Galactica length question...

[Apolloisall]

Given that the Enterprise is roughly 1000 feet long, it seems to me that the Galactica would be some 3000 feet. But I've seen 4000 + feet assessed in some circles.

Opinions?

[BST]

This has been a popular topic, for a long time. Here's some additional threads about it that you may find to be of interest.

http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13415&highlight=Galactica+length

http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13098&highlight=Galactica+length

http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6528&highlight=Galactica+length

http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9237&highlight=Galactica+length

http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3502&highlight=Galactica+length

http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2227&highlight=Galactica+length

[peter noble]

6080 ft.

[gmd3d]

6080 ft.

Yeah, it has to be that minimum I think.

[Apolloisall]

Wow, ask a question around here- and you get fully answered RIGHT AWAY!!!:thumbsup:
Thanks guys!:salute:

[gmd3d]

no problem ....... it was one of the first questions I asked when I joined here some years ago now.

[Apolloisall]

no problem ....... it was one of the first questions I asked when I joined here some years ago now.

This gives me an idea for a cool graphic- I'll post it here when I finish it.;)

[gmd3d]

cool ...... sounds interesting

[Apolloisall]

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f110/chrisisall/diorama003.jpg

[monolith21]

Wow...that sort of puts it in perspective doesn't it!

[Apolloisall]

Wow...that sort of puts it in perspective doesn't it!

I believe that is the correct ratio, based upon the 6000+ foot number given to me on the highest authority.:D
Funny that I just *happen* to have an Enterprise that is precisely in scale with my Galactica (those models are actually in front of each other in the pic- I only added stars)!

[gmd3d]

that is they way I always viewed it. nice one

[Punisher454]

6080 feet.

I have worked out the scale from the inside out, and 6080 works. anything less does not. at 4000 feet the shuttle will have a very small opening to enter the landing bay. and the launchtubes will not fit .

The method I used was to use the shuttle interior studio blueprints. Looking at the windows of the shuttle, the floorplan of the shuttle as well as the quoted shuttle length of 110feet, you come up with a shuttle that is about 110 feet long.
Next look at the shots of the shuttle taking off and landing in the landing bays. Adjusting the scale of a 3D battlestar model to get the proper shuttle to landing bay entrance proportion you end up with a battlestar in the neighborhood of 6000 feet long.

Things NOT to use for scale comparison;
1. scenes with vipers landing, Vipers WAY too large!
2. the "full size" shuttle prop/facade that was used. its about 1/3 scale
3. viper launchtube exit holes on studio model, drawings and many 3d models.

[gmd3d]

6080 feet.

I have worked out the scale from the inside out, and 6080 works. anything less does not. at 4000 feet the shuttle will have a very small opening to enter the landing bay. and the launchtubes will not fit .

The method I used was to use the shuttle interior studio blueprints. Looking at the windows of the shuttle, the floorplan of the shuttle as well as the quoted shuttle length of 110feet, you come up with a shuttle that is about 110 feet long.
Next look at the shots of the shuttle taking off and landing in the landing bays. Adjusting the scale of a 3D battlestar model to get the proper shuttle to landing bay entrance proportion you end up with a battlestar in the neighborhood of 6000 feet long.

Things NOT to use for scale comparison;
1. scenes with vipers landing, Vipers WAY too large!
2. the "full size" shuttle prop/facade that was used. its about 1/3 scale
3. viper launchtube exit holes on studio model, drawings and many 3d models.

That was one of the ways that the production staff also scaled it as far as I remember . but I cannot find the link.

[BST]

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f110/chrisisall/diorama003.jpg

By these appearances, a Cylon raider would look to be nearly as big as the saucer section of the Enterprise.

Considering the size that we know the Cylon raider to be, having seen footage of humans (Starbuck and Apollo) in proximity to and inside of a raider, AND considering that the saucer section is about half the length of the Enterprise (289m (original), 305m (refit)) , I can't quite wrap my head around this comparison.

[jewels]

6080 feet or 1 nautical mile.

I never knew that that shuttles were 110 feet. that's about the length of 2 standard semi trailers. For a shuttle to be able to land on Colonial Movers' ship, those container pods would have been huge in comparison to our shipping containers.

[Punisher454]

The colonial shuttle is a rather large craft. IMHO its too big to be used for transporting 1-6 humans as is seen frequently on the show. Logically there would be an intermediate sized craft. A few 3d modelers have modeled nice concept models that would fill this role.

