This speciman was labeled USS Jupp.
Knowing that some of you guys are nuts for the little incidental ships built for the squint zone, I’ll be posting these VFX polaroid “catalog” snapshots to help satiate your Red Hour urges. If memory serves, I used these for reference while illustrating the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
Be warned. They were built fast, and meant to be little better than a smudge on screen.
For a show like “Sacrifice of Angels”, with lots of armadas, VFX would buy up all the Trek AMT kits in the San Fernando Valley, and they would have a kit bash party.
They literally built a dozen different variations, and occasionally the art department would pitch in and lend a hand.
I have a few of these “Cheap Suit Seranaders” around, and as I turn them up I will post them for you.
Standby… we’re locked on to your coordinates!
Hey Doug “Sacrifice of Angels” wasn’t that was done entirely with CG? Weren’t kitbashed ships like these used on the last of the episodes using the filming miniatures. An episode that stands out to would be the opening of “A Time To Stand” where we see both a CG Akira far in the lower left the Defiant leading with known ships like an Excelsior being towed, the Maquis fighters, and a shipload(sorry bad pun)of kit bashed models many too far away to been seen even clearly with DVD.
You know, you’re right… I just asked Gary, and he said he recalls them being from a flashback to the aftermath of Wolf 359. He can’t recall the name of the show. Anybody? Let me know so I can fix the text! – Doug
Only aftermath I can think of is from “Emissary”, the DS9 pilot. But that’s me.
Pop-top starships, eh? Hm…
You mean ‘Best of Both Worlds’ Part II, where there was an aftermath of a huge battle, also, there was ‘Unification’ where there was a ship graveyard. Yes, my nerd is showing.
Nope, it was DS9, according to Herr Hutzel. – Doug
I gotta admit, I like the paint job on the Jupp. – Doug
I’m pretty sure you just made Bernd Schneider’s day:
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/ds9tm.htm
These were great. Very much looking forward to seeing more like this. Thanks so much!
Doug,
Thanks again for posting these pics. They are different views from the original pics you sent me. I’m curious as to where the name “Jupp” originated
Also, I think I can clear up the Wolf 359 issue. The DS9 Companion stated that when “Emissary” was filmed, Robert Legato had originally filmed a different opening scene than what was shown: The Saratoga was already in the midst of the battle, with wrecked and on-fire ships in the background. Legato stated that he had wreckage built specifically for this scene, with the names of the ships that were mentioned in the script (the Tolstoy, Kyushu, Melbourne, and Gage). But the script was later changed so that Sisko’s ship was just entering the battle, and all the other ships were the intact filming models of the Nebula, Excelsior, and Ambassador classes.
I contacted Legato concerning this lost footage (with the sly and underhanded ability I have of finding obscure email addresses of former Star Trek VFX personnel
), but unfortunately (and understandably) he had very little memory of it. To my knowledge, no one has ever seen any of this footage, or any of the wreckage or kitbashed ships that were possibly built for this scene.
Great pics of a seldom seen starship!
Hey Doug, was there a Registry Number to the ship? I am guessing that the ship is Jupp Class.
Thanks for the post and Info.
No number that I can ascertain. – Doug
FESTIVAL! FESTIVAL! EEEEEHHHHHHAAAAA.
Thanks for posting these, I needed that.
Aahh, I’ve always liked this one, as the most plausible of the DS9 ‘Frankenstein fleet’, as a sort of destroyer-type ship taken out of mothballs for the war effort. And in general, I like the crazy colors on these kitbashes. Blue and gold starships are cool.
Agreed, Harry! The term “Frankenstein fleet”is a good one! – Dug
I’d be inclined to believe that a hundred or so of this particular design were built and put into service around the Federation’s holdings.
A hundred at minimum, anyway.
I’d like to think the ship is named after Miles Jupp, who plays Archie the Inventor in BBC children’s show Balamory. . .
Perhaps this gentlebeing might have something to do with the ship’s name?
Nice work, Dwight! – Doug
Doug,
What the heck is that thing in front of the saucer in the last pic?
Mark Its Gaffer’s Tape.
Doug,
Was there a label somewhere on the model itself or just on the photo?
