Friendship One – A Present From Pierre Drolet

Screen caps courtesy Jörg.

Let The Countdown Begin! 2011 SOTL – Sneak Peek 03- Drexler\Drolet

“Enterprise NX-01 – Back and Packin’” – Drexler\Drolet

2011 Ships of The Line Calendar from Pocket Books – On Sale August!

NX-01.5 Quick Sketch

Sketches I provided to our mad modeler, the internationally handsome Pierre Drolet, to finish off the NX-01. Pierre built the original final hero model for the series at Foundation Imaging. For the last five years we’ve had the fun of working together on BSG\Caprica.

Plans For NX-01 Refit Completed

As reported last weekend, Pierre Drolet and I will be refitting the NX-01 to a Fifth Season configuration for the 2011 SOTL calendar. I took advantage of the long holiday weekend to get the plans together for Pierre, and we are both excited at the prospect of carrying on the ships evolution toward the 1701.

Bulletin! John Eaves joins the 2011 SOTL  staff.

Moby\NBS

From the “Enterprise episode “The Crossing”, a gigantic spacefaring cross between Moby Dick and a  Manta Ray.

The joke with this one is that all my files are labelled “NBS”. That would be for the producers request for something “Never Before Seen”. I had to laugh right up front because I knew that that’s really not what they wanted. Anything too different ran the risk of ”confusing the audience”.  Since they asked, I’d start out at the far end of the weirdness scale.

In the script, Enterprise is described as “caught” by a very alien looking spacecraft. I  visualized the Enterprise being attacked by an insect. I had once watched a spider jump on it’s prey and devour it, so that’s what I was thinking. (Below) Pretty NBS.

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!

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.

NX-01 Enterprise Class

Enterprise – Rendered by Rob Bonchune

Since we featured the Akira yesterday, I thought it would be fitting to cover the Enterprise class today. The dedication plaque refers to the class as NX (This was a request from on high), but according to naval tradition, the first ship of a new contract is what the class is named, so Enterprise class. My main mission was to inject as much of the original Enterprise into this ship as I possibly could, and I made sure that the basic dynamic between the saucer and the nacelles was the same. To a person with a sharp eye, the NX-01 is loaded with TOS Easter eggs, and one of these days I will write up a key and post it.

By the way, I have posted these images at a higher resolution than I usually do, so that you can see the enormous attention to detail that Pierre and I injected into this ship.

Vulcan Command Ship

The Vulcan Command ship, an homage to Matt Jefferies.

Todays pictorial features the Vulcan Command ship from “Fallen Hero”. This is one of mine, built by the amazing Pierre Drollet. As most of you know, I am a big fan of Matt Jefferies “Ringship”, and thought this was a golden opportunity to implement the concept on Enterprise. I loved the idea of another of Matt’s early designs taking flight, and what you see here is the end result. The real beauty of it is that it establishes a clear cultural identity, just like the Enterprise. There is no mistaking it for anything but Vulcan. Coincidentally, Rick had designed a Vulcan ship for TNG that featured something of a ring, although it was a linear arrangement that had corners to it. Apparently this sort of arrangement is kismet.

In regard to the Earth-based ringship, I alway felt this this was possibly an ill-fated attempt to emulate Vulcan technology, and possibly abandoned for something Cochrane had seen briefly glimpsed in “First Contact”.

Countdown to 2010 SOTL! 02

SOTL 2007 – “Flight of the Columbia” –  by Pierre Drollet

Coming soon: The 2010 Ships of the Line Calendar! Let the countdown begin!

From Pocket Books, where all eras of Star Trek live!

Click for a better look.

ECS Fortunate

Yesterday’s Eye Candy entry feature the iconic DY series of TOS vessel, bringing to mind the Y-class freighter from “Enterprise”.

I think that this is one of my favorite Earth ships from Enterprise. With it’s easy Eaves design sense, and modeler Pierre Drolet’s uncanny ability to realize a  drawing into a  fleshed out, beautifully realized work of art, it stand as testimony to the caliber of Enterprise production design.

What I found appealing about this episode is that it emphasized the distances, and the danger involved with working the frontier.

Romulan Senate

Probably one of the most memorable sequences in Star Trek: Nemesis was the big push-in to the Romulan Senate Chambers. Ron Thornton was subcontracted by Sy Dutton of Illusion Arts to create a 3D model of the Romulan Senate and surrounding area. Syd had created several matte paintings for Next Gen, and DS9 of Romulus, and wanted to make sure that continuity was served.

(Below) Pierre’s naked, and unprocessed push-in to the senate chamber.

Xindi Reptillian Vessel

Later, Gator! The Xindi Reptillian starship.

This is one of my ships, with an incredible paint job by Madman Pierre Drolet! Wow! I’ll see about digging out some orthos, and possibly roughs of alternate designs in the near future.

Deadstop Station

The Enterprise episode “Deadstop” featured an alien repair station a little too good to be true, and a little too smart for it’s own good.

The parameter was a mysterious automatic drydock station. You put your coin in the meter, and it analyzes what needs to be done, and does it. I thought it was a great premise. Aside from that, the producers wanted something very unusual. This was one of the few times that John Eaves and I both worked on concepts at the same time.

NX Tech Briefs 03 – Bridge Module

The NX bridge module was designed to visually conform to Herman’s sets, and evoke a 1701 feel in it’s general design and the way it juxtaposed with the nacelles. (Gigantic kudos to Light Wave modeler Pierre Drolet, good buddy and the best in the business. We are still working together and having a lot of fun). Check the big “gas cap” in the mid ground. Those are big deuterium ports.

NX Approval Model

There is another…

There were two NX Enterprises; the one you saw on television, and then there was the approval model. It appeared very early on in print before the high resolution model was ready, and was never seen again.

The Paramount publicity machine had shifted into gear for the premiere of Star Trek Enterprise, long before the deluxe version of the of the first warp-driven Enterprise was ready to roll. Most folks never realized that the art department’s “foam core” proof of concept model acted as understudy for the super-high detail version still in drydock in Valencia, California. This CG concept model had been through battles to rival any that the fictional ship had been through during it’s four year television voyage. It had been volleyed back and forth between art department and producers. It had been pulled, stretched, cut, and pounded before it had been given a go for throttle-up, and shipped off to the CG facility where it would be built with extreme attention to detail.

The first appearance of the NX was this centerfold pullout render of the approval model  for TV Guide magazine.    

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