[gmd3d]

I always thought given the size of the launch bays or pods, that many more vehicles are possible. emergency crews and such.

other shuttles for specific tasks are also possible, why not

[Punisher454]

No doubt there would be task specific shuttle variants.

[Apolloisall]

By these appearances, a Cylon raider would look to be nearly as big as the saucer section of the Enterprise.

Uhhh, no, I think it would be more the size of the dome on top of the bridge of Enterprise...
Just sayin'.:rolleyes:

[BST]

Uhhh, no, I think it would be more the size of the dome on top of the bridge of Enterprise...
Just sayin'.:rolleyes:

To expand a bit on my remarks:

If you take the Enterprise, as it appears in the picture you posted, it appears miniscule when compared to the Galactica. Now if the Enterprise is approximately 900 feet long and the Galactica is approximately 6080 feet long then, one could line up 6-1/3 Enterprises, end to end, along the length of the Galactica.

The picture shows that you're already at about 2-1/2 Enterprise lengths by the time you're at amidships, the largest section on the Galactica and you still have the main engines to go, after that.

Bottom line is that, in my opinion, the scaling for the Enterprise and the scaling for the Galactica are out of sync. The Galactica should be about 6-1/3 times as big as the Enterprise but, the way the picture looks, it's probably about 10-12 times bigger.

[Apolloisall]

The Galactica should be about 6-1/3 times as big as the Enterprise but, the way the picture looks, it's probably about 10-12 times bigger.

I just measured- my Galactica model is almost exactly six times the length of that Enterprise. Must be the way the picture came out...:blink:

[jewels]

Starship Dimensions website:
http://www.merzo.net/ If you click on the -2x link you'll have a page with the original enterprise in the left column and the Galactica is way down in the column that starts with Farscape ships.

Interesting thing: he lists the Enterprise, constitution class as 285 m and the Galactica at 610 m which is far short of what the article he links to which discusses the sources of the size confusion for the Galactica. I think that one ends up assuming the 6080 feet as the source for that length was John Dykstra. The scale discussion linked under the image of the Galactica is worth a read.

The hard part about scaling the Galactica is that she was done in the optical printer era and scaling individual model shots together is an imprecise product.

[gmd3d]

Starship Dimensions website:
http://www.merzo.net/ If you click on the -2x link you'll have a page with the original enterprise in the left column and the Galactica is way down in the column that starts with Farscape ships.

Interesting thing: he lists the Enterprise, constitution class as 285 m and the Galactica at 610 m which is far short of what the article he links to which discusses the sources of the size confusion for the Galactica. I think that one ends up assuming the 6080 feet as the source for that length was John Dykstra. The scale discussion linked under the image of the Galactica is worth a read.

The hard part about scaling the Galactica is that she was done in the optical printer era and scaling individual model shots together is an imprecise product.

Yes you have it right on jewels. I even sent him a message asking if he could make one with the alternative (and correct :) scale. but never happened witch is sad really, as I really like the site). and your comment about John Dykstra for the Gs Scale

[Apolloisall]

The scale discussion linked under the image of the Galactica is worth a read.

Wow, fascinating stuff! Personally, I assumed the Viper and the Gallileo to be roughly similar in size, I then compared landing bays- hence my own initial 3000' calculation.

So, as far as I'm concerned, it's precisely... BIG!
:rotf:

[gmd3d]

Yes its Big that's for sure :)
sometime I try to get both the Enterprise and the Galactica into the same image and to scale and render of a top and side view

[Apolloisall]

sometime I try to get both the Enterprise and the Galactica into the same image and to scale and render of a top and side view
By my own crude estimation, these two pieces are *roughly* in scale to each other (NOT that my estimation is in any way correct, mind you).
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f110/chrisisall/diorama005.jpg

[gmd3d]

interesting none the less

[Apolloisall]

I'm willing to believe that the launch tube exits are considerably wider-looking on the outside of Galactica then they are on the interior. Also, the Vipers & Raiders seen battling over Galactica were much closer to us (the camera) than it appears. The 6000' call seems perfectly fine to me, based on that.:thumbsup:

[gmd3d]

I am just working on a few renders of the Galactica and the Enterprise Side by Side . just need to add credits to the images.

[gmd3d]

here is the Galactica By Folkrm,Enterprise By Dennis Bailey
Render By Me.

they are to scale more or less.

[Apolloisall]

Hey! Those are NIIICE!!!

Here's my low-tek answer (small E by my Son):

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f110/chrisisall/diorama006.jpg

We seem to be more or less on the same page here, T!!!
6G's it is; so say we all!

