Galaxy class - Star Trek starship parts kit expansion
[This kit is can also be found on my Google Drive mirror]
Note: I’ve created a Patreon to support my modelling projects. If you’ve found my work useful, have the means, and would like to support my efforts, please give it a look. I will continue to release my designs for free on Cults 3D and Thingiverse, but Patreon members will get early access and in progress updates on my new projects, and it will serve as a central location for announcements. Thanks for reading!
This kit provides parts and ship files supporting the Galaxy class, the design featured as the hero ship USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D in the show Star Trek: The Next Generation.
This expansion parts kit is meant to be compatible with my original Star Trek Constitution Class Parts Kit and all of the related kits.
As discussed in the Memory Alpha article on the Galaxy class filming model, the TV shows made use of several models for the Enterprise, photos of which I reviewed extensively during the modelling process. In addition, I referenced Rick Sternbach’s official blueprints.
However, each of these sources have differences from each other. Although overall hull shapes were generally similar among them, many details such as shield grids, windows, and other particulars can vary widely. I’ve tried to come up with a decent synthesis of the various versions, but compromise decisions were made, especially on the stardrive hull.
This is a V1, and I may revisit this model at some point in the future.
See my Thingiverse and Cults 3d profile for the full list of parts kits I’ve released so far. All parts are meant to be cross-compatible between kits for your kitbashing enjoyment.
In addition to the combined ship STL files that are included in thing Thing, the contents of the kit also includes additional zip files:
- galaxy-parts-blender-file.zip, galaxy-parts_lower-detail-blender, and galaxy-parts-source-blender-file.zip The Blender source files used to generate the ship and part STL files.
- galaxy-parts-stls.zip. STL part files.
- galaxy-ship-stls_lower-details.zip. Ship STL files without shield grid and window details.
- galaxy-saucers-and-stardrive-ship-stls.zip
File size warning
The detail level is much higher for this kit than in my previous releases (including, for the first time, windows in the hull), which has resulted in correspondingly larger file size. Combined ship STL files are in the 60-90mb range, and working with these files may stress some older machines.
In addition to the standard files, I’ve also include lower detail versions that remove features such as shield grids or windows. These lower detail files tend towards 60-70% file size vs the standard version.
Saucer vs Stardrive
In keeping with the saucer separation feature of the design in the show, I’ve included separate ship and part files for both the saucer and stardrive sections of the ship for all variants.
Note that getting these to fit together when printed separately was not a priority. Given the close tolerances they may simply not fit together.
When kitbashing a combined version of the ship, use the versions of the Saucer and Stardrive part labeled “solid-neck-intersection”. These parts have overlapping sections that are more likely to generate a watertight mesh when you export to STL.
Included Ships
Standard Galaxy class
The version of the ship as seen throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation. Includes three separate ship files, a combined version and a separate saucer and stardrive.
Galaxy X dreadnought
This up-armed version of the Galaxy was seen in the potential future of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series finale, “All Good Things”. Includes a third nacelle, a massive saucer-mounted phaser lance cannon, and a number of additional tweaks and pieces that were glued on to the original model.
Perhaps controversially, I’ve included separate saucer and stardrive models which split the phaser lance.
Venture refit
As seen in Star Trek Deep Space 9 episode “The Jem’hadar”. This was the final production use of the four foot Galaxy class studio model, with the only difference from the standard version being the phaser blisters on the warp nacelles. In-universe, this represented a tactical upgrade for the 2270s. In reality, these were originally added to the dreadnought version but could not be easily removed, so were left in when the model was used for the DS9 shots.
Includes three separate ship files, a combined version and a separate Saucer and Stardrive.
Short nacelle prototype
Based off of the original Andrew Probert proposal for the design, with no exposed bridge module and shorter nacelles. Final comments from Gene Rodenberry apparently made slight tweaks to this version producing the ship we saw in the show.
