U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-B
Excelsior-class type-B
Type: explorer
Operator: UFP Starfleet
Active: 2293-2329
Decks: 26
Length: 580.77m
Capacity: 2000 humanoids
Max. Speed: warp 9.2
Max. Cruising speed: warp 7.4
Armament: phasers (x12 dual-phaser banks); photon torpedoes (x6 launchers)
Defenses: deflector shields
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||||| Service History |||||
The third Starfleet vessel to bear the name Enterprise, the Excelsior-class Enterprise-B's storied service to the Federation more than lived up to her legacy. Launched in 2293 shortly after the signing of the Khitmor Accords, establishing the first permanent peace between the Federation and Klingon Empire, the Enterprise—designed for combat—spent most of its service along the distant frontiers of Federation space, venturing deep into the furthest reaches of the unknown. After four decades of service, the Enterprise-B saw five captains before disappearing without a trace shortly after escoring a Bajoran refugee flotilla into Federation space during the Cardassian annexation of Bajor.
In 2331 the Enterprise-B was officially declared lost in action and presumed destroyed. The following year, she was succeeded by the Ambassador-class U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-C.
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||||| Starship Background |||||
The Type-B Excelsior was specifically designed as a command ship for flag officers, and is characterized by the addition of three superstructures to the primary and secondary hulls which make it slower and less maneuverable than any of the other Excelsior sub-classes.
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||||| Model Background |||||
Where to start, where to start. Originally I never wanted to build an Enterprise model. I take a very liberal approach to canon, so applying my "headcanon" and design sensibilities to a beloved Enterprise felt kind of like asking for trouble. But after I made my Type-B variant, I just had to see what it'd look like with the Enterprise's white-and-teal color scheme. And it looked really good, so good that I could not resist naming it Enterprise.
Full disclosure: I'm not fond of kitbashes. And as much as I love the Excelsior-class, I am not fond of the B/Lakota refit at all. So this is my attempt to... fix it. So, what makes my interpretation different from the studio model? Well, mainly the primary hull's superstructures are more clearly defined. Some sources lable those structures as large shuttle or cargo bays, some as additional (enormous) impulse arrays. Personally, I don't like either explanation as they're simply too big for either. When I set about building them, I thought I'd either add windows (office space to accommodate an admiral's staff) or just have the art-deco ribbing across the aft end w/ no indication of the superstructure's purpose. Ultimately I decided to go with the art-deco ribbing while also incorporating smaller, angled shuttlebays that allow shuttlecraft to enter and exit w/out being blocked by the nacelles.
There are many small changes as well, which I'm not terribly inclined to detail at this time, but I will point out that one of the more unusual changes I made was to -remove- much of the paneling. I wanted to give the Type-B a simpler, smoother, more TOS-ish feel.
(Starship information is derived partially from Memory Alpha and/or Memory Beta, and from my own imagination.)
As always, you are free to use or modify this model however you wish, but PLEASE provide credit (simply mention my username and link to my 3D Warehouse mage) if you do so, and please post a comment on the page for the relative model if you do publish any modifications of my work, so I can see it, too.
#excelsior #excelsiorclass #startrek #starship #spaceship #star_trek #enterprise #uss_enterprise
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