[gmd3d]

Yeah , nice work from your Son ..... I could never create a good "low tech" model. just glued or painted my hands

[Apolloisall]

Taranis, those renders are really awesome. Enough to convince anyone of Galactica's true size.

I especially love #5.

[gmd3d]

yeah that´s a good one, both modellers did an outstanding job building each respective model.... in this case Folkrm Galactica is a stunning master piece.

one day I will get to it and reduce the poly count and remove the surfaces that are not needed. one day

[gmd3d]

Just Scored my 4th Basester ,,,

[Apolloisall]

Just Scored my 4th Basester ,,,

Heh heh, congrats. I'm gonna go upstairs & print #5 out on nice paper.

[gmd3d]

Heh heh, congrats. I'm gonna go upstairs & print #5 out on nice paper.

Glad you like them :)

[maudib]

Ouch Taranis, those renders look so good, I'm giving up on my battlestar mesh right now :eek:

[gmd3d]

Ouch Taranis, those renders look so good, I'm giving up on my battlestar mesh right now :eek:

:) Don´t be daft :rotf:

yours in a different direction and a great build to watch.

now get back to the salt mines and start working :D

[gmd3d]

Here are some with other scales with the Enterprise at around 1000 ft ... aprox...

the ones yesterday where wrong, they where around the 4 000 + feet scale.

[gmd3d]

here are the view with the 6080 scale . sorry about the credits .. I fix that soon

[gmd3d]

here some more with other angles and ships. .more or less to scale .....

galactica by folkrm
enterprise a by dennis bailey
enterprise d by prologic 9
viper by folkrm

[gmd3d]

galactica by folkrm
enterprise a by dennis bailey
enterprise d by prologic 9
viper by folkrm

[Benedict]

Those renders to put things in perspective quite well, certainly they look impressive :) Always imagined the Battlestar's to be huge, enough to wow the Eastern Alliance at the end of Greetings from Earth.
Ships from the fleet must be dots compared to Galactica.

[gmd3d]

Thanks Benedict.

next and the last will be with the Imperial Star destroyer.

was I surprised

[gmd3d]

here is the last set of images I going to do for this.

with the Imperial Star-destroyer.

The ISD is by Fractalsponge

[Benedict]

Lords of Kobol that is something. Makes me think that if an ISD is the same size as the Galactica if a fraction bigger just what the Super Star Destroyer would be. Nice work indeed Taranis.

[gmd3d]

it looks right for me... spot on from all angles from my point of view and I think blows the 2000 ft scale that is excepted as the official one or canon,

we should now make the 6080 ft as THE official view .... I will do one image showing the 2000 ft. just to finish it.

[gmd3d]

this is the scale with the Galactica is only 2000 ft ..

the ship will be to small ... the viper tubes are just larger than the Enterprise torp launch tubs

[maudib]

I don't like the scaling issue. The whole BSG world wasn't intended to make serious sense. I like the 2 mile size better. The launch bay openings are too small for my taste with your 1 mile scale. Still, awesome renders.

[gmd3d]

I don't like the scaling issue. The whole BSG world wasn't intended to make serious sense. I like the 2 mile size better. The launch bay openings are too small for my taste with your 1 mile scale. Still, awesome renders.

I agree its not meant to be serious, and about the size of the launch bay or landing bays opening are small and it one of the things that I would change.

but that is something that has been debated for years. I have or had the old annual where the scale is given as 2000 ft. as scale I always disagreed with.

the 2 mile scale sounds great I be happy with that too.

but I think 6080 approx is about right even a little larger.

[Apolloisall]

Taranis, you old war-daggit! You've done much good on this thread!

[gmd3d]

Taranis, you old war-daggit! You've done much good on this thread!

:salute::salute::salute:
thank you ... :)

[gmd3d]

to any Mod or Admin passing, any chance of having this thread Sticky-ed.

I am planning some more scale images sometime soon.

[gmd3d]

Another scale question ,,,,

how big is the Cylon Basestar compared to the Galactica .

I will post some images soon.

[gmd3d]

here is my estimated scale .about twice the size of the Galactica.

The Base-star is by Raffs

also I have included a viper cut away I liked which I saw on deviantart

[peter noble]

Another scale question,

how big is the Cylon Basestar compared to the Galactica?

Well, the miniature is 3 ft wide, so about half the size of the Galactica.

