Past Work

Believe it or not, I have actually done more stuff than just 3D Studio!  Here's where I'll cover some of it.

Cardassian "Galor" Class Warship

In 1990, my modeling partner in SFMA (Science Fiction Modelmaking Associates), Ed Miarecki, put in a bid to build a starship model for Star Trek: The Next Generation.  For several years, we had been making various props for the show, including tricorders and medical scanners, and we had been building various science fiction models for years, so we thought we'd see if we could build a filming model for Trek.  We heard they were going to need a model built for their new race of bad guys, the Cardassians, so we put in the bid.

One day not long after, the phone rang, and it was Ed.  "We got the job!" he yelled.  It was like, "All right!  We got the job, we got the job!!"  We had three weeks -- And the realization was hitting us that the clock was ticking.  "Oh my god -- we got the job..."

Star Trek art department gurus Rick Sternbach and Mike Okuda sent out the plans for the ship, along with color chips showing what colors they'd like the ship to have.  We then started looking at how were were going to build the thing.

The next week was a whirlwind of activity as we started getting ready for the project.  I started cutting the aluminum framework that would be the interior structure of the ship in Kansas City, and Ed got busy in Massachusetts with other aspects of the build -- Getting materials and lining up special services we'd need, like a big vacu-former and custom neon fabrication.

After about a week of prep, I flew up to Massachusetts and Ed and I dived into two solid weeks of 16-hour days, building a starship.  It was probably the most fun two weeks of my life.  The project went largely without a hitch, even though it was the most complex thing either of us had ever built.

I'll be adding construction details and photos of the ship here as time permits, but here are a few to get started (click on the thumbnail images for larger views):

 

The top and bottom views of the finished model, prior to the addition of the insignia.  The model was supported by a 3/4" steel rod, which could be positioned at any of three attachment points -- One on top, one on the bottom and one at the rear.  Each attachment point had a Molex connector for electrical signals

A 3/4 view of the finished model prior to the addition of insignia.  Lighting was set up in several circuits: Impulse engines, collectors, windows, navigational deflector, navigational beacons.  Windows and the navigational deflector were lit with custom neon tubes; other lights were incandescent bulbs.

Ed (left) and I (right) pose with the mostly finished model on the last day of construction.  Model is supported by bottom mount.  Ed spent the remaining time airbrushing the insignia into the model according to Paramount's plans.

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