Still wondering what “Jupp” could mean other than a regional Lower Rhine short name for “Josef”…
Also, does anyone have an idea what purpose the black stripes around the saucer could have? They are not on the photos I previously received of the same model.
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/ds9tm.htm
Bernd, Depending on which photos came first, it appears as though the top half of the saucer was removed from the model and then, instead of seamlessly inset, was placed on top of the lower half that includes the outer rim with windows, thus creating gaps, the black stripes.
This effect, if intentional, makes the saucer at least one deck, maybe a deck and a half, higher than before.
If the vessel was fully powered, I suppose, there is no reason to believe that the gaps would appear as black stripes. They may even appear lighted like windows.
It is unlikely that the gaps represent windows for observation as part of an elaborate recreational deck, the context of the model with two forward launchers, phasers all around, and parallel warp nacelles, would suggest a military application rather than a scientific or recreational one.
Suggesting that the vessel is a scout class, with the gaps representing specialized long-range sensors and communications equipment, is a bit of a stretch. The vessel appears to be too heavily armed to be a scout. If there was only one forward launcher, an argument could be made that the launcher services probes and not photon torpedoes, however, two forward launchers suggests the need for an offensive capability.
It is more likely that the gaps represent specialized equipment of a more military nature. To speculate, the vessel may be a destroyer class, but with specialized equipment that enable it to serve as minesweeper, aid it in cloak detection, or intelligence gathering.
–S. C. Green
Bernd Schneider:
I think those black lines are a broken saucer.
Interesting how dirty and prominent the hull plating is. Better to see and make a decent on-screen impression if just to be a smudge, I guess.
And in case I haven’t mentioned it of late, thanks Doug for your blog/site eh.
PLL,
deg
These were shot for the beginning of Season 6 when the Crew of DS9 was evacuated to a nearby Federation Space Station. Many of the “Frankenstein Fleet” were used for the “rag tag” evacuation, and others were used for background ships in and around the space station.
OBTW – Those photos show the ship while still under construction and the top of the dish had not yet been secured while we were waiting for the neon to be fitted. It was a pain in the patoot, and after that most of that round of kit bashing was done with UV paint and UV tape for windows and nacelles. (Which explains the odd black line in the poloroids…)
Adam Buckner! Welcome, and how the devil are you? Ladies and gents, this is the man right here. Ask your questions!
The saucer “black lines” are not black lines. The two dish parts are not glued together all the way. The builder probably put spacers or washers on the connecting pegs to raise the top dish up some. If anyone ever owned the AMT Enterprise kit you will know what I mean. Easy!!!
BB43 – The guy you are explaining the black lines to… Adam Buckner… is the guy who built this kit bash. Say Hi!
Doug – It seems like all the TNG/DS9/Voy/Ent FX and art dept people swing by and comment here.
Your blog has quickly become the “center of the universe” for uber-geeky starship nerds like me. I take a peek a couple of times a day, because you post goodies so often.
As always, thanks so much for sharing all of this with us!!
Hey Will, you’re welcome! Well heck! I’m an uber-geeky starship nerd myself!
Can anyone tell me the scale of the F14 or F15 that was used to make the USS Elkins, I would like to kitbash something based on the design and keep whatever I use a little less obvious or should I say better hidden. The Twin deflector dish arrangement appeals to me.
As I’m blushing…………..”hi!” (feeble like, with delicious crow in my mouth!)
Didn’t mean any harm……..man, this crow is delicious!
NOW I see the gaffer’s tape in front of the ship, last pic. (smiling!)
Is it know who built the ‘Curry’ kitbash? (That one’s an Excelsior with Reliant Nacelles attached to the bottom of the saucer!) I’ve been noodling with a model of it for ages, and I’d love to know what was used to connect the saucer to the lower hull!
Big thanks, always, to Doug for showing all of the incredible reference, and to all the folks like Adam for contributing their experiences – this is a must-visit-daily site for me, too!
Thanks Barnstormer. I recognize the passion I see in everyone here. It makes it fulfilling to share my stuff.
The USS JUPP…
Jupp is family name that was lost on the maternal side in my family. IIRC it was the Okudas that needed names for ship classes for their in-house registry. (Correct me if I’m wrong.) As the USS BUCKNER was already taken by what was used on screen as the USS CENTAUR, another identifier was needed, so I chose Jupp.