[gmd3d]

ok how about these ,,, The Base-star is about the scale you mention ..and I also have David Kerins Shuttle in the following images at 110 ft long against the 6080ft Galactica . following in one of the images a 29ft Viper

[Toshiro]

I like those renders. very cool to see the comparison.
I remember the scene in saga of a star world when Adama and Athena were returning from the Atlantia. The shuttle was on approach to land on the port bay. The Image of the shuttle looked tiny. If it was the 110ft long version, then the Galactica would be very big indeed.

Toshiro

[gmd3d]

yeah I know the scene you mean .. that why I tried these shots to see how they would look.

that is with the Galactica at 6080ft .

[gmd3d]

There will be more coming soon.

I am working on a few things that once complete I will be focusing on some Galactica project.

[maudib]

Thanks for the last set of renders. Those are very helpful to me.

[gmd3d]

Your welcome :)

need any-more just ask and I will do my best ..

I am going to see if I can scale the full model to 2 miles and see.

[maudib]

Please include an Eastern Alliance destroyer, that would be very important to my scaling of everything. The few shots of the destroyer parked inside the landing bay confuses the hell out of me. Everything was okay until the episode where some knuckle-head decided to cram a destroyer inside the landing bay!

[gmd3d]

is there a conversion of the Eastern Alliance destroyer to lightwave.

I know there is one in Max 3.1 in the downloads, but I cannot use it.

I would have thought (and correct me here) that it would be about 4 deck tall roughly. perhaps 5??

but a lot wider with the wing span.

anyone ever really look at it apart from 137th Gebirg

[gmd3d]

here is 137th Gebirg work on it

[CBSG4ever]

WOW T! These pics are amazing. You did a great job, my friend (as well as the folks who constructed the meshes). Top notch.
It really gives someone a real idea and perspective of just how large the Galactica really is.
Personally, I think the size of the big "G" lies somewhere between the 6000FT and 2 mile sizes IMHO. Either way, they are excellent pics T.
Have one on me. :beer: :salute:

[gmd3d]

Thanks there is more to come.....

also I am going to see if we cannot start a group project soon.

I will start a new thread for that.

[CBSG4ever]

here is 137th Gebirg work on it

It would be interesting to see a side-by-side comparison of the EA Destroyer and the Galactica much like the other pics. I do not have the skills to do this, unfortunately. :/: Fantastic work. :salute:

[gmd3d]

if any one can convert the EA DESTROYER to obj or better to lightwave I can do it,

[maudib]

Here are the scenes bothering me (repost from Scifi-meshes.com). Judging from your last render, the EA destroyer looks roughly 4 times the size of a colonial shuttle
http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp235/RPadavan2/EADestroyerlaunching1.jpg
http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp235/RPadavan2/EADestroyerpreparingtolaunch.jpg
http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp235/RPadavan2/EADestroyerinterior.jpg

[gmd3d]

here is the Galactica at 2 mile long ....... the shuttle is 110 ft long and using the measuring tool in lightwave. 30.8 ft tall.

by this the shuttle could almost launch from the viper tubes

by heck it big at 2 miles

[CBSG4ever]

Hmmm...this is an interesting discussion. Apologies for jumping in late. If I may put my .02 cubits in?

Based on the size comparison of the human figure next to the EA Destroyer, a very crude measurement I came up with is approximately 360 Ft long and about 65 Ft high. (Width is not an issue for the purposes of the comparison).

In post 43, there is a pic of a Viper entering the landing bay. It is, more or less, to scale. A similar pic of a shuttle and a Viper entering the bay in post 59 gives us an approximate size comparison for all three. Using the Viper pic as a referent, we could come up with a (again, crude) height for the bay on the 6080 Ft version of the "G".

Based on the Vipers size relative to the height of the bay, the threshold of the bay appears to be about 80-85 Ft high. Does this sound about right?
The EA Destroyer could fit into the landing bay entrance, albeit a little tight.
Taranis: I know you did a mesh a while back of the interior of the landing bay. Did you have an approximation on the height of the landing bay entrance? Is 80-85 Ft close to your measurements?

If all this is relatively accurate, one could infer that the Galactica is, at minimum, 6080 Ft long, but no shorter due to the scales and comparisons given. 2 miles would not be unreasonable either.
My personal opinion is that she's between 6080 Ft and 2 miles in length. Am I off-base on this? Any other thoughts or comments are welcome.
Best regards. :salute:

[CBSG4ever]

here is the Galactica at 2 mile long ....... the shuttle is 110 ft long and using the measuring tool in lightwave. 30.8 ft tall.

by this the shuttle could almost launch from the viper tubes

by heck it big at 2 miles

You're right T, the shuttle could fit in the launch tubes! Yikes! Beginning to think the 2 mile length might be too big. 6080 Ft to maybe 8000 Ft for the big "G" might be more resonable. Certainly no bigger. Thanks for the extra comparison. :salute:

[gmd3d]

here is the 6080 scale and with a viper launching .. more or less to scale I think.