Notes on scaling and working with Blender
My target scale for all source files and output STL files is 1:1000. Although these files have not been extensively tested through printing, they are intended to be resized to match common modelling and miniatures scales.
| Target scale | Scale STL files to: | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1/3900 | 0.25641026 | FASA miniature scale |
| 1/3788 | 0.26399155 | ADB Starline 2400 scale |
| 1/3125 | 0.32 | ADB Starline 2500 scale |
| 1/2500 | 0.4 | The Trek modelers "Golden scale" |
| 1/1600 | 0.625 | TOS 3-Ship Set scale |
| 1/1400 | 0.714285714 | Common resin model scale |
| 1/650 | 1.538461538 | Modelling scale |
| 1/537 | 1.862197393 | Common scale for TMP models |
| 1/350 | 2.857142857 | Large scale |
Blender is free, which to be honest was the primary factor in my decision to learn it. There are many fine video and text tutorials available online if you're interested in learning more. See the Blender fundamentals tutorials playlist to get started.
You can use File -\> Import -\> Stl (.stl) and File -\> Export -\> Stl (.stl) to load or save STL files in blender.
Note: This kit was built using Blender 3.5.
Post-processing STL output
Although all of the STL files included have been tested as valid watertight meshes, joining the parts together and exporting new STL files can introduce small errors that may cause issues with slicing programs. I recommend any STL files you create are checked using a program like Netfabb Basic free edition. Doing a simple "Close All Holes" repair has fixed most of the issues I've run into so far. If you do run into issues with mesh quality, please let me know.
Parts list
The following lists provide a summary of the included parts. Parts are included in the ZIP file galaxy-parts-stls.zip.
For the majority of items, the mesh origin has been set so that when you import these objects into your 3D editor of choice, they are positioned as they would be on the sample ships provided.
Parts
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| galaxy-bridge-module-standalone.stl | Bridge module as an independent file. |
| galaxy-captains-yacht.stl | Captain’s yacht separated from the saucer. |
| galaxy-deflector.stl | Deflector dish. |
| galaxy-enginering-hull-only.stl | Engineering hull and pylons without neck, for kitbashing purposes. |
| galaxy-enginering-hull-only_lower-detail.stl | Engineering hull and pylons without neck, for kitbashing purposes (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-main-shuttlebay-standalone.stl | Top deck of saucer and main shuttlebay separate from saucer. |
| galaxy-main-shuttlebay-standalone_lower-detail.stl | Top deck of saucer and main shuttlebay separate from saucer (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-nacelle-center.stl | Standard style nacelle centered, for kitbashing purposes. |
| galaxy-nacelle-mounts-short.stl | Mounting piece connecting nacelles with pylons (short version). |
| galaxy-nacelle-mounts.stl | Mounting piece connecting nacelles with pylons. |
| galaxy-nacelle-phaser-blister-center.stl | Center nacelle phaser blister used in the Galaxy X dreadnought. |
| galaxy-nacelle-port.stl | Standard warp nacelle. |
| galaxy-nacelle-starboard.stl | Standard warp nacelle. |
| galaxy-neck-only.stl | Neck separated from engineering hull, for kitbashing purposes. |
| galaxy-neck-only_lower-detail.stl | Neck separated from engineering hull, for kitbashing purposes (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-pylons-standalone.stl | Pylons separated from engineering hull, for kitbashing purposes. |
| galaxy-pylons-standalone_lower-detail.stl | Pylons separated from engineering hull, for kitbashing purposes (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-saucer-no-neck-cutout-no-bridge.stl | Saucer without cutout for neck intersection, without bridge module or main shuttlebay. |
| galaxy-saucer-no-neck-cutout-no-bridge_lower-detail.stl | Saucer without cutout for neck intersection, without bridge module or main shuttlebay (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-saucer-no-neck-cutout.stl | Standard saucer without cutout for neck intersection. |
