There are a few more here :D
Star Trek Database - U.F.P. and Starfleet
Plus Klingon, Romulan, Borg, and just about any other alien race ever shown in the history of Trek.
As to the design question, a half-sphere can be made one of two ways without resorting to computer modeling. The first is by calculating how big you want the half sphere. Draw a circle in this size and then measure the circumference, then draw another circle in this size.
After that you divide up the circle into sectors, based on how smooth you want the curve.
Now here's the crazy math part:
Take the circumference of the big circle.
Divide it by the number of sectors.
Then take the diameter of final sphere and divide it by the number of sectors.
Then take the larger number.
Subtract the smaller number.
Divide it in half.
Why all the math? Because this is how much you need to trim from each petal. This will require a bit of trial and error, but will result in a sphere that is a perfect curve when viewed from the side. You can achieve a squashed shape by altering the shape of each petal; just tape a copy of the sphere together at the base, squash the sphere to the shape you want, then manually draw half the shape of the resulting opening onto each of the petals.
The second way involves more math but is easier to assemble IMNSHO. Draw a side view of the sphere and divide it up horizontally base on how smooth you want the curve. The do pi*r^2 to get the diameters of each curve.
Now this is the tricky part and requires a bit of T&E: make circles of each diameter and create cylinders of these. Then form cones of paper that match the angle of each section in the drawing (this can be accomplished by drawing a line using a straightedge connecting the two diameters of the section you're doing) and let them rest over the cylinders and mark where they rest. Press gently to get the correct location, but don't force it.
Then trim away the excess paper and, using the side view, cut the area you made in the same width as the section you're trying to make. Use the next smallest size of cylinder and check your progress to make sure you're not making it too small.
After the rings are all made and checked against each other to fit, cut them apart and trace the pattern on a seperate sheet of paper and copy it onto cardstock. Then cut and assemble using the edge gluing method. If it works, then pat your self on the back. If it don't, then just go back and find out where you went wrong. Most likely any errors will be due to making one ring or another slightly too big or small.
Its not really a matter of skill either, just remember: if at first you don't succeed, consume copious quantities of coffee and try again.
No-one who is any good at designing got there by saying "I'm not talented, I'm just a lowly modeler. Those guys who can draw/model in CG/whatever, *they're* the gods of modeling." They're normal guys just like you, and they have the drive to model what they want. Also, don't be afraid to cut up your experimental model to try out different shapes. If you get frustrated, just put it down for a while and read a book or something; the solution will come to you eventually, just like with Sudoku, Cross-word puzzles, or logic puzzles.
Take care, and good luck.
08-01-2009, 11:15 AM
Linear Mode