[gmd3d]

Sorry CBSG4ever I never really properly scaled it. a habit I have only of late started to do with any proper preparation.

At the moment this model is been worked on by VK08 to reduce the poly count, far more effectively than I could. once that is finished I will work my bay into it but I can check on the opening on this model I am using ...

I think with the Galactica at this scale or perhaps a little bigger ... perhaps 3 or 4 hundred feet max should the as big as it gets ..

with the present arrangement. unless you wish to alter the launch bays

[gmd3d]

based on this model the height of the opening on the landing bay is 61 ft

a bit of a let down... but like maudib I always felt that the entrance should be bigger for that ship.

on less there are some from of door that open or close.

(I know we have never seen them- but its a thought)

[CBSG4ever]

Sorry CBSG4ever I never really properly scaled it. a habit I have only of late started to do with any proper preparation.

At the moment this model is been worked on by VK08 to reduce the poly count, far more effectively than I could. once that is finished I will work my bay into it but I can check on the opening on this model I am using ...

I think with the Galactica at this scale or perhaps a little bigger ... perhaps 3 or 4 hundred feet max should the as big as it gets ..

with the present arrangement. unless you wish to alter the launch bays
Agreed. That pic of the Viper launching kinda makes the case for the 6080 Ft (or a few hundred feet more) length for the "G". Looks pretty spot on.
Not sure if anyone else thought to measure up a Viper with a launch tube to figure out scale-to-length before. Excellent thinking, my friend. :salute:

[gmd3d]

thanks .. these are the questions that have bothered me for years .. now I have the tools to work it out to a degree....

But as I said I will be calling on all modellers soon and story tellers too.

I just need to check out one or two more things before I can really talk

[peter noble]

Anybody trying to work out the scale from screen grabs from the show is on a hiding to nothing.

The scales of the landing bay changes to whatever ship is in it and when you consider that the launch rails on the landing bay aren't angled (like the exit ports on the miniature) but straight, then it's all up for err... grabs.

I've just got some MCA TV publicity material off the bookshelf, and it states:

"The battlestar, Galactica, a space ship more than a mile long, with a cruising speed measured in light seconds..."

And:

"As for the Galactica itself, Larson conceived it as "a city in space, ten times larger than the largest aircraft carrier known today..."|

[maudib]

Thanks for the 2 mile scale render, that confirms my vision for my "reimagined" big G. I totally agree with Peter on this issue. It's just a 1970's TV show created by anything other than competent scientists and engineers. I wouldn't look too closely at the production credits. I just want to use this BSG stuff to make CGI renders for fun! If you want to really take this up as a hobby, just go visit Jeff Russell's Starship Dimensions website and see how a dude can get totally obsessed with alchemy!

[gmd3d]

Thanks for the 2 mile scale render, that confirms my vision for my "reimagined" big G. I totally agree with Peter on this issue. It's just a 1970's TV show created by anything other than competent scientists and engineers. I wouldn't look too closely at the production credits. I just want to use this BSG stuff to make CGI renders for fun! If you want to really take this up as a hobby, just go visit Jeff Russell's Starship Dimensions website and see how a dude can get totally obsessed with alchemy!

I am delighted that your doing the re imagined one. I plan on doing one myself.

I think that whatever you do for Galactica. do it as you think it is. else you get caught up in what should be and there have been to many of those discussions.

for me this has been a exercise in fun and curiosity to how things would look.

I like the idea of a 2 mile ship`. but I think perhaps instead of a 6080 perhaps a 9000ft would be the scale I would do it
if that was my target.

I would boost the viper complement to each Battlestar to 150 Vipers for the 6080. 75 per launch bay capacity and I would then see how many Shuttle it could carry followed by landrams etc.

