Enolian Patrol Vessel

The cyclopian Enolian patrol ship cuts a sleek profile with it’s oddball eyeball, and two pronged prow.

It’s Sunday at the drex files! I get to take a breath and spend some time with the gang! Since this weekend is a holiday weekend, I may even be able to squeeze in a post tomorrow as well! Shiny!

Shortly I’ll be transmitting a fascinating visit with master Trek CG\FX wizard Sean Scott. You’ve seen his work… even when you haven’t ! So in the meantime, check this Enolian tech brief out, grabba’ cuppa’ bean brew, and engage  sensor sweep for Sean Scott! You can’t stop the signal!

When Archer ends up piloting a hijacked Enolian transport, the starfleet officer is pursued by these sassy looking fighters. A crisp, smartly modeled, and  intimidating design, the Enolian patrol ship from the Enterprise episode “Canamar” is a shoe in to our registry of memorable ship’s of  the week.

You talkin’ to me!?

The Karemma begat the Ledosian

Old starships don’t die, they just get recycled.  Above - the Ledosian freighter.

Another example of economics in TV Land, the super-obscure starship seen close to the Ledosian station in “Natural law”. It is a modification of the Bajoran impulse ship created for “Shadows and symbols”, which itself is based on the Karemma ship from “Starship down”. I’m going out on a limb by saying this ship was originally designed by Jim Martin, although I see some Eaves trademark shapes going on. Follow this link to an article at Ex Astris by Jörg and Berndt examining redresses of the Karemma ship: http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/karemma.htm

Below – The Karemma starship.

Vissian Stratopod

Saved by the bell… a design which might have felt a home in “The Abyss”, it has a strong marine research feel to it.

A clever re-use of the NX Inspection pod set, the Vissian Stratopod was an unusual breath of fresh air, and conjured up from something we had seen before. The entire Nautilus style observation port was built as a full size practical for on stage. From a sketch by John Eaves.

I have a few moments to myself, and what do I do? I come visit wth you! Heads up! A little later we’ll catch up with Steve Canyon, and Dick Tracy.

Vulcan D’kyr Class Pt1

Ring a ding ding!

I dig the rings within rings, but what’s really unique about this Vulcan ship, is that the vessel carries a small transport docked snug at the center of the rings. It’s integrated organically, so that at first pass you might not notice it at all. Reminds me of Fireball XL5, or even Largo’s yacht in “Thunderball”. Cool yet again, John. When you meet John, it strikes you is how unassuming he is. Consisitantly turning out amazing work, and without any of the pomp and circumstance you get from the Divas.

 This ship derserves a three  part article, so a little later on down the line we’ll feature the transport undocked, and also look more closely at an amazing destruction sequence of the main ship.

Tandaran Patrol Ship

Talk about a fly-by-the-camera-and-barely-see-it-again design, the Tandaran Patrol ship is in the top five. 

John came up with an unusual no frills, assymetrical, blind chunk of hardware, with one outrigger pontoon akin to a scimitar. According to our resident historian, Jörg,  two models of this ship appeared in one short scene firing on the Enterprise in “Detained”, and then recycled to be seen again in “The seventh” on the docking platform on Pernaia Prime’s moon.

Xindi\Arkonian\Tellar Starship

Apparently there is a neutral ship manufacturer out there who sells to either side, judging by the number of times we recycled this one!

Things are heating up for me at work again. Fortunately I have Jörg out there picking up the slack, by writing up some notes to go with this entry:

“This starship first appeared as the Arkonian destroyer in “Dawn”. It was then re-used as the Xindi-Arboreal starship in two third-season episodes, namely “The council” and “Countdown”. It also appeared in the opening credits of “In a mirror, darkly I+II”. (stock footage from “The Council”. The model was not changed for these appearances, as far as I can tell. The ship appeared a third time as the Tellarite cruiser in three episodes of Season 4, namely “Babel One” (very briefly only on a viewscreen and as a diagram), “United” and “In a mirror, darkly II”. For this appearance, the hull colour and lighting was changed to different shades of green. It also appears that the outer hull was also changed at the sides of the ship.”

Kreetassan Starship

Almost a squid frozen in flight, this vessel has an aquatic feel, with a elegant hydro-dynamic flair.

Fitting that a ship which would unwittingly transfer a space-going organism to Enterprise, look like a space-going organism itself. Curvy and marine-like, it was originally seen in the “Enterprise” episode “Vox Sola”, and later recycled for an appearance in “A Night In Sickbay”.

Alien Biplane – Jet Powered

Based on the enigmatic and advanced aviation concepts of the Third Reich, this design takes it’s lead from the Horten brother’s flying wing. When was the last time you saw a bird with a vertical tail?