I have the completed model in my garage somewhere. I think it’s a bit worse for wear. I also have some archived photos (mostly poloroids). If I find them and any are good, I’ll send them on.
In that same box, along with the Centaur, I also have a Reliant converted Tug we built that I think dodged most photography sessions as it sat on Peter Lauritson’s desk for a little too long.
Thanks for the background info! Any more shots of those ships would be great! Would you happen to have shots of the USS Curry or the USS Ragin Queen as well? I think the Centaur and the Curry were the coolest designs.
Wow, how I would like to see that Reliant converted tug! Please tell me you have ppics to send to Doug over here?
I am *SO* procrastinating today. I have a job to finish, and I just don’t want to do it…
So… In the well held tradition of complete procrastination:
I found Captain Mike’s illustration of the USS Jupp at http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/ds9tm/conny-variant-captmike.jpg, and I had two comments:
One was that the rather ugly brown paint on the nacelles is UV paint, and even though it looks rubbish in daylight, it makes a nice glow that could be extracted in the transfer and compositing process to make nice glowy engines.
The other was that I found it difficult to make up my mind when constructing the model as to the orientation of the nacelles. The current configuration uses the existing mount points, and would probably be the logical configuration when reusing existing parts or designs. It took some of the streamlined effect away from the look of the model. I toyed with mounting them in a flipped mode for a better look and feel, but in the end expediency won – as this was a time limited affair – and I mounted them (as I am sure they would have in dry-dock) in the easiest and fastest manner.
Here however is the Jupp as is, with glowing nacelles (based on Captain Mike’s great work):
http://www.privateerpictures.com/archive/cache/USS-Jupp-original.jpg
and one as it “could have been” with the nacelles flipped:
http://www.privateerpictures.com/archive/cache/USS-Jupp.jpg
Adam! Great-great info! You are making some days!
Are all these Models used on screen? Can you point them in Screencaps please? I cant find the Elkins or the Jupp.
Wow, Adam has a cool garage.
Thanks for the info and count me as one who would like to see the Reliant converted tug and more of the Centaur if you’re willing to dig it out.
Hi Adam,
thanks for your insights. So this ship got neon lights fittet? They must have been pretty small.
UV paints and tape – was that the “glow in the dark” type or the self-reflecting one (I once heard about that being used on a modell to illuminate some windows)
Thanks
Cheers
Thorsten
The Paint and Tape were for work under UV lights (read “glow in the dark when struck with strong UV radiation). We used UV for the matte process and some of the window and engine passes. By mixing the paint and selecting the appropriate tape color, the material would glow in a chosen color range, allowing the separation of windows, engines and mattes to different layers by selecting the desired color during transfer from 35mm film to digital, or in the compositing process.
Adam,
Thanks a lot for the inside information about the Frankenstein fleet. You helped solve a mystery…no one could ever figure out what the name on the “Centaur” model said. We came up with all kinds of guesses, from “Trieste” to “Suckats” (whatever that meant
)
So did you build both the Jupp and the Centaur/Buckner?
Mark,
Yes, I built both the Buckner and the Jupp, as well as a third Reliant/Miranda Cargo Variant.
And yes, the “Centaur” does say USS Buckner.
http://www.privateerpictures.com/archive/cache/Centaur-Name-Detail.jpg
I dug the model out of my garage. The photo was taken from my phone, so it’s not the best in the world. I’ll find my Nikon DSLR in a week or two and take some better pics. I also need to do some repair, as this (and the other two models) were damaged in shipping to a convention many years back.
Now I *MUST* stop procrastinating and get my project finished… so I won’t post any more pics until I’m done, which will be after next week.
- Adam
It’s funny that “Buckner” _was_ listed as a possible candidate back then, but nobody made the connection:
http://flare.solareclipse.net/ultimatebb.php/topic/6/1640/19.html#000280
Thanks to the new categories feature, I was able to find this entry relatively easily. Cool!
So, Adam Buckner…did you ever get the time to take some pics of the Centaur and the Reliant tug kitbashes?
Thanks,
MD
…And here you can find a professional modeller’s interpretation of the Jupp were it ever meant to be a hero-model (Model built by Stephen L)…
http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/ussneptune.htm