Crew for the ISD is over 37085

12 land barges
20 AT AT walkers
30 AT AS walkers
8 lambda class shuttles
15 storntrooper trans
5 assault gunboats

One of the things I would like to do is perhaps over this year work on a tech manual for a Battlestar. and or other Colonial
equipment and later Cylon stuff.

so how about it. lets revise what is communally considered as canon for the Classic BSG

[peter noble]

Thanks for the 2 mile scale render, that confirms my vision for my "reimagined" big G. I totally agree with Peter on this issue. It's just a 1970's TV show created by anything other than competent scientists and engineers. I wouldn't look too closely at the production credits. I just want to use this BSG stuff to make CGI renders for fun! If you want to really take this up as a hobby, just go visit Jeff Russell's Starship Dimensions website and see how a dude can get totally obsessed with alchemy!

Strangely enough, the length of 10 aircraft carriers come out at just over 2 miles, so you've managed to persuade me that the G might be even bigger than we all think it is!

:cool:

[gmd3d]

But would the 10 time larger just mean length only, could it not mean volume. one of the launch tubes at the 6080 is twice or three times as
large as an Aircraft carrier. ??

fulfilling the 10 time large scale..

Just a thought :)

[gmd3d]

galactica by folkrm
enterprise a by dennis bailey
enterprise d by prologic 9
viper by folkrm

I am quoting myself (why not) :)

to point out that in the 4th image top view between the Enterprise and the Galactica is a viper.. its a tiny speck
between the 2 ships.

its on the same level as the launch tubes. to give you an idea of the size of the Viper and Galactica.

anyone know what size is the Cylon raider .

[gmd3d]

does everyone agree that the raider is 39 feet across-

I going to try that in the next pictures

[maudib]

I am delighted that your doing the re imagined one. I plan on doing one myself.

I think that whatever you do for Galactica. do it as you think it is. else you get caught up in what should be and there have been to many of those discussions.


That has been my goal from the beginning of my big G project. Nice to see others thinking along similar lines. Good luck with you on your tech manual project :thumbsup: But again, I wouldn't spent too much effort/time on it. I'd rather you use your 3D modeling skills to create new reimagined BSG meshes! Not the radically non-BSG style designs of the De Santos productions, but a common sense "evolution" of the 1970's designs. Improving upon the shortcomings of the original so that visually things make sense, but not totally changing the "Colonial look". The new Cylon designs are a complete departure from the spirit of the original and they remind me more of the original Wing Commander Kilrathi designs.

Although this doesn't belong here in this thread, my tentative long range modeling goals are:

1. High poly columbia-class battlestar ( Galactica + Pegasus nameplates)
2. High poly colonial shipyard
3. High poly flagship-class battestar
4. Hidden asteroid colonial secret base
5. High poly cylon baseship
6. High poly cylon super baseship
7. High poly model of Atlantis cityship from Stargate Atlantis universe
8. High poly model of Daedalaus-class battlecruiser

You can see that this would just about represent my lifetime output at my current rate of progress if I concentrate only on modeling. So diverting my attention away to other fan-based efforts would not be possible.

[gmd3d]

That has been my goal from the beginning of my big G project. Nice to see others thinking along similar lines. Good luck with you on your tech manual project :thumbsup: But again, I wouldn't spent too much effort/time on it. I'd rather you use your 3D modeling skills to create new reimagined BSG meshes! Not the radically non-BSG style designs of the De Santos productions, but a common sense "evolution" of the 1970's designs. Improving upon the shortcomings of the original so that visually things make sense, but not totally changing the "Colonial look". The new Cylon designs are a complete departure from the spirit of the original and they remind me more of the original Wing Commander Kilrathi designs.

Although this doesn't belong here in this thread, my tentative long range modeling goals are:

1. High poly columbia-class battlestar ( Galactica + Pegasus nameplates)
2. High poly colonial shipyard
3. High poly flagship-class battestar
4. Hidden asteroid colonial secret base
5. High poly cylon baseship
6. High poly cylon super baseship
7. High poly model of Atlantis cityship from Stargate Atlantis universe
8. High poly model of Daedalaus-class battlecruiser

You can see that this would just about represent my lifetime output at my current rate of progress if I concentrate only on modeling. So diverting my attention away to other fan-based efforts would not be possible.

Wow good luck with that ....

and I understand where your coming from.. you have your own plan and that´s cool.

My feeling is this for any fan work for the classic Galactica

do what you think you should do..

getting stuck on what´s expected sucks the fun and the joy out of it.

here is an image I had to try .... sorry for the lighting but its called "got him on the right" the raider is 39ft across.

sorry for the lack of credits ... this is in may ways a WIP.

[gmd3d]

"Got Him on the Right" part 2. a lighter look.

to me that more or less covers the 6080 ft scale.

I would be the first to admit I can be wrong.

