Well, I haven't had as much time to work on the macro-starship idea as I
would have liked, but I did get some work done. As stated, I'm starting with a
Falke class scoutship and then I'll work my way up to the destroyer in time.
I've decided to go with 1/2400 scale. It's an arbitrary choice, but
seems to work. I went about measuring the miniature in mm and then multiplying
by 2400 to find the 'real world' size. Then I can scale however I want after I
draw up the plans.
Before I do much more drawing, I wanted to run my compartments through the
list for review. This list came from some scouring of the fleet book (mostly
the back section) So far, everything on this list can fit in my hull.
- Bridge
- Engineering
- Galley (very small)
- Crew Quarters (3 bunks for 5 ratings)
- Officer's Quarters (2 bunks for 2 officers)
- Captain's Quarters
- Airlock
- Escape pod
Thoughts?
Tom
> Thomas Pope wrote:
> - Bridge
Stores area ? You need somewhere to keep the biscuits and salt beef ;-)
Armoury? The ship's crew must have access to personal weapons of some sort,
and this will presumably be locked up. I take it that you're assuming that
weapons stations are all on the bridge (a fair assumption in a ship that
small). How about PDS mounts? These could be Millenium Falcon style manned gun
turrets (unlikely I agree, but more interesting for a skirmish game). They're
certainly more likely to have independant FC stations than the main armament.
Are you planning on depicting the ships' main weapons in any way?
> Tony Francis wrote:
That was going to be part of the galley. The last time I toured a submarine,
the guide mentioned that when they left port they'd actually be literally
walking on crates, they had everything filled with food and supplies. I'm not
going to go taht far, but I will fir in storage cabinets whenever possible.
> Armoury ? The ship's crew must have access to personal weapons of some
Probably a locker on the bridge, maybe a rifle slung on a hook in engineering.
This ship only has 8 crewmembers total, so I'm not too concerned.
> I take it that you're assuming that weapons stations are all on the
Yep. Weapons, sensors, all the other stations mentioned in the Fleet Book
would be in the bridge for a ship this size. Actually, I don't think you'd
have seperate stations until you get into at lest the Frigate, possibly
destroyer range. But we'll see (I think I'll make at least deck sketches for
each ship up to the Waldburg, then decide which to model)
> How about PDS mounts?
This particular ship doesn't have any, so it's not a concern.
> These could be Millenium Falcon style manned gun turrets (unlikely I
Oh wait, you mean INTERNAL PDS mounts? Or do you mean small external AP
weapons for when the ship is docked? (I'd say landed, but this thing wouldn't
ever touch atmosphere)
> They're certainly more likely to have independant FC stations than the
That's true.
> Are you planning on depicting the ships' main weapons in any way ?
I don't think so. The problem with the main weapons is that they're really not
modelled on the miniature itself, and I don't want to add external detail
that's not already present (expect for artistic license bits)
Another problem is that I have no idea how to model a 360deg class 1 battery.
None of the NSL ships have turrets modeled, so I'm assumiong it's some kind of
multiple emitter array. My solution is going to be just leave them out, unless
I either have a cool idea how to model them or they are obvious on the model
itself.
Tom
Excerpts from mail: 26-Oct-99 Re: Starship deck plans, fi.. by Thomas
Pope@cs.cmu.edu
> > Are you planning on depicting the ships' main weapons in any way ?
You could model them as a bunch of ball-mounted small tubes scattered
around the perimeter of the ship. Basically, get a small (1 cm?) wooden
sphere, drill a hole through it, slice off a bit of the sphere at one end of
the hole, and insert a tube (brass or aluminum or something from the art
store) into the hole. Then mount the flat side of the sphere (where you cut
off the small bit) on the ship's side. That way, you'd get 360 degree coverage
without sacrificing space in the ship.
> Steven M Goode wrote:
wooden
> sphere, drill a hole through it, slice off a bit of the sphere at one
I like that idea better than simply adding turrets where none exist, but I'm
not sure I'd like the look on these ships. I almost like the idea of having
the weapons implied rather than modeled specifically. Among other things, it
makes the ships look sleeker.
Still, it might be worth a try.
Tom
> Well, I haven't had as much time to work on the macro-starship idea as
I used this same technique to develop deck plans for a FSE Light Cruiser.
If anyone wants to voulenteer the space, I'll post them for all.
> Sean Bayan Schoonmaker wrote:
I tried to send this off-list but it got all uppity on me. Anyway, I'd
be ahppy to post the images, since I'll be posting my own when the time comes.
