Full HD! Blow it up full screen!
Finally!
The plan is to make this a monthly thing. Hope you dig! Below is the article that accompanies this V-blog on the relaunched, refitted startrek.com -
We’ve only explored 2% of the Galaxy!
I was a fan from the first glimmer of black and white cathode ray over forty years ago, and am still hip deep. I’m in the enviable position of having worked on Star Trek for nearly two decades and have probably worked in more capacities than anyone in the history of the show… makeup artist, scenic artist, illustrator, and visual effects artist, and you now what? I’ve never been able to get enough!
Many of you know me from my blog, “The Drex Files”. Man, I poured a lot of stuff into that site. When Ian Spellin of suggested my putting together a column for startrek.com, I was dubious. Would a year and a half on Drex Files leave me anything to explore? Watch this!
Andygram!
We look at one of Trek’s sleekest and sexiest unrealized designs, The sphinx shuttle.
Whenever I think of Andy Probert I think of that scene in “The Right Stuff” where a reporter asks Gordo Cooper who’s the best pilot he’s ever seen. I’m one of Andy Probert’s biggest fans, and for me he is the best look for Star Trek. His sense of logic and aesthetics has never been equaled. One of my favorite Probert designs is the unrealized “Sphinx” shuttle, a cousin of the classic workbee. We’ve rustled you up a heapin’ helpin’ of the man himself, and Douglas “Deg” Graves brings it to life with his newly minted 3D version of the fabled conveyance. A classic Trek design. Why would anyone make Star Trek without Probert attached?
They’re the Juggernaut, bitch!
Ode to the Mararthon Mill Construction crew.
One of the most thrilling things about working on Star Trek was watching the construction gang in the Marathon Mill take our sketches and blueprints and make them real… and like magic, sets would seemingly coalesce from thin air.
When Mike Westmore piped me aboard the Enterprise D as a a makeup artist, I got my first closeup look at those classiest of starship sets. Buddy, I was like a kid in a candy store, free to wander the 23rd century and marvel at the magnificent designs and incredible craftsmanship that went into even the smallest detail.
There is a saying in the makeup department… first to get there, last to leave. But there were days when I would finish up at 2am, pack my kit, head across the Paramount lot to the parking structure, and be blown away that the construction guys would still be at it full tilt. Later, when I made the jump from the makeup department to art department, I would learn who this amazing powerhouse of a gang was. Not only would I be privy to their world and particular brand of magic, but I would now be working with them hand in hand. I would not only be wowed by their incredible talent and skill, but by the unique characters and personalities that drove the Trek construction juggernaut. Heady days, my friend.
A rough and tumble world of pneumatic nail guns, saber saws and testosterone. The “Marathon Mill” was a wild and woolly pirate ship that demanded a thick skin and a sense of humor to successfully navigate. Working with construction was one of the funnest, coolest and most satisfying experiences of my widely varied life in Hollywood. Our Star Trek machine was well oiled, and in it’s veins flowed trust, affection, and admiration. I don’t believe that I have ever worked on another show where cooperation between departments was so powerful.
During construction of the NX sets I kept a video record, and this stuff’ll knock your socks off. The first installment makes maximum montage of the construction of the NX warp core and engineering department. Hey you know it, and I know it: A cool engineering department is central to a starship, and we were especially proud of this one. It’s a remarkable document of a very ambitious Star Trek set, and baby you are there!
Le Voyage dans la lune!
When I was thirteen years old, four of the sexiest women on Earth were Raquel Welch, Brigette Bardot, Ursula Andress, and BarBara Luna. When I saw Luna as the Captain’s woman in the classic Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror” she was IT. She still has more of IT than any two women have a right to have of IT. How does she do it? A few weeks back, me, Dorth, Jimmy, and Luna went to see “CHIPs: The Musical” (no, I’m not kidding!) at Gary Marshall’s Eagle Theater in Tolucca Lake (It was hysterical, but that’s another story). I brought my video camera and captured some classic Luna. She’s silly and zany and adorable. Scamp, vixen, brat, comedian, artist, and legend. It’s silly for me to go on and on trying to impart the fun of BarBara Luna. Watch the video already!