I have a book in my library on WWII Nazi secret aircraft designs. It’s an astounding collection of anachronistic concepts, profiling technology that was practically supernatural. Following in those footsteps was the jet plane designed for the Enterprise episode “The Communicator”. As often happens, you barely see it, and when you do get a good look at it you’re amazed that it was not showcased more. Truth be told  I think this aircraft missed it’s calling, and would have been happier in “Stormfront”, with it’s post WWII Nazi Occupation of the United States.  Pierre modeled this one, and with his long time fascination with German secret weapons was the perfect man for the job. It’s abundantly obvious that he had a wonderful time building it, and all from a sketch by funny-man John Eaves!

Andorian Cruiser

The Andorian battlecruiser,  providing the exclamation point to a classic aliens return.

One of the treats of Enterprise was the return of the Andorians in a big way. Jeffrey Combs elevated those characters to another level, and his relationship with Archer was probably one of the most intriguing on the show. Being a central race on Star Trek means you get your own ride. The Andorian battlecruiser had an almost insect like quality with an oversized head to rival that of a driver ant. From a drawing by John.

Vulcan Survey Ship

Conveyor of “de Vulcan heart”.

“Carbon Creek” was a very unusual Enterprise episode. A small story, about a small  town boy, whose life is touched by a visitor from another star. It’s very sweet, and not very  typical, and in my opinion the kind of story I would have like to have seen more of.

This is the CG model of the Vulcan survey ship from “Carbon Creek”. It was no more than a blur on your screen. It’s hard to imagine the amount of work that goes into something that will be but a flash upon our psyche. More a conventional style vessel, minus the signature ring, it demonstrates an organic almost clog-like presence that exudes a softness, setting the mood for this tale of feelings and sensitivity.

This is going out to you, SkiBo (Mark), denizen of John’s and my site. Hang in there buddy!

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Takret Ship – “Catwalk”

The Takret ship from “Catwalk”. Sporty and deadly… it just looked like it could kill you.

Catwalk was an interesting episode for us. the idea of hiding the crew from alien interlopers in an Enterprise nacelle was creepy. The ever present threat of being roated like a chicken in Lamston’s window created an undercurrent of tension that was palpable.  Underscoring this was John boy’s design for the interloper ship, an outrigger arrangement akin to a double pronged alien shiv.

TM, ®, © CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. all Rights Reserved.

Eyecandy 23

“Cancel Christmas”

Click for a better look.

Cardassian Shipyard Station

A small part of the great Monac shipyard facility which met a spectacular fate in the DS9 episode “Shadows and Symbols”.

This sprawling Cardassian  spacestation\shipyard made great use of architectural details established by the DS9 station. It was used numerous times over the run of Deep Space, and even made it’s way into “Enterprise” as a Tellarite space station.

From a sketch by John Eaves.

Suliban Cruiser

The Suliban Cruiser, a two pronged arrowhead of a spaceship.

As we move forward, filling out the Suliban inventory of spacecraft, we come upon the cruiser class. More a conventional Eaves design, but no less satisfying. The most identifiably Suliban characteristic is the ruddy color which originated with the Suliban standard wardrobe. In previous Trek’s, this color was on the Ferengi side, which originated with the Ferengi skin tone. Built by Pierre Drolet.

Suliban Helix

The Suliban Helix: Remarkable.

The more I dig through my Enterprise files, the more I realize that some of the most far out and science-fictiony stuff was created for this series. Enterprise was the first Trek series to have all the power of CG imagery available to it, and it was used to wild advantage. Keep in mind that these images do not illustrate the structure with it’s full complement of cell ships attached. With it’s enormous assemblage of cells in place, it would have been an impossibility to construct as a physical model, and we would have ended up with a design much more conventional.You’ll see what I mean when you get to Jörg’s screen caps at the end of the entry. The final build is a fragile, multitudinous assemblage of bubbles that defy gravity, possible only within the CG realm. John, how many dozens of drawings did you do before a final design was approved?

I’m awaiting more info on who actually built this model, and will post that here as soon as I have it.

Romulan Bird of Prey – Enterprise

Bird is the word – The updated classic made the episode “Minefield” a special event  for fans and the art department.

Unquestionably one of my favorite Enterprise ships, the iconic Wah Chang design as it was restyled by John Eaves. John embued the Praetor’s pride with a candy coat of elegance, it’s updating complimenting the restyled NX-01 Enterprise. The one missing element we all let out a collective sigh over, was the predatory bird painted on the bottom. How does THAT get left off?! Well, that order came from on high, and all we could do was scratch our heads and go about our business.

Usual brilliant modeling job by the internationally revered Koji Kuramura, who also happens to be my hero.

