Federation class dreadnought and derivatives: Star Trek starship parts kit expansion #15

[This kit is can also be found on my Google Drive mirror ]

This is the fifteenth expansion parts kit meant to complement my original Star Trek Constitution Class Parts Kit (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3652210). This kit includes my attempt to depict the Federation class from the Franz Joseph Starfleet Technical manual, and some related designs.

Update 2023-03-23: Following my updated Constitution refit models, I’ve updated this kit with similarly upgraded saucers and nacelles. In addition, I’ve added support for the Todd Guenther version of the refit, and some variations on the center nacelle for the TOS version. The old version of the kit can be found here.

See my Thingiverse Profile (https://www.thingiverse.com/CaptainMojo/designs) for the full list of parts kits I’ve released so far. All parts are meant to be cross-compatible between kits for your kitbashing enjoyment.

The contents of this kit are provided in three zip files:

• FederationDN-V2-blender-files.zip – The Blender source files used to generate the ship and part STL files.
• FederationDN-V2-parts-stls.zip – STL part files.
• FederationDN-V2-ship-stls.zip – Print-ready combined ship STL files.

This kit supports the following variant ship classes:

Federation class dreadnought

The original TOS-era three-nacelle dreadnought from Franz Joseph’s 1975 Starfleet Technical manual. Images from this book including, including diagrams of the Federation class, appeared briefly in the background of Star Trek II and III, making it arguably screen-canonical!

Federation class dreadnought refit (Todd Guenther version)

Todd Guenther is famous for his fanon designs such as the Belknap and Ascension (see my kit recreating those and other designs from his Starfleet Reference Series books). He also made his own version of the Federation class refit. His take is much closer to the refit constellation class, although sharing parts like the command module with his Ascension class dreadnought. Included are both a Mk 1 and Mk 2 version (the main difference being the pylons and nacelle configuration).

Federation class dreadnought refit (Captain Mojo version)

This is my own take on how a movie-era Federation class would look, styled consistent with the refit constitution. There are many versions of this design floating around the internet, but I’ve never been completely happy with any of them, particularly if they stray too far from the original FJ design. I’ve tried to synthesize a version that I like, inspired from several different sources (most prominently Jackill’s and Brad R. Torgersen’s versions), but keeping a number of key features from the original version that other artists have discarded.

Star Empire class dreadnought

This model is my take on the titular ship from Diane Carey’s 1986 TOS novel, “Dreadnought!“ It’s a book I’m not particularly fond of but the ship itself has interesting features, most noticeably an octagonal saucer. The design is highly speculative on my part, because all we’ve really got to go on is a highly stylized (and admittedly pretty cool) Boris Vallejo book cover.

Triumph class light dreadnought (remix)

These kits are meant to make kitbashing easier, and the Triumph class is a basic little example to celebrate real-world plastic model kitbashers. The design is a combination of Constitution and Federation class parts and was originally constructed from existing physical model kits by John Payne. In addition to the Federation class saucer, this model uses modifiied parts from my original Constitution Class Parts Kit (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3652210).

Notes on scaling and working with Blender

My target scale for all source files and output STL files is 1:1000. Although these files have not been extensively tested through printing, they are intended to be resized to match common modelling and miniatures scales.

Target scale - Scale STL files to: - Notes
1/3900 - 0.25641026 - FASA miniature scale
1/3788 - 0.26399155 - ADB Starline 2400 scale
1/3125 - 0.32 - ADB Starline 2500 scale
1/2500 - 0.4 - The Trek modelers "Golden scale"
1/1600 - 0.625 - TOS 3-Ship Set scale
1/1400 - 0.714285714 - Common resin model scale
1/650 - 1.538461538 - Modelling scale
1/537 - 1.862197393 - Common scale for TMP models
1/350 - 2.857142857 - Large scale

Blender is free, which to be honest was the primary factor in my decision to learn it. There are many fine video and text tutorials available online if you're interested in learning more. See the Blender fundamentals tutorials playlist to get started.

You can use File -> Import -> Stl (.stl) and File -> Export -> Stl (.stl) to load or save STL files in blender.