| galaxy-saucer-no-neck-cutout_lower-detail.stl | Standard saucer without cutout for neck intersection (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-saucer-separated-no-bridge.stl | Standard saucer with neck and cobra head / battle bridge cutout, without bridge and main shuttlebay. |
| galaxy-saucer-separated.stl | Standard saucer with neck and cobra head / battle bridge cutout. |
| galaxy-saucer-separated_lower-detail-no-bridge.stl | Standard saucer with neck and cobra head / battle bridge cutout, without bridge and main shuttlebay. |
| galaxy-saucer-separated_lower-detail.stl | Standard saucer with neck and cobra head / battle bridge cutout (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-saucer-solid-neck-intersection.stl | Standard saucer with neck cutout but no cobra head / battle bridge cutout. |
| galaxy-saucer-solid-neck-intersection_lower-detail.stl | Standard saucer with neck cutout but no cobra head / battle bridge cutout (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-stardrive-solid-neck-intersection.stl | Standard stardrive section without cobra head / battle bridge details. |
| galaxy-stardrive-solid-neck-intersection_lower-detail.stl | Standard stardrive section without cobra head / battle bridge details (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-stardrive.stl | Standard stardrive section with cobra head / battle bridge details. |
| galaxy-stardrive_lower-detail.stl | Standard stardrive section with cobra head / battle bridge details (without shield grids and windows). |
| galaxy-venture-nacelle-phaser-blisters.stl | Port and starboard nacelle blisters used by the Venture refit and Galaxy X dreadnought. |
| galaxy-x-hull-extension.stl | Center engineering hull extension for the Galaxy X dreadnought. |
| galaxy-x-megaphasers.stl | Saucer mounted megaphasers. |
| galaxy-x-nacelle-center.stl | Center nacelle used by the Galaxy X dreadnought. |
| galaxy-x-phaser-lance-combined.stl | Phaser lance, saucer and stardrive section combined. |
| galaxy-x-phaser-lance-separated-saucer.stl | Phaser lance, saucer section. |
| galaxy-x-phaser-lance-separated-stardrive.stl | Phaser lance, stardrive section. |
| galaxy-x-pylon-fins.stl | Fins and added phaser strip attached to the Galaxy X pylons. |
| galaxy-x-torpedo-module.stl | Saucer mounted torpedo module. |
Combined ship STLs
All combined, ready-to-print ship files are included in galaxy-ship-stls.zip. These files provide sample ships generated using the parts included in this kit. There is a second galaxy-ship-stls_lower-detail.zip file that provides versions of the ships without shield grids and windows.
| Ship | Description |
|---|---|
| galaxy-combined-ship.stl | Combined ship file for the standard Galaxy class. |
| galaxy-separated-saucer.stl | Standard Galaxy class separated saucer section. |
| galaxy-separated-stardrive.stl | Standard Galaxy class separated stardrive section. |
| galaxy-short-nacelle-prototype.stl | Prototype Galaxy class with no bridge module and shortened nacelles. |
| galaxy-venture-refit-combined-ship.stl | Combined ship file for the Venture refit, featuring added nacelle phaser blisters. |
| galaxy-venture-refit-separated-stardrive.stl | Venture refit separated stardrive section. |
| galaxy-x-combined-ship.stl | Combined ship file for the standard Galaxy-X dreadnought refit. |
| galaxy-x-separated-saucer.stl | Galaxy-X dreadnought refit separated saucer section. |
| galaxy-x-separated-stardrive.stl | Galaxy-X dreadnought refit separated stardrive section. |
Blender files
Three Blender files are included:
- galaxy-parts-blender-file.zip contains galaxy-parts.blend, which has the standard STL parts arranged as used in the sample ship designs.
- galaxy-parts_lower-detail-blender-file.zip contains galaxy-parts_lower-detail.blend, which has a separate version of the parts without shield grids and windows.
- galaxy-parts-source-blender-file.zip contains galaxy-parts-source.blend, which is the source blender file used to create the parts.
License
I'm releasing this under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. You're free to distribute and modify these files (even for commercial use), provided you attribute the creator and distribute your contributions under the same license.