Vulcan Shuttle – Enterprise

“Saturn’s rings around my head… down a road that’s Martian red…”  What does that have to do with this ship? Nothing, but Spock said it in “Charlie X”, and it always comes to mind when I study the Vulcan warp-ring technolgy.

I love the Vulcan ringships. They make the technology of our logic loving intellectuals stand out from all the other ships on Star Trek. Johnny Eaves took the ring concept and ran with it, filling out Vulcan’s space going fleet with his usual pinache. Today we take a look a John’s Vulcan shuttle, as modeled by that man among men, Pierre Drolet. The main fuselage of this small craft exhibits an almost marine-like quality, with extremely elegant lines. It is a worthy companion to the Vulcan Command ship.

By the way, in an upcoming entry we will profile the astonishing Pierre. Not only is he beloved by one and all, but he has built an armada of first class ships for both Star Trek and BSG. (Brandon, I’m coming for you too!)

Klingon Transport

John’s straight a head design sense coupled with Pierre’s clean self assured modeling makes a simple design sing.

This smart little Klingon transport was seen on Enterprise. It was designed the mighty John Eaves, and built by the internationally handsome lady’s man, Pierre Drolet. This distinctive engine design is a reoccuring theme on Enterprise era Klingon ships, and a reassuring bit of continiuity. Continiuity is what makes the whole thing hum along with a grand sense of reality. It’s at the core of what has made Star Trek transcend the passage of time.

Klingon Transport

The dart-like configuration of this vessel sets it apart from standard Klingon Fare.

Today we return to the Klingon ships of Enterprise. John eaves continues taking no prisoners with this highly unusual design for a Klingon vessel. Aside from the basic warrior’s green motif, and recognizable panel detail, there isn’t too much that says “Klingon”. Not a complaint, mind you. Just an observation. I could almost see this ship as a Nostromo sort of arrangement, where it plugs into a larger “big rig”. I don’t believe that this idea came with the original planning, but I buy it.

ENT Klingon Bird of Prey

Ever since it’s first appearance in TSFS, the Bird of Prey has made an indelable impression on Trek tech heads, and fandom in general.

Enterprise’s early version of the infamous Bird of Prey, first seen in “The Search For Spock”. Restyled by John, and built by Koji, the ENT BOP is a rough and ready addition to the Klingon fleet. It has a paired down feel to it like a muscular dune buggy, it’s aggressive trademark stance is what has made this concept so enduring.

Klingon Raptor

Originally only teasingly seen in a choking bank of interstellar gasses, here finally is a good look at the Klingon Raptor in all it’s glory.

We continue our admiration of the John Eaves Klingon fleet with the Raptor, first seen in the Enterprise episode “Sleeping Dogs”. To my eye it ‘s a nice hybrid of the Bird of Prey, and the original battlecruiser. I built the model in the art department, and it was textured by my buddy Koji at Eden Effects. By the way, Koji is putting together an article about building that astonishing model of the International Space Station, from the Enterprise title sequence. Currently he’s having a ball out at JPL in Pasadena, where he’s creating simulation animations, along with the one and only Mike Stetson.

Klingon D5 Class Tanker

The Klingon tanker ship (Koroth) is the first and only utilility style vessel seen from that iconic race.

It’s fair to say that no one has designed more Klingon ships than John Eaves. It’s also fair to say that no other Star Trek series has had more new Klingon ships than Enterprise. A veritable cornucopia of Klingon spacecraft… including today’s tanker, destroyers, raptors, BOPs, and heavy cruisers. This week drex files will be bringing you an armada of John’s most delectable deep space dealers of destruction and delight.

Enterprise Drydock

The three fingered drydock as seen later in the series, and was responsible for producing the starship Columbia.

Following the Enterprise class pictorial, this look at the Earth orbital drydock facilities in which the E-class vessels were constructed.  Over the course of the series, two types of drydocks were utilized: A five fingered version as seen in the pilot episode, and a three fingered version used for the construction of the Columbia.  Personally I prefer the three fingered version.  The fiver seemed as big and complex (perhaps even more so) than the drydock from TMP. The fiver sports a gigantic antennae farm on one side which I never understood.The more modest three finger arrangement is more in keeping with the shows time frame, and smaller less sophisticated starship. John designed the dock based on Andy Probert’s mother of all drydocks seen in Star Trek: the Motion Picture.

Malurian Starship

With almost a marine creature’s sleekness, this ship is a space going leviathan, dwarfing the NX-01.

Todays starship recognition subject is the Malurian starship seen in the Enterprise episode “Civilization”. This design comes from the fertile imagination of crazy man John Eaves. Someday I will find that video of the art department mertilizing you with banana cream pies and post it.