Ship’s Of The Line: Active Duty!
This wild idea more than anything else gave me the impetus to create this vid\mag\column for startrek.com
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary… what could I do to make this column special? Then it hit me like a ton of neutronium! Oh you beautiful Galaxy! There were a hundred shots already set up for Ship’s of the Line that were dying to be animated! So I grabbed a bunch of my own pages, talked to Tobias, called Mark, shot up a flare to Rob… and in less than a week we had something special! Check your inertial dampers, fasten your seat belts, and be sure you’ve got your extra heavy reinforced Depends on because this is gold, Jerry! See the launch of the refit NX and Matt Jefferies iconic ringship taking flight! “SOTL: Active Duty” is the kick in the PTC you have been yearning for!
Hey, that was fun! I hope you got a kick out of the Drex Files Video Addendum! Fire a green flare if you’d like to see more, and in the meantime I’ll be fighting killer robots!
Awesome video, nothing but envy for the guys that get to work on the SOTL Calendars, it really must be a dream come true! I’m going back to school now, so hopefully I can up the level on my own work!
The NX set construction looked awesome, would love to see more videos like that!
Look forward to seeing more of these videos Doug, seeing it really made my day
Keep at it, Suricata! We’re rootin’ for you!
Wow, I love the CG sphinx and the Sotl animations are simply awesome. Seeing those familiar images that I have seen every day for a month come to life with sound and movement is really overwhelmingly cool. And it’s always good to see the Ent-J from some more angles
Thanks for that Doug and everybody involved!!
And I thought the Drex Files could not get any better…boyoboy was I wrong…..
Never commented before, even if constant reader, but…
The TV idea is awsome!!! Thank you
Doug –
Fantastic work!! I loved seeing the Sphinx. Any chance we can see the 1701-D Captain’s Yacht fully rendered?
It’s a possibility!
Brilliant!
Congrats from Brazil Doug, the video is awesome!!! Totally fantastic!! You need to do a video only with the refited NX too. Any chance we can see the 1701-C concept, from Mr. Probert?
Kinddest regards,
Cassio
That would make a nice article, Cassio! We’ll see if we can make that happen!
Will we eventually get to see more animations of the NX refit?
Mmmmmmmmm… maybe!
I am not merely gog. I am positively agog. Moar pleaze.
I remember back in 2007, if I am not mistaken that was the year that the SOTL book was released. My parents got for me for Christmas, after I took off the christmas rapping off of the book. I loved the rendered artwork made by Mr. Drexler and all the artists who made this book possible. My one wish is that there can be a series of books, not a revised edition, but a SOTL book series, that could become a art book collection. The SOTL book is really inspiring in my opinion. It is like documenting a piece of Star Trek history in space. I hope there will be more calenders in the coming years including a series of books.
After so many years behind the camera, mastering the various crafts of film making, to have you in front of the camera hosting a video magazine is fantastic! I too would have wondered what you could come up with after blogging for so long, but you have jumped in with grand style. You never cease to amaze Doug! Well done.
Thank you, Sean! Saaaaay! You wouldn’t want to put a few keyframes on any of your SOTL pages, wouldja’?
heh not so subtle hint
If you happen to render the Enterprise soaring past Vanguard station one day when you have nothing better to do, you’ll probably read my obit in the next day’s paper, with the cause of death being listed as “fangasm.” I mean, after watching this stuff, I’m halfway there already.
Just sayin’.
Dayton! Better order up that plot!
AWE! SOME! Especially if you consider that the CGI quality is exactly like it would be in an actual Star Trek episode or movie, because some of this animations are ACTUALLY MADE BY THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPECIAL EFFECTS IN STAR TREK!!!
