The Ship that never was...

[Maj.Striker]

Just thought I'd post some idle fan ship creation of sorts:

Designed as a prototype for the Navy in 2638 as a radical new cross design, the Leopold was to serve the dual roles of Cruiser and Carrier. Developed by Kruger Industries, the Leopold attempted to combine the capital ship destroying capabilities of a heavy cruiser with the fighter carrying ability of a strike carrier. Unfortunately, the Leopold failed in both roles. As a carrier, its 45 fighter complement was too small to effectively replace the larger Bengal Class carrier. In addition, its fighter scrambling time was nearly double that of the Bengal making it a poor substitute in quick strike/defense situations.

Similarly, as a replacement for the Exeter class cruiser, the Leopold showed many shortcomings. Its main weakness was due to a design flaw by its chief armanent engineer who had felt the the virtual ineffectiveness of torpedoes shown thus far in the current stage of the war reflected their uselessness and torpedo bays were cut from the design. The sole redeeming factor in the Leopold's offensive arsenal was it's main mass driver cannon. The weapon proved to be devastating to enemy capital ships, however without other major support weapons to back it up, the ship was underpowered for its size. When Confed failed to pick up the design, Kruger Industries nearly went bankrupt, they cancelled the project and returned to what had previously been their specialty: civillian craft.

 

[Nomad Terror]

The offset engine design is really neat

Where do the fighters come out of?

 

[Lynx]

It doesn't look WCish, more like a generic sci-fi design, due to the strange engine configuration. Wc capships have an emphasis on their back end with having wings or something(making the rear look 'heavier'), the assymetrical shap doesn't help either, and that super cannon doesn't smell right either. Ships that rely on a single main weapon are vulnerable; and a ship can't fullfill all the roles you listed, and no way in hell would someone remove torpedo tubes on a capship in the WC universe, not ever. This chief engineer guy would have been overruled by dozens of other people involved in the project.

And 'Kruger Industries' sounds bad either. Kruger is the last person that would found/own a corporation.

 

[Sphynx]

Woah... big guns, er... gun! That would have been a monster on the battlefield, as long as someone didn't knock out the main turret. Interesting design. I wonder if there is any way to use it in any upcoming project? The asymmetrical Terran design is interesting... almost as if they were trying to integrate later Kirlathi designs. This would be an interesting Terran-Kirlathi joint-design project in some future day when they are close allies.

I do agree, though, that the inclusion of torpedo tubes or cap ship missile racks might be a good idea. Maybe sizing it down and making it a sort of fast attack frigate or "swift boat," without fighter carrying capacities?

You know, one of these days somebody should do a mod about the beginning of the Terran Kilrathi War. That would give a lot of opportunities for the fans to use some of their creative mods in a setting as yet untouched in the gaming world.

But one thing at a time. We've already got a lot of great projects going on now. That's just an idea for the future.

 

[Mace]

i think the main design flaw is that the main turret would just swipe the bridge off the ship if some moron rotated it the wrong way

but no one could miss out on that blind spot.

 

[Maj.Striker]

i think the main design flaw is that the main turret would just swipe the bridge off the ship if some moron rotated it the wrong way

but no one could miss out on that blind spot.

Hhaha! That's great, I didn't even really think about that really...so you could actually say the chief armanent engineer is me...what a fool, eh?

@Nomad Terror, you can't see it in any of these pictures but there is actually a little hangar bay modelled into the right side (the big bulky portion that leads to the engine). What's also not noticeable in these pictures are the two launching tubes that are connected in the same area. This model was really just a test of my ability to add details to my 3d models (which sadly lack good details).


@Lynx, you'll note that the design was a failure, precisely why Confed didn't pick up the prototype. As for the overall design not looking like WC...well, I'd spot you that it doesn't look lnecessarily look like anything WC (unless you include the Movie). But again, it never became WC because the design was flawed.

 

[MaHeSw]

i think the main design flaw is that the main turret would just swipe the bridge off the ship if some moron rotated it the wrong way

but no one could miss out on that blind spot.

Apparently the chief designer did miss the blind spot

No wonder that Confed didn't pick up the design. I think it's a good idea making a combined cruiser/carrier. It would have made a prefect strike carrier/merchant raider, if the design would have been better. You didn't say anything about it's velocity, but if it's going to stand a chance behind the Kilrathi lines, then it must be fast (to outrun superior enemies), persistent (be operational without support for a long periods of time) and well armed (to shoot any catship foolish enough to come close to pieces).

Imagine this ships working in pairs or alone behind the Kilrathi lines. The living nightmare for any Kilrathi commander.

Mvh!
T-rex

 

[Gliderboy]

I have to agree on Lynx with this one. The ship doesn't look like anything in Wing Commander at all. Come to think of it, the main turret looks like something off of a battleship from WW1. It doesn't have the big sweeping wing like capships from WC1-2 or the looks from WC3, nor does it have the smooth curves of Prophecy ships. Regardless, it is a nice bit of work, just not very Wing Commander.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So, cannonballs work O.K.?

 

[Mace]

move the engines sideways in a "battlestar galactica" look-alike config and you'd end up with a bengal like look. also lose, yes lose the bridge, having a bridge with a lookout point and windows in the front makes no sense because you can fly the ship on sensors alone, and the bridge is a dead giveaway for a weak spot. i like the big gun, but creating an array of smaller ones(like the battlewagon design i saw) could be a more flexible firing mechanism where you can go all-out or sequential with the weapons, not just one big bang and wait for a reload.
but it's your vision and your design


in pairs, then one with the bridge on the right and one with the bridge on the left? LOL

 

[Deadeye79]

but that is still quite an artillery piece on there

 

[Mjr. Whoopass]

I have to agree on Lynx with this one. The ship doesn't look like anything in Wing Commander at all.

Well, that would make sense. Maj. Striker said that it was a company that ordinarily designed civilian vessels as opposed to the companies that designed the WC ships we see. As Striker's first post says, they obviously were trying to break new ground and failed. A totally different company taking a gamble on a totally different idea. I like the turret too.. I wouldn't want to be in front of that thing.. the blind spot would be annoying, but you could maneuver the ship into battle so that it wasn't a problem.. and as the battle continues a simple ship rotation would allow you to hit targets formerly in the blind spot..

 

[TopGun]

Looks great MS