Note: These kits were built using Blender 2.9.

Post-processing STL output

Although all of the STL files included have been tested as valid watertight meshes, joining the parts together and exporting new STL files can introduce small errors that may cause issues with slicing programs. I recommend any STL files you create are checked using a program like Netfabb Basic free edition. Doing a simple "Close All Holes" repair has fixed most of the issues I've run into so far. If you do run into issues with mesh quality, please let me know.

Parts list

The following lists provide a summary of the included parts. Parts are included in the ZIP file FederationDN-V2-parts-stls.zip.

For the majority of items, the mesh origin has been set so that when you import these objects into your 3D editor of choice, they are positioned as they would be on the sample ships provided.

Parts

Part - Description
- federation-guenther-refit-command-module.stl - Guenther refit command module.
- federation-guenther-refit-engineering-hull.stl - Guenther refit engineering hull.
- federation-guenther-refit-impulse.stl - Guenther refit impulse module.
- federation-guenther-refit-lower-sensor-dome.stl - Guenther refit lower saucer sensor dome.
- federation-guenther-refit-nacelle-port-starboard-mk1.stl - Port and starboard nacelles, positioned for the Guenther Refit Mk I.
- federation-guenther-refit-nacelle-port-starboard-mk2.stl - Port and starboard nacelles, positioned for the Guenther Refit Mk I.
- federation-guenther-refit-nacelle-top.stl - Guenther refit top nacelle.
- federation-guenther-refit-neck.stl - Guenther refit neck.
- federation-guenther-refit-pylon-port-starboard-mk1.stl - Guenther refit port and starboard warp pylons.
- federation-guenther-refit-pylon-port-starboard-mk2.stl - Guenther refit port and starboard warp pylons.
- federation-guenther-refit-pylon-top.stl - Guenther refit top warp pylon.
- federation-guenther-refit-saucer.stl - Guenther refit saucer.
- federation-guenther-refit-torpedo-module.stl - Guenther refit neck mounted torpedo module.
- refit-federation-command-module-ascension-style.stl - Guenther style command module used in the Captain Mojo refit.
- refit-federation-command-module.stl - Captain Mojo refit TMP style command module used in the Captain Mojo Captain Mojo refit refit.
- refit-federation-engineering-hull.stl - Captain Mojo refit engineering hull.
- refit-federation-impulse-module.stl - Captain Mojo refit impulse module.
- refit-federation-lower-sensor-dome.stl - Captain Mojo refit lower saucer sensor dome.
- refit-federation-nacelle-port.stl - Captain Mojo refit port nacelle.
- refit-federation-nacelle-starboard.stl - Captain Mojo refit starboard nacelle.
- refit-federation-nacelle-top.stl - Captain Mojo refit top nacelle.
- refit-federation-neck.stl - Captain Mojo refit neck. Includes integrated pylon connecting top nacelle.
- refit-federation-pylon-port.stl - Captain Mojo refit port warp pylons.
- refit-federation-pylon-starboard.stl - Captain Mojo refit starboard warp pylons.
- refit-federation-saucer.stl - Captain Mojo refit saucer.
- refit-federation-torpedo-module.stl - Captain Mojo refit neck mounted torpedo module.
- star-empire-bridge.stl - Star Empire bridge.
- star-empire-command-module.stl - Star Empire command module.
- star-empire-engineering-hull-thick.stl - Star Empire engineering hull.
- star-empire-engineering-hull.stl - Star Empire impulse module.
- star-empire-impulse.stl - Star Empire lower saucer sensor dome.
- star-empire-lower-sensor-dome.stl - Star Empire port nacelle.
- star-empire-nacelle-port.stl - Star Empire starboard nacelle.
- star-empire-nacelle-top.stl - Star Empire top nacelle.
- star-empire-neck-standalone.stl - Star Empire neck without torpedo module.
- star-empire-neck-torpedoes.stl - Star Empire neck with integrated torpedo module.
- star-empire-pylon-port.stl - Star Empire port warp pylons.
- star-empire-pylon-top.stl - Star Empire starboard warp pylons.
- star-empire-saucer.stl - Star Empire saucer.
- tos-federation-engineering-hull-thick.stl - TOS Federation engineering hull.
- tos-federation-engineering-hull.stl - TOS Federation engineering hull optimized for small scale printing.
- tos-federation-impulse-module.stl - TOS Federation impulse module.
- tos-federation-nacelle-port.stl - TOS Federation port nacelle.
- tos-federation-nacelle-starboard.stl - TOS Federation starboard nacelle.
- tos-federation-nacelle-top-downward-intercooler.stl - TOS Federation top nacelle with downward facing intercooler details.
- tos-federation-nacelle-top-dual-intercooler.stl - TOS Federation top nacelle with intercooler details on both sides.
- tos-federation-nacelle-top-no-intercooler.stl - TOS Federation top nacelle with no intercooler details (default).
- tos-federation-nacelle-top-upward-intercooler.stl - TOS Federation top nacelle with upward facing intercooler details.
- tos-federation-neck.stl - TOS Federation neck.
- tos-federation-pylon-port-thick.stl - TOS Federation port warp pylon optimized for small scale printing.
- tos-federation-pylon-port.stl - TOS Federation port warp pylon.
- tos-federation-pylon-starboard-thick.stl - TOS Federation starboard warp pylon optimized for small scale printing.
- tos-federation-pylon-starboard.stl - TOS Federation starboard warp pylon.
- tos-federation-pylon-top-thick.stl - TOS Federation top warp pylon optimized for small scale printing.
- tos-federation-pylon-top.stl - TOS Federation top warp pylon.
- tos-federation-saucer.stl - TOS Federation saucer.
- triumph-engineering-hull.stl - Triumph engineering hull.
- triumph-impulse.stl - Triumph impulse module.
- triumph-nacelle-port.stl - Triumph port nacelle.
- triumph-nacelle-starboard.stl - Triumph starboard nacelle.
- triumph-nacelle-top.stl - Triumph top nacelle.
- triumph-pylon-top.stl - Triumph top warp pylons.
- triumph-pylons-port-starboard-thick.stl - Triumph port and starboard warp pylons optimized for small scale printing.
- triumph-pylons-port-starboard.stl - Triumph port and starboard warp pylons.
- triumph-sensor-dish-saucer-mounted-thick.stl - Triumph saucer mounted sensor dish optimized for small scale printing.
- triumph-sensor-dish-saucer-mounted.stl - Triumph saucer mounted sensor dish.