(One could even argue that this is canon by the most strict definition (moving picture, approved by Paramount)!)
hey doug amazing stuff!! any way that you might make these videos available for download so that those of us that like to build models of these glorious ships have some better reference shots??? just asking, because i know that there are several of these ships that i intend to model up one of these days. like the enterprise ring ship, the ent-j, the refit nx-01. and i second bringing Andy Proberts enterprise-c concept to fruition!! i’ve love that ship since the first time i saw the painting of it. i’ve even tried building a model of it.(didn’t come out right) maybe i just need to see it in the third dimention to do it right.
Stunning!!!! Love the NX-01 Refit. I never thought we would ever see what could have been if ‘ENTERPRISE’ had continued. THANK YOU!! Also was THRILLED to see the Reliant as she was originally intended, with the nacelles on top and weapons pod below. Please keep dong what your doing. (The new banner is PERFECT)
Matt Boardman made that banner for me. Thanks again, Matt!
He was afraid at the time it was too much like, ummm, something else that looked similar…but man I gotta say, Doug your site and other work has set you apart and the banner ROCKS.
It’s so exciting!
The Sphinx and the NX-01′s Refit come to life. But I got to ask Doug, what’s that lettering on the side of the secondary hull?
S.S. Enterprise
Incredible. Absolutely wonderful stuff Doug!
I’m sure you’re getting a ton of praise for this as well as suggestions. You may have read this one already but if not, how about USS Titan? Would be nice to see it flying next to a Crystalline Entity eh? Just like in Christopher Bennett’s novel “Orion’s Hounds”.
And I complete agree with Dayton, it would be awesome to see Kirk’s Enterprise fly by the Vanguard Station! There’s tons of great scenes that Trekkers read about in the novels that you could bring to life!!!!
It boggles the mind!
Interesting! Thanks, Doug!
Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent. What an incredible treat!
I’ll echo the request for bringing Probert’s 1701-C to life – and I’d also love to see the Ralph McQuarrie Enterprise design get this sort of treatment, too.
That’s a real fun idea there!
Love the video Doug — especially the highlight of seeing those amazing set construction guys in action… always amazed at how these craftsmen create an entire universe from wood and plastic practically overnight.
Would love to see any construction photos or footage from way back when they converted TMP sets into TNG interiors. Does any documentation of the sets from those years exist? Maybe Mike Okuda has some info…
Mike would be the guy to ask, and I will. I doubt he has any, as he would have showed them to me.
As always, marvelous work Doug, and let me echo the ideas of those above talking about the Probert or McQuarrie Enterprises! Or perhaps something with the Daedalus class, or some of Matt Jefferies concepts for the Big E or Klingons?
If ST09 has taught us nothing else, it’s that there’s not just a big Trek universe out there, but a LOT of big Trek universes!
All I can say is wow. As a 40 year old trekie I has exposed my kids 4 & 6 to everything trek. This has hit home with them more than anything previous. They have watch the video 100 times already. Thanks and keep it coming to help build the next gen of trekie.
How wonderful is that? Give them a hug for me, Steve!
OMG! OMG! OMG!… an Enterprise J fly by! Waaahoooooooo!
Thank you Doug! My life is now complete. 
As always, outstanding work to you Mr. Drexler.
Doug and the rest of the guys I love you! You are a big part of why Star Trek was and is a big hit with guys like you keeping it alive it will return again and again for another 45 years!
Dang, that’s a sweet sentiment!
No problem Doug, it is the truth. What has always been the case on things like Star Trek is that people who have a love and a passion for what they do always comes through on screen.
I’ll tell ya, seeing the J cruise by like that, all slow and elegant, made me twinge with a whole new level of appreciation for her. And the subtle graceful movement of the proto-J above E-D by you and Mike, gave me flashes of 2001, my fav film. Love those bussard efx, too. Love to know how you did those.