But for me the Classic Galactica is 6080ft long

no other size now looks right..

I hope you have enjoyed this exercise as much as I have.

this has been the most fun I had with BSG in years.

[BST]

to any Mod or Admin passing, any chance of having this thread Sticky-ed.

I am planning some more scale images sometime soon.


Ask and ye shall receive. ;)

(Thread stuck).

:D

[gmd3d]

I thank thee for thy labours .. :)

[BST]

I thank thee for thy labours .. :)

Thou art most welcome.

:salute:

[Darrell Lawrence]

If you want an accurate (other people's words, not mine!) Viper, I can loan you mine.

Also, I have my DeSanto Viper (needs a little re-work on the engine cowl) and my Cobra, among other ships.

[gmd3d]

If you want an accurate (other people's words, not mine!) Viper, I can loan you mine.

Also, I have my DeSanto Viper (needs a little re-work on the engine cowl) and my Cobra, among other ships.

absolutely :D:D. I would love to see those models. :salute:

[gmd3d]

Well, the miniature is 3 ft wide, so about half the size of the Galactica.

you know I only just got this..... I:) :D:D I was so engrossed in the scaling question I let it pass..


Har har har !! :rotf:

[Punisher454]

Been gone a week, lots going on here. Awesome!
For my own 3D Galactica related projects I have settled on 6080 feet (approximately).

I believe that to get anywhere with figuring out a consistent scale you have to decide which screenshots to accept as correct and which ones to accept as being in error.

My bad list,
I think all EA destroyer shots should be considered to be in error.
The viper landing shots are possibly the worst.
The shuttlecraft hatch/aft exterior set prop is a joke.
Launchtube exit's are too big on the studio miniature.

Good list,
Shuttle to landingbay entrance proportions as seen from inside and outside.
Shuttle interior set to shuttle model looks good (and works well in 3D).
Cylon Raider cockpit and model match up okay and the exterior shot with the ladder is acceptable.
Full size viper prop was really good, a slight discrepancy with the miniature, but I'd model based on the full size prop rather than the miniature.

My main complaint with the EA Destroyer scale is the very narrow connection between the cockpit area and the "neck" , its just too small. Fix that problem with the physical model and you could easily reconcile the interior shots with the model, and possibly scale it down in size enough to be less of a problem in the landing bay.

A couple of things that effect the size of the landing bay entrance is the 3d modelers interpretation of the 2D drawings as well as the 2D artists interpretation of the studio model. It seems that people see the "head" (or bow) section of the Galactica as either being short or long. BTW, I think Maudib has the proportions right on his model.

I would like to see a "standard' scale adopted that would make it easy for artists to share assets and have them work together easily. This would not be a "rule" or anything , people can model and draw as they wish. But to make interchangeability a snap we could have something like a "G-6080" standard, and possibly others like a "G-2M" standard. Obviously we scale models up and down when importing/exporting and such, but on many models there are features that need to be a certain size in order to match other models in a scene. Some basic standards could make that a bit easier.

[gmd3d]

all good points ..

I am planning to knock out an EA destroyer for a technical manual using 137th Gebirg work.

but I want to create the basic shape...

then we will see. but I think its to big as its depicted to fit through the landing bay entrance

[gmd3d]

I agree for the scale point you made.

the Viper should be our starting point for small vessels ...

what do you think

[Punisher454]

Viper works fine, do you prefer the life size prop or the filming miniature? they seem to be of slightly different proportions.

[gmd3d]

life size prop perhaps. I will be preparing some samples in a few days.

among other things :)

[gmd3d]

Anybody trying to work out the scale from screen grabs from the show is on a hiding to nothing.

The scales of the landing bay changes to whatever ship is in it and when you consider that the launch rails on the landing bay aren't angled (like the exit ports on the miniature) but straight, then it's all up for err... grabs.


Just to show this confirming Peters point, here is an image of the Viper and the entrance to the Bay.

I think for this we need to make compromises for scales.

that what the Technical manual is about. so please help to make it work by contributing your thoughts and ideas and if you can. your time.

[peter noble]

It might be best to start from the top down.

Maybe by identifying what the areas of the bridge do?

http://reocities.com/televisioncity/satellite/2836/bridge.html

This is the sort of thing that Jim Stevenson's skills would lend themselves to IMO.

[gmd3d]

Yes this is helpful . I just at this moment located the blueprints ......

great stuff

[Punisher454]

I think I have copies of most of the blueprints with good resolution. I'll try to find them all and send them.

