USS Singularity - Star Trek Nova-class...

[mearrin69]

Hi all,
It has been a long time indeed since I've done any 3D modeling. I'm eventually going to run a Star Trek game for my group and have been trying to decide on a ship for them. Finally settled on the Nova-class...it's a small science scout first seen in the Voyager episode Equinox. Found some cool deckplans here and decided to make a model of it - I may or may not take it to the very detailed state.

Here's the in-game description of the ship:
USS Singularity (NCC-74855), Nova-class variant light research cruiser. Constructed: Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. Commissioned: April 4, 2375. Assigned: Beta quadrant (May 5, 2375). Mission: Seek out and investigate various 'subspace tunnelling phenomena' for the development of new trans-warp propulsion technologies as directed by FSC and ADSB. Command crew: Commander Matthew LeBrasseur (Captain), Lt. Commander Tu'pok (First Officer). Current location: Deep Space 9 (May 11, 2375), awaiting new crew transfer. {this would be the PCs, of course}

Anyway, here's where I've gotten to. The main hull is coming along. The nacelles and pylons were literally just dropped in with minimal shaping so far - in fact, they're not even connected to the body yet. It all looks okay in flat-shaded mode but I'd like to try to use subdivision surfaces. Never tried sub-d modeling before, however, so I've got some learning to do before I'll be able to get it looking okay - have to figure out how to add edges so I get sharp edges where there should be sharp edges (instead of that horrible crumpling that's happening along the saucer section right now...looks like a bad crash!)
M

[RecklessEnthusiasm]

These look great! It looks like you use blender for modeling--may I ask what you'll use to render them?

[mearrin69]

Thanks. Actually, I use Silo for modeling. Bought it ages ago but haven't used it in quite a while. No plans on rendering for now but I have a couple of options for that. Maybe trueSpace, which I know pretty well. Or maybe Modo, which I haven't really used all that much (I received a review unit from the company a very long time ago but have only used it for modeling and don't really know rendering that well).
M

[Steel General]

Looks good so far Mearrin, wish I had the patience for 3D modeling programs.

[mearrin69]

Thanks, SG. I wish I did too! They can be quite frustrating. Here's a small update: I tried the nacelles and pylons as separate objects to be attached later but that didn't work out so I deleted them and extruded them from the main hull, with slightly better results. Also, some work on shaping the hull a bit. I'm going to have to put this aside for a bit but the basic shape's all there now. If I can get back to it I'll try sub-d to see if I can get it looking good with smooth surfaces.
M

[Katto]

Great start M! Looking forward to see more. Perhaps you know, but you can find a lot ot plans here.