All of the clips are wondrous to behold. Robert’s space-dock interior, wow, indeed cover worthy, and to see it come to life; brilliant. Tobias’ über-cool ST ’09 stuff. He’s is just quite the talent, eh! Always a good friend and ever-present inspiration to me (as is everyone involved). And Mark’s ring-ship, OMG! Talk about a seemingly case-closed Jeffries dream come roaring & proud & gloriously back to life! He’s smilin’ I’m sure, Matt is.
Love the D7 in the stellar ice-flow and the blowing wind sound as the G7 escapes down an’ out o’ frame. And the G7 cover, zooming to life, I just love that lil’ buggy! And I already commented on the awesomeness of Too Close For Comfort coming to life! Man, what a good time to be alive and swingin’ the Drex-Files fun vine!
Thanks, all!
peace and long life & bananas | deg
I got that right, correct? IIRC, that was the progenitor design for the J, correct, the swept-wing birdie cruisin’ above E-D…?
peace and long life & bananas | deg
Fantastic stuff. Thanks!
Wow….amazing, all of it!
To be frank, I wasn’t 100% sure that I liked the NX refit. I liked the concept but was unsure. After seeing her in motion, I was really impressed, looks so fluid and natural!
It’s good to see the NX again, and EVERY time I see the Enterprise D it puts a shiver down my spine. Amazing ship, I miss that ship and tv show.
Great stuff Doug, and the engine room time-lapse…wow!
Awesome stuff, doug. Im a major fan of your blog, and for good reason
. I know robert, tobias and deg through Scifi-Meshes, and its just pure envy seeing them compared with the likes of John Eaves and Andy Probert. Way to go guys! And doug, you damn well post more of these insanely awesome SotL renders and anims!
-Jed
Fantastic stuff!
Still, greedy and ungrateful bugger that I am, I can’t help but think it’d be interesting to show the E-J flying alongside a more familiar ship (like say a Galaxy class for example) to help convey the enormous scale of the behemoth.
Mind you, I can totally appreciate the relatively (and necessarily) low detail of the mesh and image maps may not hold up so well to such a comparison…still, it’s fun to imagine.
NEED….MORE….ENTERPRISE-J….NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =3
I concur. There is such a huge hidden fan base for the E-J that it boggles the mind. Doug does have a lot on his plate however with Caprica. Were just going to have to sit by and hope something comes out in his spare time. I myself am hoping to get a few good orthoscopic images of her. If i do i can accurately scratchbuild her in model form; given at 1/2500 scale with my other enterprises she would be about 4 feet long. Whereas my other enterprises are between 2cm long and about 12″ long.
I think of the E-J and wonder to myself,”What would the series be like if it had E-J in it?”. Doug described it before as the ship being able to explore other galaxies and being beyond transwarp. I could only imagine the stories and the adventure that could take place in space and on board with it being a generational ship.
“Sigh”, just wishful thinking though.
Doug, if you ever have spare microseconds in your day please resurrect her. She needs to be brought out in all her glory for the world to appreciate. It wouldn’t be befitting of such a magnificent piece of hidden Star Trek history to go quietly into the night. <3
That entire feature was just frakkin beautiful. Ever considered creating an iPhone app for Drex Files? That would be totally wicked!
do suggest on…what would you look for it to do?
Man, it just FASCINATES me, and AMAZES me, to no end what The Mill does with 2 x 4s and 4 x 8s of plywood. Who’d ever thought Starfleet was made of wood and nails?
Just jaw-dropping production magic! They’re sorcerers, those ones…
peace & bananas & magic nails | deg
You Rock.
Just picked up a copy of Ships of The Line calendar – WOW! Really Nice work.
Doug and all, thanks for doing so much keeping this whole sub-genre of Trek alive and well!
Doug, BRAVO
I watched the animations a few times, WOW. And the sentiments echoed here…I second your well spoken thoughts deg, my friend (nice invterview, btw) …well cover it well. You have really gone to the next level with this, Doug, and I too was wondering how much more you could summon…I was wrong to doubt the depths !!
