I don’t know how many people remember this thing, but I built this ship last year. It was my very first starship build since switching to Lightwave. The original idea came from an unused concept drawing by John Eaves for Enterprise. I had a rear three-quarters view, which gave me a basic look and layout for the ship, and I worked from that. Anyway, I finished the model and started on the textures when I lost my mojo and quit working on it. And it’s sat on my hard drive until the other day, when I was looking at things and loaded it into Lightwave. I decided then that I was going to finally texture it, but I didn’t start until yesterday.
When last we saw this ship, I’d started on the saucer section textures. I’d originally done that beige color that the NX-01 was covered in. However, I’m not overly fond of the beige and brown color scheme, (it reminds me too much of desert camouflage) so I decided to go a different route. I started off with a color that I mixed myself, but it was dreadful. So, I decided to get some colors online. Unfortunately, due to paint companies, especially automotive paint, there are different formulas for the same color, so that can be fun sometimes. I tried finding steel gray, but it was too hard to find something accurate on that, so I chose light steel blue. However, that made the hull too blue, so I went with metallic silver, which has just a bit of a blue tone to it. For accents, I chose light slate gray and quite a bit of chrome and copper. I figure the shiny materials will really help some of this stuff pop. Once I had the color scheme all worked out, things went a bit more quickly.
I got most of the ship textured today, with only a few parts left to do. Modeling wise, I still have a couple things to do. For one thing, there’s an interior to add, though that won’t take very long. (just basically textured boxes for depth) Also, I noticed that the front underside of the center thing, between the deflector and the saucer, needs some details. It’s pretty plain.
Aside from changing the color scheme, I also decided to rename the ship. Originally, I was calling it “Manticore,” but I decided to use the name “Endeavour” instead. Though, it is a Manticore-class ship. Here’s quick history that I came up with:
The Manticore-class was originally designed in the 2150s to be a possible successor to the NX-class. The Manticore-class boasted improved hull strength, better engine performance including a warp six engine, as well as a number of other improvements, including experimental deflector shields. However, once war broke out between Earth and the Romulan Star Empire, the need for warships rose quickly. So, the Manticore-class was pushed into production ahead of schedule. Due to its new role as a warship, many of the class’s science labs and other non-war facilities were converted into ammunition storage and extra crew quarters, which were necessary to house replacement crew members and ground troops, though those wound up not being necessary as the war was fought completely in space. The class ship, the Manticore, was completed in early 2158, with several other ships following quickly as the war was taking its toll on Earth and its allies.
During the war, the Manticore-class performed well and distinguished itself as one of Starfleet’s top ship classes, even though certain systems, such as the warp six engine, could not be realized due to the rushed production. However, the class was still faster and more maneuverable than the NX, and it had energy shields and more powerful weapons.
Since the Manticore-class performed so well during the war, the newly formed Federation Council decided to keep the class in service, though in its original role as a deep space explorer, along with newer ship classes, such as the Daedalus-class, after the war. The surviving Manticore-class ships were refitted. Among the systems upgraded during the refit were the warp engines, which were upgraded to the new warp six engine developed for the Daedalus-class. The extra ammunition and crew facilities were also converted back into science labs, as they had originally intended to be. With the refits in place, the Manticore-class enjoyed a long operational history as one of the Federation’s first deep space exploration vessels.