Perhaps I'll make the 'unofficial GZG deckplan page'
Tom
> At 08:26 AM 10/26/99 -0700, you wrote:
> I used this same technique to develop deck plans for a FSE Light
I'd be happy to post them in the miniatures resources section of my site,
Schoon.
Take care,
Thomas Pope wrote
> Before I do much more drawing, I wanted to run my compartments
Stores
Mess / Briefing room / Rec room / workshop when needed (i.e. a room with
a sturdy table) More stores Head(s) Even more stores Offog room
---
> Steve Gill wrote:
Everywhere I can fit them. Rather than a dedicated room, I'm positing that
they are going to stuff things under floor panels, behind bulkheds, etc. A lot
of food will go into the galley, there will probably be a very small
hydroponics sectoin ttached to engineering, etc.
> Mess / Briefing room / Rec room / workshop when needed (i.e. a room
This is the galley. The ship is only 36m long and carries 8 crew, so a lot of
spaces are going to be doing double duty.
> Head(s)
Part of the 'living space' I mentioned, though I should have specified. If
there's room, I'll give one for all 5 enlisted. One for the 2 officers in
their room and 1 for the captain in his quarters.
> Even more stores
What is this?
Tom
> Offog room
Official Dog - i.e. a kennel.
> Tim Jones wrote:
I'm even more confused now. Dogs on starships? What am I missing?
Tom
It's from a short story(can't remember the name or Arthur at the moment) in
which the ship is to be subjected to an inventory audit. Basic story as
follows. On the Ship's inventory list is 'Offog qty 1' the people doing the
search can't find this and send a msg to the 'sector HQ' that this item was
destroyed during this universe's equivalent to FTL travel. HQ then sends out a
general alert to all ships to basically head for the nearest port and stay
there. Turns out what the inventory list was referring to was 'Official Ships
Dog'
Dave
[quoted original message omitted]
This is 'Allamagoosa' by Eric Frank Russell. The ship in question is the
'Bustler', a name found in GZG's civilian ship line.
Russell is a fun author of SF. His history includes a stint with the same
think tank that employed Ian Fleming during WWII and his novel Wasp makes
excellent use of some far out sabotage, distraction, and annoyance tricks to
disrupt the enemy.
I found 'Allamagoosa' in one of Analog's Lighter Side of SF anthologies and
again in The Best of Eric Frank Russell (Ballantyne?).
It's a funnier story the second time around when you see the hints the author
drops. Nom d'un chien!
> Tim Jones wrote:
Qiuck explanantion: Reference from "Allamagoosa", a very old short story by
Eric Frank Russell. Space Cruisers carry a dog to hunt down alien rodents and
stuff that get on the ship at landings. USS Bustler is due for an inspection
when it gets back to dock; on going through the inventory, crew are puzzled by
entry "OFFOG, one." Cue lots of confusion while they try to find out what an
Offog is, realising someone will get canned if they show up for inspection
without it. Eventually, in panic, they write the entry off as "Offog came
apart under gravitational stress, material used as fuel...". Shortly after,
Command issues
sector-wide grounding of all ships pending investigation of how Ship's
Official Dog Peaslake came apart under gravitational stress, the Offog being a
typo on the inventory, and should have read "Off. Dog, one".
Funny little story (which is actually only just a bit longer than the summary
above...), which I've now ruined for any of you who haven't read it, but it's
worth looking out anyway!
> Thomas Pope wrote:
You missed the heads....
Engineering - Life Support, Sensors, Weapons, Propulsion, FTL, Reactor,
Heat Exchange, Computers, ECM/Decoys,
Stores, Armoury, Secure Facility (safe), Brig (for prisoners or rescued
personnel), Gym/Entertainment Centre/Library/Theatre,
Jacuzzi/Spa/Bathroom, Sickbay.
The above based on current submarine practice, mixed in with a bit of
> Thomas Pope wrote:
> Tim Jones wrote:
Been nicely explained already, though according to Sony (with their new toy)
the dog is most likely to be a robot.
---
> Tim Jones wrote:
Heh. Allamagoosa!
Actually, one can get some ideas for a starship's layout by watching some
movies, "Das Boat" for instance.
> Actually, one can get some ideas for a starship's
Not necessarily. My dad is a surgeon, and it has happened that he's sewn up a
patient (chainsaw cut) at one end of our
kitchen table--while I was having dinner at the other end.
[quoted original message omitted]