New 'Murphy' Class Destroyers (October 21, 2005)

[Bandit LOAF]

Yesterday's update about the high resolution Plunkett-class Heavy Artillery Cruiser model was only half the story! Her celebrated sister class, the Murphy Destroyer, also has a FMV-quality model.

Veteran Wing Commander artist Sean Murphy developed the model on his own... and it happened to fit right in with the plan for Secret Ops, which was originally going to re-use the Coventry-type Destroyer seen in Wing Commander III and IV. His online portfolio includes these impressive shots of the full scale model:

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Original update published on October 21, 2005

 

[AD]

Neat! he has all kinds of impressive renders and concept art for all kinds of WC ships on his site. I thought it was humorous that he was (sort of) the SWC Jazz.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

He's also Roger Wilco.

 

[Unregistered]

i dont remember this from Wc3, I still like it though.

 

[Unregistered]

Oh wait, I didnt read properly. never mind

 

[Dragon1]

Wow, there would appear to be 6 torpedo or CSM tubes mounted under the plasma cannon.

The article stated that the Coventry type was to be re-used initially. What happened to that idea?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Wow, there would appear to be 6 torpedo or CSM tubes mounted under the plasma cannon.

I don't know -- holes aren't necessarily for firing things out.

The article stated that the Coventry type was to be re-used initially. What happened to that idea?

Sean Murphy happened to have designed a ship model (seen above) that they could use instead, so they did.

 

[Dragon1]

I don't know -- holes aren't necessarily for firing things out.

You are right, they could be thrusters or something, but given the placement and the ordering, they definitely look like launch tubes.

 

[Taser8]

You are right, they could be thrusters or something, but given the placement and the ordering, they definitely look like launch tubes.

I seem to recall that when I designed it I did in fact intend for them to be torpedo tubes, very much inspired by the nose-flanking tubes on a submarine.

 

[Dragon1]

Awesome. Thanks Taser8.

Any other insights into the design?

 

[Taser8]

Hmmm...let's see...the body of the ship was kind of inspired by the slide/barrel of a .45 pistol, you know, the old GI issue one.

The original idea I had for the way the ship would maneuver was to have the big engine pods rotate independently around the lateral axis, while the big jutting black pods on the nose were to be vertical thrusters. So if the ship had to turn to port, the port engine pod would rotate down while the starboard pod would rotate up, causing the ship to roll around its long axis; then the nose thrusters would push the nose up in the direction the ship was supposed to go. Probably a lot more work than would be efficient for ship movement, but would have made for dramatic cinematics!

There were also big pod doors that rotated up and down to cover the engine "intakes" and exhausts.

And I hear that my bridge designs have been a topic of discussion? I mostly just like that wedge-like shape; kind of the shape of a flat striking hand...