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This
is a model built the same way the filming miniature was for a
scene during the Dominion War episodes of DS9. This ship has no
official name, number or class, so I was free to invent them (until I find out
otherwise). I chose Scorpio for the class name
due to the scorpion tail-like look of the upper nacelle.
Only a photo of the bottom and side of the filming model are
currently available, as well as a diagram in the DS9 Technical
Manual.
Components of the ship include two saucer tops
(Excelsior/Enterprise-B) one Excelsior pylon connector, both
Enterprise-A pylons, and three Excelsior warp nacelles.
The basecoat is Light Gray and the major hull detail color is
Model Master Azure Blue.
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There
is some debate as to the orientation of the ship: single nacelle
'up', or single nacelle 'down'. There are many arguments for the
single nacelle 'up' version:
- The bridge is painted more ornately on the 'top' and painted
fully copper on the 'bottom', rendering the bottom
"bridge" to look like a sensor.
- On all the other DS9 kit bash ships, all of the model stand
holes were cut into the bottoms, not the tops.
- The DS9 Technical Manual displays the profile as a single
nacelle on top.
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There
are model parts at the back of the saucer under the impulse
engine on the filming miniature. From the photo of the model's
side view, I can't tell what the piece really looks like so I
have left that shape off my model. If I ever find the actual
piece used, I'll add it to my model.
The top saucer edge and the strips on the engines were painted
Copper. The flush vents and some other panel details were
painted Flat Brown. The RCS thrusters and phaser banks were
painted Zinc Chromate. A fine marker pen was used for the
thruster details.
Since the model uses the Excelsior's impulse engines, I decided
that since there's no shuttlebay, that the Enterprise-B's
impulse engine pods should serve the function they had originally
been designed for...shuttlebay doors. They were painted Dark
Ghost Gray with a Steel shroud.
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The warp nacelle grilles are Flat Light Blue with a coat of
Horizon Blue.
The design of this ship is reminiscent of the Miranda Class such
as the USS Reliant. This vessel features twin nacelles slung
under the saucer section and a kind of rollbar. The Reliant's rollbar
contained a weapons pod whereas this ship has a third warp
engine.
The
markings for the model were made using Adobe Illustrator.
Because my HP Inkjet printer cannot print white, the Starfleet
arrowhead symbol would've turned out gray on the pylons and blue
on the underside. I made stencils of the labels and painted the
arrowhead area Flat White on the model. When I applied the
labels, the transparent arrowheads got their white coloration
from the paint underneath.
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This
model was named in honor of my girlfriend. Her birth sign is
Aquarius and mine is Scorpio.
The commissioning date and the registry both have personal
significance as well.
The quote is from a song...unfortunately the only quote I could
possibly come up with in my research on the word Aquarius.
Hopefully the quote speaks to exploration and enlightenment.
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Photos
by Stephen L.
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