Trekyards EP337 - Romulan Battlecruiser (TMP)

[@deponia]

NEAT! Didn't expect a shout-out thanks guys! Btw this ship actually comes from the comic book Star Trek: The Tabukan Syndrome (Issue 35 and 36) published by DC (circa 1989-1993). I first saw it back when I was 7 years old :)

[@vagarcia74]

I was just about to mention that.

[@alexhurlbut]

I can't believe I missed this video. I also saw it for the first time in that comic book when it emerged from a vortex onto an alternative timeline where the Romulans died out and Worf (Worf's grandfather) was the first officer on the Enterprise alongside Kirk.

[@meteosurreal]

I had those Issues myself. Also did some statistics for the Maroans and Mericus.

[@jamieolberding7731]

@@vagarcia74 The Romulan Battle Cruiser does have a name in the comic: The IRW Moonhawk was an experimental Romulan warship developed in the late 23rd century and commanded by Admiral Jaricus in 2288. The design was a combination of a D'deridex-class of the 24th century with a K't'inga-class primary hull. Its classification was V-14. (source: memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/IRW_Moonhawk)

[@todabrilla]

I remember seeing this ship in the comics! I remember that I loved the idea of the transitional form. It was from the DC Star Trek comics that were put out between ST V and ST VI.

[@saladinbob]

It looks like an experimental ship. Specifically testing the Romulans' next generation stardrive on a retrofitted D7/K'tinga.

[@tjisaiha]

It's actually a design from the 1993 DC Comics run of TOS Star Trek written by Howard Weinstein and drawn by Rod Whingham involving an alternate timeline where David Marcus is alive, Worf's grandfather from ST:The Undiscovered Country is a member of the Enterprise crew, a revisit with the Guardian of Forever and peaceful relations between the federation and Klingon Empire. It's great, you guys should check out the run at your local comic book store. Issues 53, 54, 55 and maybe 56. Lots of interesting stories in those DC Star trek comics at the time. I always considered the warship to be cannon. It's an obvious evolution of the class during the era.

[@DelcoRanz93]

You should Clarify it as the Second Volume of DC's Star Trek Comic Run.

[@thepurpleapple]

Yes! I thought I remembered this from quite a while ago. I think I got some of those comics from my library.

[@alexhurlbut]

memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/IRW_Moonhawk

[@atomicninjaduck9200]

While we're "actually-ing" (assuming that's a word), it appeared even earlier than that in issues 35-40, the 6-part Takbukan Syndrome storyline.

[@rover213]

i do think that ship explains the design we see on tng, and how they got into it...

[@christophernuzzi2780]

Why does the Romulan ship have a huge car stereo underslung beneath it?

[@milowokie]

Centurion, deploy the 8-track.

[@xheralt]

The better to load "Don't You Forget About Me" and blast away!

[@davidedward10]

It really does look like a car stereo from back in the day!

[@cosmicquestion9184]

Captain Kirk: " Romulan commander, what do you want!?" Romulan Commander: "I WANNA ROOOCK!" The Rockin Romulans! We could use a Star Trek musical.

[@cameronstoltie5952]

yes i do believe it does sir....

[@Guardian0v4Eva]

One of them ships that stuck in my head as a kid. Got these comics in the loft somewhere. I love the design.

[@daric_]

Cool design, I like the transition-type ships where you see the progression from one design to the next.

[@Pyrothehedgehog1]

I love this ship I wish we could use it in star trek online

[@stohelpsupport7615]

Dear STO Fans, We are so pleased to announce that Ambassador and the Admin Team have resolved the issues we listed before and have done a fantastic job to finally get STO back to how it used to be. Zone chat is a no go zone for anyone who wants to cause the rest nothing but Trolling and the worst kind of behavior that a Star Trek Game must never have. We Salute you. Thank you everyone for all your support. You know who you are.

[@alexm7047]

I think it’s a super cool ship! Wish I could see it in live-action.

[@we-got-green__lightsabersy1807]

Alex M it's been modeled for the Starfleet command 2 fan game models .

[@enterprise-h312]

I like it when just by looking at a ship its form tells you a story. This ship has got that rustbucket/prototype-vibe to it which implies that it hasn't been refined yet. I would personally see this as a separate line of ships designs which later converged with the Vas'Deletham (which lacked the D'deridex shape).

[@TheSuperSnake313]

This lends a lot of credence to the designs in The Romulan War movie

[@SGTMontgomeryMACO]

Looks like two inverted Romulan birds of prey with a Klingon boom and bridge module. Pretty cool...

[@mikecrawford2029]

I saw this in a comic that was released right after Undiscovered Country came out

[@tmseh]

Cool giant car radio under the main hull!

