge as the VC ?The interior provides for a collaboration insofar as the exterior model is never visible from the bridge, anyone who sent you an X file of the bridge along with the texture set could provide the interior model that you then compile.Myself i am real busy till the end of September but i am not the onlymodeler who likes doing these , " Piglet " , Tim Conrad among othersmight have the inclination as well , if not i am game in October.Chuck Jodry VJPL

>I have enjoyed following the process, adding conditional>display phasers and animating a photon torpedo or two is in my>humble opinion obligatory....Thank you for following along, I enjoyed sharing the process. Had I not been so excited to get it done, I probably could have shared more on the creation approach of different parts, which may have been more interesting to some. Who knows, I might go back and document such trivia in a tutorial.>are you thinking of doing the bridge as the VC?The thought had occured to me as a possibility, and I do have some detailed drawings of the bridge stations etc., but really wasn't sure I would even be able to complete the model as it is only my second.>The interior provides for a collaboration insofar as the>exterior model is never visible from the bridge, anyone who>sent you an X file of the bridge along with the texture set>could provide the interior model that you then compile.Yes, this is very true and you are correct, it is an excellent opportunity for a collaborative effort. The VC could be done by someone with more experience.>Myself i am real busy till the end of September but i am not>the only modeler who likes doing these , " Piglet " , Tim Conrad>among others might have the inclination as well , if not i am>game in October.Chuck, an interesting proposition I am open to discussing further with anyone interested in taking on the project.Yes, I agree with you phasers and a photon torpedo are obligatory. I have made a high quality lightsaber effect in photoshop before, but have no clue of how I might begin such fx in Max. If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears. I'm thinking there would have to be two sets of fx, one for making movies, and one for FS. It never fails that there is always one more thing to learn.Patrick

So... could I get you to post a shot of the model with that last RGB value I posted, on it's surfaces? :)

>So... could I get you to post a shot of the model with that>last RGB value I posted, on it's surfaces? :)http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k282/Ben...olorrequest.jpgI threw in some 3 point lighting, and matched roughly the position of the ship in the studio photo posted previously. Still doesn't seem just right, but I'll grab the color off the model on screen eventually.Also see this ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_egg_blue

I would trust Pantone over Wiki with regards to actual color values. ;)As for the look... it does and doesn't... and I think the reason for that is the difference between simulated lighting and the real bright lights in the filming studio. How hot (kelvin value) can you get the lights in the renderer?

Well, color and lighting is exceedingly complex, but I do believe I have got it looking pretty good.http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k282/Ben.../colortest2.jpgThis is only with a key light, and I will tweek it considerably, especially since this will only work under studio lights. I will have to fake the true color a bit for FS. This is just a first attempt. I'll play with it later, I think I'm going to texture in the details and decals.

Close , once you have added a bit of specular shine and dialed in some gloss for the render you will have it.As to the phaser & photon torpedo effects you have some options,in a recent production by me and available at Avsim as vjpl_walker.zipI modeled these effects as parts and animated the plasma balls to fire where they were aimed and they could follow moving objects.All this was rigged to the brakes and all was done with XML and included a sound effect also coded in xml that you might want to use.There are complexities associated with adding this to a modelthat don't exist if you choose to use some effect wired to a lighting bus... one of the default fireworks will yeald spectacular results in sim.At any rate there are some skin textures, effects, custom gauges and sounds in that download you may use if you like and it comes with Ice Planet Hoth and another use for animated effects where thosesame modeled parts are used for laser cannons that shoot at you when you wander within a mile of the base.If you like i can post some of the XML code used to run the partsand explain how to do it or you can use the gauge set to trigger any effect you like with sound and explosions .Question are you using 3DS or Gmax

Wooooosh!That was the sound of all that going over my head. :DNice job, both on the model and your animation. I'll have to download that and check it out. You said a lot in that post, so I'll have to probably see it, but looks very cool. 3DSMax btw.Patrick

Ok. Made my very first texture ever for a model I built. (my tutorial used someone else's model with permission).http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k282/Ben...nterprise14.jpgAlso managed to grab the color right from the real model, from a part that has never been modified. So the upper saucer reflects that underlying color now.Now the artistry begins! I can see this is going to be a bit more time consuming then creating the model. The UVW mapping is easy enough, but I'm going to have to spend some quality time in Photoshop I can see.Have to add a couple of lights I missed, but I modified the nacelle pylons, making them a bit more manly. They were too thin in my original, and I also re-did them to reduce polys even more.Now I'm going to have to pour over my photos and see if I can get the look right.I might experiment with just using the textures for the lettering and lines, and let the hull show through, but I don't know, might be better totally textured.

Still can't get the color just right, even grabing it from the real deal. This is likely a lighting issue, so I'll worry about it later.I deleted the pic above since I figured out I made an error on where I grabbed the color.http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k282/Ben...nterprise15.jpgI'm wondering if I should use one texture for the panel lines, and another for the designation. This way I could use the panel lines in a bump or displacement map (or modified version thereof).So, I'm going to finally have something to experiment with to see how different things work. Ideas or tips welcome. :DIt is nice to finally see it say Enterprise!

You must use one texture, unless you're going to create a gigantic "decal poly" for the lettering!In your master .psd file, simply keep the "lines" and "lettering" on seperate layers. Then, you need to do the "bump map," you'll still have all the lines available for use... ;)

Enterprise has a long history as a name in the U.Shaving been used for an observation balloon in the civil war.With 6 balloons having been ordered at the same time it becomes part of America's first "Airforce"

What's hilarious is that I made the model 1:1 with the 11' studio model, haha.So, if I exported it right now it wouldn't be very big =)Gives me a couple of cool ideas though, since I guess I have no choice (or risk death by trekkie fans) and have to export it.http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k282/Ben...nterprise16.jpgPatrick