Romulan Peregrine scout ship-Now a Talon fighter

[trekriffic]

Greeting all!

Working on a 1/650 scale AMT Romulan Bird-Of-Prey at the moment and I have installed a shuttle bay in it...

Now I need to come up with the shuttle that occupies the bay.
Someone suggested a bird shape along the lines of a sparrow or hawk, I suppose based on whether the ship were armed or not.
My shuttle will be along the lines of a small lightly armed 3-man scout ship about 40 feet long,20 feet wide, and 18 feet high. Basic function is short range reconnaissance and transport.
Based on the dimensions of my miniature hanagr bay, the finished model will be about 3/4 inch long, 1/2 inch high and 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide.
Sooooooo... I'll try to cram as much detail as I can into a small space while still trying to maintain the simplicity in form and function consistent with the original series esthetic.
In deference to the Romulan predilection with bird themes for their ship classes, I've decided to call mine the Peregrine class.

Here's the real deal:

Anyway, I was doing some sketching last night with pencil and paper and came up with this idea. Let me know what you guys think. I'm soliciting any and all input but be kind please as it's still a WIP...

 

[Ruddigger]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

interesting concept, and cool idea. But it seems like the shuttle is more complex than the actual Bird of Prey. They dont seem like they came from the same design philosophy to me, but I do like the design itself a lot.

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Thanks. You have a point.

 

[SmilingOtter]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Maybe have forward swept wings? I was going to also suggest having the engines on the wingtips, but if the wings are normally folded up, it'd be a hassle, maintenance-wise.

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Maybe have forward swept wings? I was going to also suggest having the engines on the wingtips, but if the wings are normally folded up, it'd be a hassle, maintenance-wise.

One simplification would be to eliminate the complicated folding gull wing idea and go with just the wingtips folding up about one third of the way out from the body and having them lean forward like the big ship. This ship is not warp capable so no nacelles needed. I also want to keep it compact with the engines in the center of the ship.
Another thing I may try is a more blunt saucerlike bow with the "beak" still curling a little over the top. I really want the beak in there somewhere.

 

[brandomack]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

One simplification would be to eliminate the complicated folding gull wing idea and go with just the wingtips folding up about one third of the way out from the body and having them lean forward like the big ship. This ship is not warp capable so no nacelles needed. I also want to keep it compact with the engines in the center of the ship.
Another thing I may try is a more blunt saucerlike bow with the "beak" still curling a little over the top. I really want the beak in there somewhere.

How about you use a variant of this classic? (I tweaked it a tad)

 

[brandomack]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

...and now with a tail fin

 

[brandomack]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

....and reverse the engine mount

and you have a TOS era, romulan looking shuttle.

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

...and now with a tail fin

I like this a lot. Much sleeker than my design. Athough I don't want nacelles. Maybe make those laser cannons with regular impulse engines in the back of the main body. And perhaps add a thin cowl between the windows coming to a beaked point at the top lip of the rim in front; mainly visible from the front and above. I'll have to draw it out.

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Hey! How about this design for a one man ship?

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

How about you use a variant of this classic? (I tweaked it a tad)

You know, now that I've had time to think about it, this design is closer to a falcon than mine. My design actually looks more like an owl as short coupled as it is.
Call it an unarmed owl short haul cargo transport.

I think with a few tweaks I've found my design for the Peregrine.
Stay tuned.

P.S. Thanks a lot for the great suggestions brandomack!

 

[brandomack]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Hey man, dont thank me.

Thank Jeffries.

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Hey man, dont thank me.

Thank Jeffries.

Doh! Thanks for jogging my memory, now I remember where I've seen that drawing. Jefferies early design for the Federation shuttle that was deemedd too expensive to build. Can't get much more original series than that I guess!

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

So it struck me this morning that a better name for this design might be the Swallow, especially if the upper fin were removed:

So designing the Peregrine is still on the table but I think I've got a pretty good idea how to proceed now.

 

[Prologic9]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Whoa,

Your original design is fantastic and in no way 'too detailed.'

First, you certainly want to let Jeffries original works from the show guide you, but fans have been making horrible looking spaceships for decades now because they let a handful of shapes dictate an entire universe.

Second, size in no way determines detail. The world is a complex place. Think of a helicopter and a 747 as Sci-fi spaceships. The helicopter will have a lot more 'greebles' than the Boeing. It's all down to engineering.


I don't think you need to make a lot of changes, but I'd play around with the wings and try to make the bird detailing on the head feel less ornamental. Overall I think you want something that looks like it was built to be 'bird-esq' and not built to look like a bird. Does that make sense?

You could also try to work in more of the Roman influences though I don't have any ideas.

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Here's something I started on graph paper and decided to just go ahead and draw it out on styrene to true size. Here's the top view:

I think this looks pretty close to what I envision the Peregrine to look like. The cigar shaped main fuselage has two large triangular windows with hatches behind. A flat angled rim runs round it that tapers on the underside. There is a dorsal fin that comes down between the windows narrowing to a flattened tip (perhaps where a retractable disruptor weapon sits). She uses a newly developed matter/antimatter drive (thanks to recently captured Federation documents) giving her great range for her size. Warp 7 capable, she representsa an advance prototype 3-man scout; in essence she echoes the design of her mothership which was rumored to be at least party based on captured Federation technology. Too bad the matter/antimatter drive couldn't have been adapted for the big ship in time for it's mission of terror across the Neutral Zone. Things almost certainly would have turned out differently.

 

[glorbes]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Figured I'd follow you over to this thread. The design does seem to echo the profile of the BoP, which is kind of nice. If you feel this is the direction you'd like to take it, the design is solid. That being said, I still really dig your initial take. The Galileo shuttle looks nothing like the Enterprise and still works, partly because we've become so accustomed to the design, but also because it serves a different purpose. The Peregrine in either form retains enough elements to make it work...but I find the literal design of your first concept charming.

 

[trekriffic]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

Fresh pics from just a few minutes ago...

Upper hull primed. A few spots to putty but it's amazingly smooth. Gave it a good rub down with 70% rubbing alcohol to clean her up first. Did some micro scraping with the edge of my #11 blade and used these really thin sanding sticks for tight areas around the hangar bay hatches. Anyway...

Scout ship starting to take shape. Thanks to a few parts cannibalized from a kharma bomb Jason Abbadon dropped on me some years ago.
Thanks so much Jason!
I owe you... something?

Definitely more Romulan looking than the "Swallow" or "Owl" . I like "Owl". My first design strikes me as not so much a fighter as a transport.
Ya know...it almost looks like something the Federation might have built if they'd captured some Romulan plans. A Fed shuttle with a beak!

By comparison, the "Peregrine" is less birdlike, more bird-esque. Not to be confused with burlesque of course. The wings will fold up. There'll be a weapon of some type on the prow. And a fin, maybe two. Not sure about lights yet but fiber might come into play.

I was in the zone today.

 

[brandomack]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

That's the stuff! :thumbsup

Great job!

 

[Ruddigger]

Re: Romulan Peregrine scout ship

I like it!