I have an ambitious project that I have been pondering for over 20 years to build a full scale replica of the Type-15 Shuttlepod frequently seen in Star Trek The Next Generation. It started when I saw the El-Baz in the episode "Times Squared" in 1989.
It appealed to me in that it was small (relatively) and had simple lines and planar surfaces. It also had a full interior. This was different than the Galileo shuttlecraft from the original series which had a separate interior set that was bigger in the inside than the outside (like a Tardis).
In volume 8 of the Official Star Trek The Next Generation magazine they published some of Rick Sternbachs concept drawings.
These drawings are not true to the actual finished prop, but they do provide the general dimensions and identify some of the materials.
In the same issue they also published some pictures taken during production that were not shown on-air. (Note the cables protruding from the rear of the engine nacelle).
Over the years I have made many sketches and then migrated them onto CAD files and started building a detailed solid model.
Once the series was released on DVD I could finally get some decent screen captures of the details of the shuttlepod. (I photoshopped the actors out whenever possible).
In addition from the information in the pictures I learned the prop was composed of 4 loose pieces.
The main fuselage was on wheels to simplify moving the prop around the set. The engine nacelles were not attached and were simply placed along side of the main fuselage. The wedge under the nose was not in the original concept drawing and I believe it was added as an afterthought to hide the wheels. The stage crew tended to be inconsistent in assembling the prop. The engine nacelles do have left and right hand versions and sometimes they would reverse them. Also the nacelles would sometimes be placed further forward or further back than others. Sometimes the wedge under the nose would be upside down.
I also know there were several re-dresses of both the interior and exterior of the prop for various story lines but I plan to focus on the original El-Baz appearance,
I am still missing some details. I have posted in various Star Trek forums asking for any details on the original prop. I know it had been to some conventions in the 90's and thought some Trekkie might have some pictures, but no results. I contacted Rick Sternbach and asked him about the full set of plans and what became of the original prop. He actually did reply and said the full plans were probably in the hands of Paramount Studios and he has no idea what ever happened to the original prop.
I see there are a lot of Trek fans here who are also model/prop builders so I'm asking if any of you may be able to help with the following..
- Any behind the scenes pictures of the original prop?
- What is the source of the bucket seats used in the shuttle?
- What is on the LCARS (Okudagrams) panels on the dash and rear bulkhead areas? I tried to contact Mike Okuda about this via his facebook page but have not yet received a reply. Anyone have his email address? How about his snail mail address?
This is still in the design stage and would be my most ambitious build yet, but I keep thinking how cool it would look in my driveway.
