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Description
I haven't been able to do much of anything art-related since I entered Georgia Health Sciences University (now Georgia Regents University) as a clinical laboratory science graduate student. Usually, we are kept so busy with coursework, labs, and other requirements that I'm too exhausted to get back to doing something as intensive as drawing. But with Spring Break just around the corner and many assignment deadlines being pushed back a little, I managed to squeeze in just enough time to go back and start working on another of the three most important starships in the life of my Delta-Universe protagonist, Captain M. Tobias Sun.

This is the United Space Ship Highwind (NCC-0688), a light Galactic Survey Cruiser. A compact variant of the larger Einstein-Class Starship made famous by the U.S.S. Kelvin (NCC-0514), which was attacked by the Romulan vessel Narada on January 4th, 2233, the Sentinel-class light GSC is only 2/3 the length of the Einstein-class vessels and requires just a little over half of her big sister's crew complement. Sentinels got their name due to their main role as scout and survey vessels. Equipped with increased laboratory space (due to the decreased crew requirement) and fitted with specialized equipment including a powerful floodlight mounted on the single underslung warp engine nacelle, outboard scanner palettes, four large sensor dishes and an upgraded navigational deflector dish equipped with additional sensors, they are ideal "eyes" for Star Fleet cruiser squadrons and also perfectly suited for research missions in uncharted sectors of space.

Befitting their role in planetary reconnaissance, in-depth exploration and scientific research as Galactic Survey Cruisers, the internal layout of the Sentinel-Class' secondary hull was also altered compared to her larger sister. Sentinel-Class ships feature a lengthened shuttlecraft hangar bay that takes up a greater percentage of their secondary hulls' internal space. Whereas a standard Einstein-Class starship like the U.S.S. Kelvin (NCC-0514) could hold up to twenty-four shuttles stacked twelve to a side in two rows of six, a Sentinel-Class starship like the U.S.S. Highwind (NCC-0688) has enough room for six more large shuttles (for a total of 30) of specialized types: two aeroshuttles, two aquashuttles, and two heavy-duty cargo transport shuttles. To compensate for the extra space required by the longer shuttle bay, her secondary hull was extended, making it proportionally longer compared to the rest of the ship compared to the Einstein's. Also, many of the ship's vital engineering components were shifted down from the secondary hull into the connecting "spine" linking it to the primary or saucer hull, making the Sentinel-Class' internal layout distinct from the Einstein's.

However, she does have one major drawback: the Sentinel-Class is not as heavily armed as the Einstein-Class was, reflecting her more peaceful role as an exploratory and long-range reconnaissance vessel. She is only equipped with a handful of twin-turret Phaser banks scattered across the hull to spread out her firing arcs, and has a minimum of three pop-out Photon Torpedo launchers, two on the top of the saucer section and one on the bottom. The compromise was made to help secure the space for more laboratories and scientific equipment, and justified by her designers because she was not expected to engage in much direct combat as she was to be a scout cruiser, not a frontline warship. However, the Sentinel-Class is still no pushover. Her armament was light for a cruiser, but good enough to give her a chance against known enemy vessels of comparable size - at least before the Narada arrived in 2233.

The vessel's name and class are both references. Her class, Sentinel, is a shout-out to the U.S. Coast Guard's Sentinel-class cutters as well as to the ship's role as a long range scout cruiser/surveyor. Her own name is the more obvious pun: she's named after the famous Highwind airship from "Final Fantasy VII."

She has also aged quite a bit; when my protagonist joins her crew, she's already 60 years old, so she's intended to look rugged and worn, like she'd been out there for a while. He himself serves aboard her for 11 years, going from a junior Archaeology & Anthropology Officer to Chief Science Officer, Executive Officer, and sometimes acting Commanding Officer toward the end of his time aboard her. It is on this ship that he gets his first brush with command experience before being brevetted Captain (temporary premature promotion) and given his first true command.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to this and do more views, but it's a start.

UPDATE 04/04/2013: My collaborator, , liked the Highwind enough that he decided to do me a favor. He used pieces of existing starship line art created by to "build" three additional views of the Starship Highwind, which brings this design much closer to completion - and also allows us to see the old scout cruiser in color. (It also means three painstaking drawings that I don't have to do anymore - so thanks a bunch!) You can see his work on the NCC-0688 here: [link]

UPDATE 04/05/2013: I added a better description of the Sentinel-Class Starship's small craft accommodations to explain the "lengthened shuttle bay" tag that I put on the drawing. Early concept sketches of the U.S.S Kelvin (NCC-0514) shuttle bay show 24 shuttles, 12 on each side in 2 rows of 6. I took this and added room for 6 specialty shuttles, so the Highwind actually carries 30. I also addressed the design compromises that this forces on the craft, because making room for the shuttlebay means rearranging the rest of her internal components and forcing important engineering machinery into other areas of the ship.

