Re: [FT] GZG Model Scale

On Sat, 30 Jan 1999 23:13:20 +1000 Alan E & Carmel J Brain 
<aebrain@dynamite.com.au> wrote:

> Steve Pugh wrote:

>> The mass of the Enterprise has always been suspect, whilst most 
sources have said something between 150,000 and 200,000mt there is 
dialogue in the original series which stated a mass of a million 
ton(ne?)s! <<
 
> Star Trek Technical Manual (Franz Joseph designs) states 275,000 
metric tonnes deadweight. Which may or may not be empty, combat weight 
or fully loaded. Mass 2750 in any event. Youch! <

That seems high. The original Enterprise (Kirk's TV version) was always 
said (by such people as Bob Justman, who ought to know <g>) to mass 
190,000 mt, and I'm pretty sure that that figure was used in the FJ ST 
Tech Manual (in my copy, anyway). The DN was something like 275,000 mt, 
and the DD was 95,000; the SC, built on the same hull but with less 
weaponry, was 94,500 mt.

The mass of the refitted Enterprise was never explicitly stated, AFAIK, 
except for a dubious figure from FASA of 170,000 mt. High tech = 
lighter ship, despite the better engines, 3 times as many phasers, 
bigger secondary hull, etc. I won't say that it couldn't happen, but 
the materials boys must have come up with something amazing....

An interesting side note is that if you compare the sizes (volumes) of 
NCC-1701 and CVN-65 (as illustrated in "The Making of Star Trek"), you 
might wonder where all the mass went in the case of the starship. The 
density of the starship must be significantly higher than that of the 
carrier, leading one writer to speculate that the engine nacelles, and 
maybe the weapons mounts, are plated with collapsed matter shielding!

As for the "million-ton" reference, I'd appreciate some more details of 
who said that and when. ISTR seeing mention of the Enterprise-D massing 
about that much, but not the original "no bloody A, B, C or D" ship.

Phil
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"We gotta get out into Space, If it's the last thing we ever do!"  
   -- Return to the Forbidden Planet
A sentiment echoed by Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk)