[This project 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 is the sixteenth expansion parts kit meant to complement my original Star Trek Constitution Class Parts Kit, providing parts and ship models to support the Constellation class starship as seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Update 2024-04-13: Another update to my original Constitution class kit leads to another update to the Constellation. In addition to adding windows, I’ve updated the B/C decks, rebuilt the necks, and made several other less obvious changes to make the model more accurately match more accurate references I’ve been able to find. If you’re printing at smaller miniature scales you may not notice a difference, but if you want to print at 1/2500 or larger, you may want to look at the new files. Previous version can be found here.

Update 2023-04-13: This kit has been updated to make use of the newer parts from my original Constitution class kit. Parts have been modified with updated saucer, impulse, and nacelle details. The older version of this kit can be found on this Google Drive archive.

See my Thingiverse Profile for the full list of parts kits I’ve released so far. Each of these kits includes combined ships and ship parts STL files, along with blender source files used to create them. Ship files should be ready to print. Part files are provided so you can import into your 3d modelling software of choice to combine and modify to easily create your own ship designs. All parts are meant to be cross-compatible between kits.

The Constellation class studio model started out as a small kitbash model intended for display in Captain Picard’s ready room. This model used many parts from standard AMT/Ertl refit Enterprise kits, but also used several anime model kits for smaller details. Most notable of the anime parts are the wings of a Macross VF-1 Valkyrie which can be seen embedded in the top rear of the extended saucer.

A larger version was later made as a filming model, essentially carrying over most details from the desktop model. This model was first seen as the USS Stargazer in the season one episode “The Battle” and was used sporadically throughout TNG’s run as other Constellation class starships.

In this 3d version, I tried to stay as close to the filming model as I could given my skill level and the availability of detailed photos online. A keen eye will likely note discrepancies, especially with many of the smaller details coming from those anime kits that are hard to make out from photos. However, I think this is an acceptable level of detail for smaller models (see below for notes on scaling).

In addition to the Constellation, I’ve also included a simple kitbash design I’m calling the Wasp class. It modifies some of the lower saucer details and replaces the lower nacelles with a refit Constitution class secondary hull. Aside from just providing a kitbashing example, I include primarily to give some perspective on how much bigger the Constellation is compared to the Constitution class.

Zip files are included in the following google drive locations:

• ConstellationV3-ship-stls.zip – Contains the combined, ready to print, ship files.
• ConstellationV3-parts-stls.zip – Contains all of the individual part STL files used to create the combined ship files.
• ConstellationV3-blender-files.zip – Contains the source blender files used to generate the parts.

Notes on scaling and working with Blender

My target scale for all source files and output STL files is 1:1000, However, I generally recommend 1:2500 or smaller given the detail level of the model. Although these files have not been extensively tested through printing, they are intended to be resized to match common modelling and miniatures scales.

Blender

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. For a basic tutorial on moving and joining objects in Blender(which should be the minimum you need to know when working with these parts), see this instructables tutorial.

You can use File -> Import -> Stl (.stl) and File -> Export -> Stl (.stl) to load or save STL files in blender.

Note: These kits were built using Blender 2.9.

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.

File manifest

Parts

The ConstellationV3-parts-stls.zip file contains all of the part STL model files listed below.

Combined ship STLs

The ConstellationV3-ship-stls.zip file provides the printable ships created using the parts included in this kit.

Blender files

The ConstellationV3-blender-files.zip file contain a parts file, containing the STL parts arranged as used in the sample ship designs, and a parts source file, containing the raw blender objects 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.