OFC, we will be getting more of my NX, or I’ll be there to poke and harass you till we do!
The interview footage was great of all of you, and as pointed out above, the quality of the vids, as well as the editing and I liked the quality of the writing of your intro.. (did you do that? Dorth?) all first class Trek level work. Good job, my friend!! Call me IMPRESSED
No Eaves comment yet? I’ll get right on the phone….
I want to feature Eaves, but he hasn’t returned my E-mail call yet! Lean on him for me!
dea!!!!!!!!! I’ve missed you!
Johnny; he’s like tryin’ to catch the wind, between work, the ranch, and all his gals. I’ll lean on ‘im, too eh.
DEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hugs & bananas for you!
peace & bananas & strong-arming the JEaves | deg
Dea!! I’ve missed you too! Glad to see your still alive and that school hasn’t completely claimed you! ;D
Maybe if we all lean on John a bit he’ll email Doug back. From what you’ve told me, his piece for the 2011 calendar is pretty impressive!
Shhhh lol
I’ve had Trillian open some lately, but haven’t seen ya…get on!!
Nice interview there!! And even nicer deg3D work, eh? Busy boy you are, and a happy one!!! I’m glad for the opportunities that have come your way…LLP buddy!!!!
Thanks, dea!
Hope to see more of ya around soon. Miss your voice in the mix, eh. Hope school os going well and strong! 
peace & bananas & hugs | deg
Sir, someone’s stealing the Enterprise!
As a long-time reader (or lurker!) of ‘Drex Files’, I’ve just got one word for this:
WOW.
Seriously – this is indeed mind-boggling stuff! Particularly Deg’s amazing job of bringing the ‘Sphinx’ to life (love the ‘USS Probert’ markings – very nice touch!
), and then of course the truly incredible ‘Active Duty’ segment – there were moments in that (the Spacedock bit and the fantastic ‘Shuttle vs. D7′ close-up shot being absolute stand-outs) that had be believing I was watching some kind of trailer for a new Trek series. It’s all THAT good. And to think that’s a week or so’s work, too – that’s just awe-inspiring! 
Indeed, that got me thinking – with all this talent, creativity, enthusiasm and imagination here, coupled with the revived interest in Trek due to the new movie (love it, hate it or otherwise, you’ve got to admit that it’s got people thinking about the franchise again, which is always good), and the relative lack of regular sci-fi on TV, what would it take to get a new series of Star Trek off the ground, á la TNG in ’87? As I said, watching this wonderful VFX work has the unfortunate down-side of reminding me that there’s no regular Trek on TV anymore, and it’s not for lack of enthusiastic people with the skills to make it a beautiful reality, as proved by the video!
Really – what WOULD be the obstacles involved in making a new show, and how would these best be overcome? Time to pool ideas, methinks!
Anyway, insane ramblings aside, huge thanks, Mr. Drexler, along with Messrs. Probert, Deg, Boardman, Rademaker and co. – this site’s always been a great tresure-trove of all things cool, but this new enterprise (pun totally intended!) takes things to an all-new level. I’d make a ‘boldy going’ gag, but that’d probably be outstaying my welcome, amirite?
Well, specking for myself, thanks you very much, Excelsior! Glad you enjoy my attempt at 3D-visioning Andrew’s way-cool lil’ service bugy.
And I’m with you all the WAY on new Trek on TeeVee, already! I’ve been holding that vision strong and clear in my head and spirit for years now (I have a mantra sheet that I wake and go to sleep to every night and day), as I wanna be working on it, as that’s me ultimate dream come true!
Please feel free (all) to hold that vision with me!
Star Trek back on TV!
Star Trek back on TV!
Star Trek back on TV!
…
peace & bananas | deg
Just wanted to echo deg’s sentiments!
