USS Gamgee Orthographics

This has been sitting on my computer for far too long. It started out as an experiment in how to design a ship around extruded hull plates. It worked really well and I learned quite a few things about simplifying models.  I had gotten away from drawing this ship for a while (frankly, I got bored with it), so there are some parts where I had intended to add details that I just never got around to adding. I may come back in the future and add them, but I consider this model to be a success. Also, most of the nitty-gritty details are stolen from some of my other models (and one or two from other modelers on the Warehouse that I admire)

The main major improvement in this ship over my previous models is that the parts of the ship are spread out enough so that it isn't difficult to find good "beauty angles" to shoot the ship from. 

I think that of all of the ships that I've made, this one has the best profile and it has the most continuity along it's length.  Part of my original idea was that this ship should explore what a ship with the Sovereign-style streamlined hull would have looked like with TOS tech and design cues.  I think that this makes for a fairly descent result.  

A downfall of that attempt was the awkward triangular plates on either side of the deflector dish.  The curve that broadens at the rear of the saucer would just keep going straight out into space if I hadn't just truncated it.  There was probably better way to deal with that, but it wouldn't have fit well with the "easy extruded plates" design basis.  

I like the location and the shape of the impulse engine and it's surround, but due to lazyness, the actual engine itself is pretty basic.  This would be the first detail I'd update if I ever return to this ship.  

I like the deflector and communication module slung to the bottom of the ship.  It's sort of like the ship is holding it with stubby little arms.  The main problem in this area is that the deflector dish and sensor dome basically overlap.  This makes for an awkward area in general.  

The ship is designed to be a support vessel for outlying starbases and serve alongside larger exploration ships on major excursions. It is highly customize-able and has a very large cargo/shuttle bay mounted in the center two decks of the saucer. The ship is capable of spending long periods of time in deep space as part of a larger exploration force, but is most frequently assigned as a workhorse for deep-space stations and research bases. In a pinch, it can be outfitted with four large phaser cannons and serve to break up skirmishes or as a fast destroyer in larger battles. 

The original idea behind the turret mounts was that they would be hardpoints where different self-sufficient modules could be installed depending on the mission requirements. The phaser turret could be removed, leaving a circular void in the hull, and operate as a stationary turret separate from the ship. Other modules might be sensor packages, data storage, or cargo holds. 

The name of this particular ship is based on it's role as a "sidekick" to other larger ships and stations. Other ships in it's line are named similarly. The U.S.S. Panza and the U.S.S. Watson are examples of other ships in this class. 

The download for the model can be found here:
3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model…

Feel free to use this model for anything other than profit.  Let me know if you do!  I'd like to see it.