USS Sirius

[evil_genius_180]

OK, long winded story time. (you have been warned )

A little over two years ago, I was contacted by Steve Neill about a project he had in the works. I'd seen Steve's work on his gorgeous scratch built 66-inch Enterprise model on Doug Drexler's old blog and went over to Steve's blog, watched some of his videos and commented. I guess he checked out my blog too, because he wanted some help with a short film he was making. In the film, a Starfleet captain (Steve) was aboard the Enterprise following the refit she needed after being damaged in the episode Balance of Terror. In the short film, Steve is aboard the Enterprise (with his dog Rosie, of course) for a quick "run around the block" to test the systems, when a distress call from another ship comes in. In the film, Steve (aided by the computer) fights the Romulans and saves the Enterprise. As a result of his actions, and based on a strong recommendation from Cpt. Kirk, Captain Neill received command of his own ship, the USS Sirius.

The live action shooting for the actors went well and the CGI effects were underway in late 2011. The original idea had been to use Steve's 66-inch Enterprise for the film but, unfortunately, there was a problem getting the camera rig for it. So, he was obviously disappointed, but decided to go all CGI for the effects. Originally, one of my Enterprise models was going to be used for the ship that got destroyed. Dave Clarke (IRML) did a beautiful job of making my ship go "BOOM." However, without being able to use the Enterprise model, my CGI model was also going to be used for the Enterprise in the film, and they were also using a few of my other models.

So, life happens. Unfortunately, Steve's wife was dying of cancer at the time and there were projects that got in the way. So, the movie never got finished. However, Steve every now and then updates me on it and tells me that he and Matt Boardman are working on the effects in their spare time. (note: these are guys who don't have spare time )

So, last year, I e-mailed Steve and asked if he minded if I took over the Sirius idea for some fan fiction and artwork. As people know, I'm not much of an animator and I lack resources and knowledge to make movies. However, I have had training in fiction writing, I just haven't done it in a while. For the artwork, of course, I wanted to make my own model of Steve's Sirius design. (seen here) I bugged Steve about getting a copy of his model to use as a base to make my own. He said he'd send it to me, but he has as bad a memory as I do, so it didn't happen. And I moved on and built a few other ships in the meantime.

So, the other day, Matt Boardman e-mailed me to answer a question I'd had about the logo he made for the project on my blog, and he not only answered that but he also sent me the model of the Sirius. I'd been just about ready to build mine using Steve's renders as references at that point, so it was fortuitous timing. So, Matt sent me the model and I got to work on Saturday. Here's where I'm at so far:









(Full disclosure: the nacelles were built previously, after I contacted Steve about using the Sirius idea. Also, the deflector is from my Enterprise model)

Here's Steve's background on the ship:

Originally Posted by Steve Neill

The back story on this ship is it’s a least 20 years old. And had at one time different old style nacelles. After Captain Neill’s successful mission he is given a ship of his own. She’s beat up and has a rag tag crew but it’s all his after driving a desk for years. Before my wife got cancer and passed away last year we had planned to finish the Sirius and do another episode. The crew has to fix up the old ship and get her going again to do some of the dirtiest jobs in star Fleet.

Personally, I love not only the design but also the story. I get tired of only seeing "the best and brightest" from Starfleet. It's about time we saw "the other guys."

So, that's what I'm working on right now.

[evil_genius_180]

Work continues.









The saucer section is now pretty much done. I added a few small stylistic and functional changes, but most everything is as it is on Steve’s design.

[gmd3d]

More great work on this design

[evil_genius_180]

Thanks Ger.

[evil_genius_180]

I got the shuttlebay area done. The doors work, but they’re not rigged. I went with sliders because they’re easier to explain than a garage-style door. The garage-style door would have to go up, right into the control room thingy. In order for the slider doors to work, the outermost part doesn’t move, only the inner two sections on each door do. It’s a tight opening, but this was the best way to go, given the relatively small space. I’m thinking this ship carries a smaller type of shuttle than the Type F from the TV show.

[gmd3d]

yeah those hangar bay door, good idea and less fuzz of a ship of this class..
(I have no idea what that means, but it sounds as if I know what I am taking about)

[evil_genius_180]

All I can think of is: I'm not modeling hair.

Thanks bro.

[evil_genius_180]

I think I’m done with the modeling on this thing. Up next it gets good and dirty with some textures.

[gmd3d]

sweet

[evil_genius_180]

Well, here she is in all her dirty glory. I’ve never done textures quite this weathered before, but it was fun. The textures were all created in Inkscape and Gimp, as always. (who says you need to pay hundreds of dollars for software? )



















Now that this model is done, I may get back to the D7 or I may start something else. Though, don’t expect too much in the next couple weeks. The Olympics are going to be on and I will be watching.

[gmd3d]

LOOKS good.. I like the more weathered look on this