Trek back on TV? Yes please!
Working on a new Trek series? Yep, that’s been a dream that we have shared, deg!
Doug, thank you for everything you do for all of the fans. I think the only thing that tops our love of Star Trek is your love of Star Trek. Your monthly updates are always fun and exciting. And to top it off, you seem like a really nice guy. Thanks again, and keep it up!
William
Absolutely loved the Ships of the Line animations, they really come to life. Amazingly great work!
Mr. D., you are a one-man fanthusiasm engine.
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You do some awesome work man. I’m still picking my jaw up off the floor as I type this comment.
The Ships of the Line On Active Duty is breathtakingly sweet.
If you were to contact all of the other creators from the calender and got there permission to animate their work and put it out on Blu Ray or DVD along with the next possible calender (this year or later) itself that would be sweet.
Keep up the fantastic work.
Any chance of produsing a DVD/Blu-Ray of these entries? Fantastic Work
Okay – the tremors have stopped so I can type again! WOW! Yeah, I know, that’s what everyone else said. But, uh… WOW! Best 10 minutes of my day! What an outstanding segment – thank you so much for putting this together.
I’ve always imagined how cool it would be to see SOTL animated – imagine no more!
Have to grab a Kleenex now
Fantastic!!! More NX refit, please!
One sec while I pick up my jaw an poke my eyeballs back in.
Wow! WOW!!
Very, very nice work all around.
Any chance of getting some animations outside of the SOTL? I for one would love to see an animated sequence of the cover of Vanguard: Reap the Whirlwind
Got to go watch the video again.
That was excellent, not only do we get a fascinating blog but a monthly video too.
Thank you
Trek back on TV? What about Trek in 3d???
I can go for that!
That is rather interesting indeed, I wonder how much extra time it would take, and what kind of requirements would be needed. (I somehow also am thinking about double render times, and the need for a render farm!:D)
Well perhaps for shots like these for sure, but what about seeing the TOS and other Treks in 3d?
Is there is a market for it? Show of hands . . .
RE: 8:35 What’s that class of ship to the right of Enterprise-A?
Today, one idea occurred to me. What about a video with the old concepts for the Excelsior (http://www.trekmania.net/the_fleet/utopia/variants/excelsior_models.htm) turnned in cgi too?
That´s for sure, would be a different thing.
Ships of the Line: Active Duty – “you know we’ll go crazy”? OMG and then some!
Awesome stuff, thanks for putting it all together guys!
THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!
Love it Doug especially the end. I really need to finish my scratch built 1701 in Lightwave and animate it. Now I have the motivation. Somewhere between the lines of all this other Sci-Fi and horror stuff I do that is. But Star Trek is the first love. And once you work on Star Trek it’s forever.
Now where’s that LWO file and scene set up??
Great feature Doug.
Steve Neill
W O W
I expected to like Drex-TV, but I didn’t expect to get chills as I watched the animated GCI! Part of the reason I became a graphic designer is to get a job like yours or Mr. Okuda and I really love all the behind the scenes you show! Keep up the outstanding work!
…wow that was EPIC!
That scene with the Klingon D7/K’Tinga (?) and the shuttle was clearly BSG camera style,
seems to work great with Star Trek
The Shuttle made Viper Pilot moves, is that even possible with those things engines? XD
Doug, that was fantastic! Especially the Ships of the Line Active Duty!
I loved it. Please sir, I want some more!
I reckon I wore out the tape watching the final segment over and over!
The spacedock scene and Tobias’s work (anything he doesn’t know about CG isn’t worth knowing) blew me away. And the whole show was exciting and engaging, great work all around!
I am in need of some more Drex Tv!
And the vid of the ships of the line was farout!
Any chance of Ships of the Line: Active Duty being available for download or purchase? Possibly with even a lot more ships? To see those animated and flying gave me goosebumps. I can’t stop watching.
You know what? That video was… really freakin’ awesome!