Combined ship STLs

All combined, ready-to-print ship files are included in FederationDN-V2-ship-stls.zip. These files provide sample ships generated using the parts included in this kit.

Ship - Description
- ship-tos-federation.stl - Original Federation class.
- ship-tos-federation-dual-intercooler.stl - Original Federation class with center nacelle detailing on both sides.
- ship-tos-federation-top-intercooler.stl - Original Federation class with top facing nacelle detailing.
- ship-tos-federation-thick.stl - Version optimized for printing at smaller scale.
- ship-tos-federation-dual-intercooler-thick.stl - Version optimized for printing at smaller scale.
- ship-tos-federation-top-intercooler-thick.stl - Version optimized for printing at smaller scale.
- ship-refit-federation.stl - Captain Mojo version TMP-era refit of the Federation class.
- ship-federation-guenther-refit-mk1.stl - Todd Guenther version TMP-era refit of the Federation class (MK I).
- ship-federation-guenther-refit-mk2.stl - Todd Guenther version TMP-era refit of the Federation class (MK II).
- ship-star-empire.stl - Star Empire class.
- ship-star-empire-thick.stl - Version optimized for printing at smaller scale.
- ship-triumph.stl - Triumph class.
- ship-triumph-thick.stl - Version optimized for printing at smaller scale.

Blender files

The file FederationDN-V2-blender-files.zip contains two blender files for each design: a parts file, containing the STL parts arranged as used in the sample ship designs, and a parts source file, containing the raw blender objects used to create the parts.

License

I'm releasing this under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. You're free to distribute and modify these files (even for commercial use), provided you attribute the creator and distribute your contributions under the same license.