[gmd3d]

Great.... Oh and I found your Bridge model you sent me.

or I think its yours anyway..

[maudib]

Taranis, when you say "tech manual", are you referring to BSG things as they are in the TV show, or are you going to "re-imagine" some aspects in order to make all the pieces all fit together sensibly?

[gmd3d]

Taranis, when you say "tech manual", are you referring to BSG things as they are in the TV show, or are you going to "re-imagine" some aspects in order to make all the pieces all fit together sensibly?

"re-imagine" some aspects in order to make all the pieces all fit together sensibly"

that cover it really.

I don´t see the point of rehashing information that is wrong.
its my hope that this will fix the things that are just out of place as much as possible and yet try the hardest to keep within the feel of the show.

its like for years the Galactica has be thought of as a ship between 2000 ft or 4000 ft and I find that to be wrong. it has to be bigger.

the 2 miles is I think also too big for what we see on the screen.

so I think 6080 ft is the scale we should as a fan base make Canon if you wish to think that way.

[Andromeda]

I only just found this thread, just had a read of all 4 pages,
as everbody has already mentioned 6,080 minimum,
I cant argue against that, ages ago i wrote up 6 pages of ideas and arguments on the
size's etc and back then came up with "at least 5,780 feet" so yes 6080 works.
good work all :)

[gmd3d]

thanks ..... we´re still working on it ......

[HDE]

Hi all,

I've tried a new way to determine the size of Galactica. Instead of comparing the sizes of images, one can estimate the length of launch tubes from acceleration expected and time accelerating in the tube using simple lenght = (acceleration * time ^ 2) / 2 formula.

In most launches it appears that Viper needs just under 3 seconds to exit the tube. Well, this time is sometimes a bit longer (up to 5 seconds), but this are exceptions and can be due to multiple filmilngs or deliberate slower acceleration. Anyway, I'll use 2.7 seconds as some sort of minimal launch time.

Now that the time is here, let's figure out the acceleration. First of all, this launches resemble an airplane taking off an aircraft carrier by catapulting. While this is necessary in atmospheric flight, where a craft needs some minimum speed to have enough lift to fly, there must be some other reason in space. I guess that this gives Vipers better chance of survival when launched during the fight, because slower targets are easier to hit. That means, it can be expected that the acceleration is high or close to the maximum that the craft allows, which is probably somewhere between 50m/s2 and 120m/s2. Most of viper pilots heads are pressed back during launch, but sometimes pilots (Boomer) manage to move the head forward during launch, which is not possible at accelerations well above 50m/s2. That means, that 50m/s2 (5g) might be a good guess for Viper launch acceleration. I frankly doubt it sensible for acceleration to be lower than that.

This time and acceleration give 182meter (600ft) long launch tubes.

From this size it is possible to calculate the minimum width of flight operation decks. We see Vipers exit Galactica at about 60° angle, which allows tubes to be longer at the same deck width. Simple trigonometry shows that at least 158 meters (520ft) of launch deck is used by the tubes. This size makes it unlikely for the tubes to be placed on the side of landing bay. (Such configuration would call for at least 400m wide launching decks and 5km long Galactica at least.) It is much more likely, that the tubes start at the side of the deck that is closer to the main body - Viper than accelerates above the landing bay and crosses to the outer side. If this is the case, there must be some additional space behind the launch tube start (we can even see some sort of garage door behind the Vipers), where the Vipers are brought to their launch positions. This needs at least another 15 to 20m including the armored outer wall.

If I sum these numbers it means that flight operation areas are at least 175 meters (575ft) wide which gives at least 2050 meter (6750 ft) long Galactica.

[Apolloisall]

Sound good to me!!!:salute:

And welcome aboa:cool:rd!!!

(Actually given the size of the underpinning co-axial rod casing (which everyone knows is exactly 1/2 meter), just above the port pin locking joint behind the main thrusters, I calculated 5987 ft 6.5 in myself- but that's just me.:D)



(Did anyone buy what I said for like, even a micron...?)

[HDE]

It is kind of surprising, when it's obvious that filming was often done with no regard to real dimensions (Vipers landing, etc), how many different measurements give pretty similar results, around 2000m (6000ft).

[Apolloisall]

It is kind of surprising, when it's obvious that filming was often done with no regard to real dimensions (Vipers landing, etc), how many different measurements give pretty similar results, around 2000m (6000ft).

I think the FX guys were in so much of a hurry to produce, they didn't overthink details like that, and their natural talents led them to a pretty standard scale appearance. IMO anyway.