Description
I haven't been able to do much of anything art-related since I entered Georgia Health Sciences University (now Georgia Regents University) as a clinical laboratory science graduate student. Usually, we are kept so busy with coursework, labs, and other requirements that I'm too exhausted to get back to doing something as intensive as drawing. But with Spring Break just around the corner and many assignment deadlines being pushed back a little, I managed to squeeze in just enough time to go back and start working on another of the three most important starships in the life of my Delta-Universe protagonist, Captain M. Tobias Sun.

This is the United Space Ship Highwind (NCC-0688), a light Galactic Survey Cruiser. A compact variant of the larger Einstein-Class Starship made famous by the U.S.S. Kelvin (NCC-0514), which was attacked by the Romulan vessel Narada on January 4th, 2233, the Sentinel-class light GSC is only 2/3 the length of the Einstein-class vessels and requires just a little over half of her big sister's crew complement. Sentinels got their name due to their main role as scout and survey vessels. Equipped with increased laboratory space (due to the decreased crew requirement) and fitted with specialized equipment including a powerful floodlight mounted on the single underslung warp engine nacelle, outboard scanner palettes, four large sensor dishes and an upgraded navigational deflector dish equipped with additional sensors, they are ideal "eyes" for Star Fleet cruiser squadrons and also perfectly suited for research missions in uncharted sectors of space.

Befitting their role in planetary reconnaissance, in-depth exploration and scientific research as Galactic Survey Cruisers, the internal layout of the Sentinel-Class' secondary hull was also altered compared to her larger sister. Sentinel-Class ships feature a lengthened shuttlecraft hangar bay that takes up a greater percentage of their secondary hulls' internal space. Whereas a standard Einstein-Class starship like the U.S.S. Kelvin (NCC-0514) could hold up to twenty-four shuttles stacked twelve to a side in two rows of six, a Sentinel-Class starship like the U.S.S. Highwind (NCC-0688) has enough room for six more large shuttles (for a total of 30) of specialized types: two aeroshuttles, two aquashuttles, and two heavy-duty cargo transport shuttles. To compensate for the extra space required by the longer shuttle bay, her secondary hull was extended, making it proportionally longer compared to the rest of the ship compared to the Einstein's. Also, many of the ship's vital engineering components were shifted down from the secondary hull into the connecting "spine" linking it to the primary or saucer hull, making the Sentinel-Class' internal layout distinct from the Einstein's.

However, she does have one major drawback: the Sentinel-Class is not as heavily armed as the Einstein-Class was, reflecting her more peaceful role as an exploratory and long-range reconnaissance vessel. She is only equipped with a handful of twin-turret Phaser banks scattered across the hull to spread out her firing arcs, and has a minimum of three pop-out Photon Torpedo launchers, two on the top of the saucer section and one on the bottom. The compromise was made to help secure the space for more laboratories and scientific equipment, and justified by her designers because she was not expected to engage in much direct combat as she was to be a scout cruiser, not a frontline warship. However, the Sentinel-Class is still no pushover. Her armament was light for a cruiser, but good enough to give her a chance against known enemy vessels of comparable size - at least before the Narada arrived in 2233.

The vessel's name and class are both references. Her class, Sentinel, is a shout-out to the U.S. Coast Guard's Sentinel-class cutters as well as to the ship's role as a long range scout cruiser/surveyor. Her own name is the more obvious pun: she's named after the famous Highwind airship from "Final Fantasy VII."

She has also aged quite a bit; when my protagonist joins her crew, she's already 60 years old, so she's intended to look rugged and worn, like she'd been out there for a while. He himself serves aboard her for 11 years, going from a junior Archaeology & Anthropology Officer to Chief Science Officer, Executive Officer, and sometimes acting Commanding Officer toward the end of his time aboard her. It is on this ship that he gets his first brush with command experience before being brevetted Captain (temporary premature promotion) and given his first true command.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to this and do more views, but it's a start.

UPDATE 04/04/2013: My collaborator, , liked the Highwind enough that he decided to do me a favor. He used pieces of existing starship line art created by to "build" three additional views of the Starship Highwind, which brings this design much closer to completion - and also allows us to see the old scout cruiser in color. (It also means three painstaking drawings that I don't have to do anymore - so thanks a bunch!) You can see his work on the NCC-0688 here: [link]

UPDATE 04/05/2013: I added a better description of the Sentinel-Class Starship's small craft accommodations to explain the "lengthened shuttle bay" tag that I put on the drawing. Early concept sketches of the U.S.S Kelvin (NCC-0514) shuttle bay show 24 shuttles, 12 on each side in 2 rows of 6. I took this and added room for 6 specialty shuttles, so the Highwind actually carries 30. I also addressed the design compromises that this forces on the craft, because making room for the shuttlebay means rearranging the rest of her internal components and forcing important engineering machinery into other areas of the ship.