CODA - Federation Starships 2260s

[TFVanguard]

Okay, when I finish Jaynz #2 (which should be today, if I buckle down on it), my next project is going to be a brief CODA guide to building Federation ships in the TOS era. So, here's the question for ya'll... what Federation TOS-era ships should be included? I'm looking for a good cross-section of vessels from pretty much any source.

Post your thoughts here!

1) Constitution Class

[Doug Burke]

I've always been partial to the Larson and Loknar classes from FASA...

[Cut]

I'd like to see a Niagara-class as seen in the LUG Sourcebook the Price of Freedom. MIght bé a ship of the movie era though.

[TFVanguard]

I'd like to see a Niagara-class as seen in the LUG Sourcebook the Price of Freedom. MIght bé a ship of the movie era though.

Yeah, for sake of the guide, I wanted to cap everything to 2270. (I may include some post NX stuff, as 'old' ships that the Connies may run into, like the Ranger, DY-100, etc)... but the movie-era introduces so much, that it really is a guide all its own.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

I'd like to see a Niagara-class as seen in the LUG Sourcebook the Price of Freedom. MIght bé a ship of the movie era though.

The Niagara from tPoF was some weird Galaxy-thing. The one on-screen seems Ambassador/Galaxy-y, and has that weird-ass nacelle configuration.

For my part, i'd like to see the Bonaventure/NCC-1000, Loknar, and Ranger that doesn't look too kitbashy... and that's about it, really.

[Cut]

The Niagara from tPoF was some weird Galaxy-thing. The one on-screen seems Ambassador/Galaxy-y, and has that weird-ass nacelle configuration.

It's something like a study version for the Galaxy class but I think the launch date given in the PoF book puts the Niagara in the Movie Era.
Yeah, that's why I want the version not seen on-screen but featured in the Sourcebook I mentioned. My game takes place on one of those and I would have loved to get great pics of the class as TVFanguard produces them.
d
I'll ask him again, when he is compiling a movie era guide. As he has been oing FASA stuff and the ocasional own design (like the Tal Shalia) I won't give up hope to see his take on the LUG design and not on the three nacelled wreck seen in the graveyard scene of TBOBW.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

The designs in tPoF were pretty fugly... the Rigel look sort of ok, but overall they were definitely at a sub-FASA level–especially when they totally miss the actual appearance of ships in the show.

[Cut]

The designs in tPoF were pretty fugly... the Rigel look sort of ok, but overall they were definitely at a sub-FASA level–especially when they totally miss the actual appearance of ships in the show.

I don't see it that way. At least some ships were write ups of ships seen on screen and what is so wwong about the Niagara? It might by an un-inspirated design (as it is very very similar to the Galaxy design) but I like the picture a lot more than what you see in the graveyard scene. IMO the PoF design is more Trek typical than the three nacelle design featured on screen...

Anyway, TVF asked what we'd like to see, and a Niagara as features in PoF is what I'd like to see

[spyone]

For my money, any ship that predates Excelsior belongs in a TOS book, and that would include the Miranda Class.

But I can see how others may differ. If I included the Miranda Class, I suspect I'd depict it using TOS nacelles: figure (like FASA did) that Reliant had undergone an upgrade to the new nacelles much like Enterprise had somewhere in the late 2260s or early 2270s.

And the Constellation Class would have to be developed along here somewhere: the Constitution Class USS Constellation was destroyed during TOS, but the one still in service on DS9 had a number in the 1900s (NCC-1974 precisely), suggesting it was built before* (or at the same time as) Excelsior.

YMMV.

* Annoyingly, there is decent canon evidence that the NCC numbers are far less sequential than I had hoped/assumed: USS Phoenix NCC-65420 was completed and commissioned the same year as USS Yamato NCC-71807 and several years after USS Galaxy NCC-70637 (per her dedication plaque). Best rationalization I've got is Starfleet ordered a whole bunch of Nebula Class ships to be built at a couple a year: the numbers were assigned when the order was placed, but construction did not begin immediately, allowing a ship ordered later to be completed first. But that means I have to accept that that kind of thing might happen a lot.
Which in this case would mean that the Constellation Class USS Constellation might not have been commissioned yet when USS Excelsior was launched.

But for my money, it is an early 2270s design.

[TFVanguard]

Anyway, TVF asked what we'd like to see, and a Niagara as features in PoF is what I'd like to see

Well, that would depend on the ship. Which one is it? (I don't have a copy of Price of Freedom to look at the moment). It may very well be more suited for the 'movie treatment' of the 2270's-2290's, unless there's something more unique about its overall design that may make it older.

[TFVanguard]

For my money, any ship that predates Excelsior belongs in a TOS book, and that would include the Miranda Class.

Nope, too many instruments of new technology from TMP through TUC. The actual Miranda, for instance, has two phaser arrays on it, as well as 'movie-era' phasers, warp engines, etc... That's not to say that there aren't several TOS versions of the Miranda already, dating to the 2250s.

And the Constellation Class would have to be developed along here somewhere: the Constitution Class USS Constellation was destroyed during TOS, but the one still in service on DS9 had a number in the 1900s (NCC-1974 precisely), suggesting it was built before* (or at the same time as) Excelsior.

The Quad-Engine Constellation was in its trial runs in TUC, definately smacking her into the movie era. Assume that registry numbers are sequential sort of, but can vary widely as different members of Star Fleet Registry had different thoughts on how ships should be entered into the database.

[Cut]

Well, that would depend on the ship. Which one is it? (I don't have a copy of Price of Freedom to look at the moment). It may very well be more suited for the 'movie treatment' of the 2270's-2290's, unless there's something more unique about its overall design that may make it older.

It's definately a ship that would belong into a movie era guide or even sonething like pre TNG era if there is such a thing. The only pic that can be seen in PoF is to be seen on the internet right here: http://steve.pugh.net/fleet/images/LUG_niagara.jpg

[TFVanguard]

It's definately a ship that would belong into a movie era guide or even sonething like pre TNG era if there is such a thing. The only pic that can be seen in PoF is to be seen on the internet right here:

That's not even movie era, that's clearly very post-Excelsior and into the ambassador era....

[Cut]

That's not even movie era, that's clearly very post-Excelsior and into the ambassador era....

Yeah, you're right, of course. I just looked it up: Given launch date in the book is 2349 that makes the design definately a ship of "pre TNG" era.

[Doug Burke]

The Quad-Engine Constellation was in its trial runs in TUC, definately smacking her into the movie era. Assume that registry numbers are sequential sort of, but can vary widely as different members of Star Fleet Registry had different thoughts on how ships should be entered into the database.

Actually, according to "Peak Performance," the Hathaway was 80 years old. That would put its commissioning right around the time of TWOK, not TUC. And the Constellation would have to have been commissioned before that...