Description
This article is from the Star Trek Tech
FAQ, by Joshua Bell inexorabletash@hotmail.com with numerous
contributions by others.
46 Blueprints p2 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
Blues Reviews
A special section courtesy of David Winfrey:
Assorted Ships Profiles - Valley Forge, U.S.S. Enterprise, Battlestar and
Orion Shuttle
L. Allen Everhart Jr., Starcraft Productions, 1979 -11 x 17 (2 pg.),
scales unstated -- $3.00
I'm delighted to begin these capsule reviews with the man I consider
the best in his field, though not at his best by contemporary
standards in this minimalist set. Included are side views of "2001's"
Orion spaceplane, "Silent Running's" Valley Forge, the well-known
Battlestar (presented here without its proper name) and the "interim"
publicity-poster Enterprise refit for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture,"
which is essentially an original series "E" with dorsal torpedo bay
and swept-back-pylon nacelles bearing a close resemblance to those of
the subsequent film (the design originated with pre-production work
for the unmade "Star Trek II" TV series, for which a model was at
least begun, as seen on pp. 60-61 of Judith and Garfield
Reeves-Stevens' THE ART OF "STAR TREK;" it also appears as the
Constitution II class of SHIPS OF THE STAR FLEET VOL. 1, which
rendering is dissimilar to Everhart's). Everhart also shows a "scrap
view," one half of a forward profile and the inner half of the aft for
hangar, deflector, impulse and torp bay positioning; no pylons or
nacelles appear here.
Bridge Blueprints
Michael McMaster, Galactic Designs and Productions, 1976 - 17 x 22 (10
pg), 1/24 scale -- $6.95
Another departed master of the field, who delivered slideshow lectures
at New York conventions of the late 1970s, McMaster undertook the most
painstaking research into canonical design work to my knowledge ever
performed. These plans are a comprehensive rendition (right down to
1/8 scale diagrams of the shapes of console buttons) of every element
of the original series' bridge. Operational notes, including a well
thought out list of keystrokes, are also featured. The plans reflect
live canon save for inclusion of a "secondary exit" (not a turbolift)
to the left of the main view screen. One emerges from a study of these
plans convinced that did the Enterprise exist, one could learn to
"fly" it, thanks to McMaster.
Class F Shuttlecraft Blueprints
David Winfrey, Omega Prints, 1987 - 11 x 17 (6 pg. + 2 8.5 x 11 detail
pages), 1/24 scale -- $6.95
Time to toot my own horn. I'm not as pleased with these as I'd like to
be, nor are they in print (save in rip-off form; see Galaxy Class,
below). A revision's long overdue. This, my own entry into the blues
field, was meant to provide the most accurate possible drawings of the
original series shuttlecraft. "Possible" is a joker here, since the
interior set and "full scale" soundstage model didn't match (the
former was larger by about 50%, and hollow; interiors were filmed
separately). I took the interiors as canonical (the reverse to "Franz
Joseph's" take on things), and enlarged the exterior to hold 'em. I
rendered every panel, every button, showing changes by episode. I took
one liberty, though, which a long-delayed revision will address - I
widened the interior to fit the outer walls, rather than dropping it
midline, leaving room on either side to spare. My plans include a
forward-looking interior shot from "Metamorphosis," though, by which
the discerning modeler could correct that error. Professionalism in
both linework and printing (not done on an offset press) leave
something to be desired, but scale data is without peer (an exterior
photo of a model by Mark Nehmzow appeared in Finescale Modeler some
years back). Shane Johnson phoned in his compliments, and Allen
Everhart gave praise in person (end of plug, for now; but see "Star
Trek" Modeler's Blueprints, below).
Enterprise Construction Profile Blueprints
L. Allen Everhart, Starcraft Productions, 1977 - 11 x 17 (4 pg), scale
1.5 in. = 20 meters -- $5.95
Everhart at his finest. Two sheets present the primary hull, two the
secondary, both in five stages of construction, from the laying of
keels to hull plating and component testing. By coincidence, the plans
are a minute fraction smaller than AMT/ERTL's Enterprise cutaway model
(whose details do not reflect theirs). Allen's work was not based on
Franz Joseph (Schnaubelt)'s STARFLEET TECHNICAL MANUAL or CONSTITUTION
CLASS plans, nor does it reflect Matt Jeffries' cross-section as
featured in Stephen E. Whitfield's THE MAKING OF "STAR TREK" (his
hangar deck, for example, extending to the front edge of the nacelle
pylon, not the aft). Purists will note the primary's reflection of
AMT's upward-sloping underside, a feature absent from the original
series larger miniature (though present on the three-foot model, from
which the AMT models were derived). The set also lacks rendition of
the nacelles. Its interior profiles are interesting, however, as is
its inclusion of the ship's electrical mains, complete as to volts and
amps. One can only wish Everhart had undertaken "refit" plans as well.
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