[@McDisneySoft]

I hope you guys read this, because I'd like to hear a response. By the way, my apoiuilogies for the length of this response. Here's the long and the short of it: use the tried and true Klingon design (that you felt was worth trading for your most valuable military asset), then improve on the cloak you traded away to maintain your edge over the Klingons. But you need more power to improve on an already power intensive technology, so you use a radical new engine system: a forced quantum singularity (FQS) which is dangerous enough to build out into a hull section as far away from any crew as possible. Ok, so... you have to think of this from the POV of the Romulans. The tech transfer with the klingons was a big deal to them. And remember what they traded and traded for. They traded cloaking technology for the Klingon ship design. What they wanted was everything they didnt have: a faster, more durable ship with more conventional weapons--basically they scrapped their entire ship design for the powerful, fast, durable Klingon design. And the Klingons traded their very best tech for the gamechanger that was the Romulan cloaking device. What the Klingons would keep from the Romulans is the R&D that would be realized in their new ships--and even if they had an alliance, each would still have to do what they could to be able to fight against each other if it came to that. To keep one step ahead of the Kingons, the Romulans wouldn't be trying to outdo the Klingons at their own game, instead, they'd play to their own strengths--cloaking. From the technology trade forward, the Romulans would always have better cloaking than the Klingons. And if the Romulans were about to make a big cloaking tech breakthrough just before the alliance, they would surely wait until it was signed to use it on their own ships. And the lower secondary (tertiary?) Hull is probably related to that. In fact, it may be related to improved/more powerful cloaking tech and the D'deridex's reactor technology. Recall that the D'deridex used a miniature black hole as a power source for their warp drive. Also remember that cloaking technology is a huge power drain. Marry all this together and it all falls into place. They got what they wanted from the Klingons: a strong, fast, durable and most importantly, *proven* space frame. Now say they have ways of improving the cloaking system which will leave the one given to the Klingons look primitive. The only problem? Power. The next generation cloak would require more power than the Klingon warp drive could generate. So they incorporate a radical new engine core utilizing a forced quantum singularity (FQS, aka: a black hole!) Where would you locate a black hole engine on your ship? Right next to the bridge? No, probably in a part of the ship as far away from living,-or even working-areas... maybe in a tertiary hull placed as far away from the crew as possible. And if something goes wrong, they could even blow explosive bolts to ditch the entire nacelle/tertiary section of the ship. If fact, if the FQS drive goes critical, they could even set this whole section to separate and go into warp to create as much distance as possible between the crew/ship and a potentially unstable black hole.

[@mattmilsop4003]

I have the comic this is featured in! I love this ship! It's a nice version of the old D-7. I love it!

[@nicholasdickens2801]

I loved from the old 1990s DC Star Trek comics.

[@reddyredwolf3931]

It's from DC comics when they had the licence. Appeared in two story arcs. First arc Romulans had a race be their proxy but they left them out to dry. Second arc involved them returning to an altered timeline where the Romulan Empire was destroyed during the Earth-Romulan War and in the 23rd century the Federation was allies with a peaceful Klingon Empire.

[@Fuhque13]

Klingons and Romulans had a brief alliance where the Romulans traded cloaking technology for something. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that a few Battlecruisers were included in the deal. This ship seems like a logical progression of Romulans pimping out a D-7.

[@sathervbc]

Guys it is from a 1980s comic set in Movie era. I had this comic and definitely remeber seeing this ship.

[@davidedens6353]

Considering I remember this era of fan design we always looked at this ship as the romulan version of the Ktinga refit. Its still has its origins as a klingon ship. The next ship which is the Excelcior counterpart.has the beginning of the bird head.

[@weaponxx9467]

That's from a Star Trek comic published in 1992(September I think) by DC Comics. I remember being fascinated by that design back then.

[@shaundis2117]

I bought those comics in a grocery store in the late 80's . Still have them around here somewhere too . Pretty good art in them given the time

[@absolutebs3360]

I liked the optional am/fm cassette player. Guess they like to have tunes with their ale.

[@watchthe1369]

It is a nice evolutionary step, I might have had that neck originate at the bottom of the upper hull. Maybe run a "Neck" down the center between the two hulls, and turn the squarish thin sitting on the bulb and turn it into the tip of a triangle that turns into a "Hardback" along the boom into the upper hull bump. It would show signs of modification away from the Kilngon aesthetic and starting into a Romulan concept with the trianglular bit atop the bulb starting to look more like a beak. Modify the center strut to turn kind of "footlike" with the car stereo looking box.

[@alexbarrett3832]

Could you fit a bird of prey into the space between the two hulls to use it as a carrier?

[@benprewitt4600]

Did they ever make a model of this? I'm not sure why, but this was always my fave.

[@90lancaster]

This would be a nice Eaglemoss Model - and also because it would give them a reason to cover Star Trek Comics - it might be complicated in licensing terms but if it was possible something like this would be suitable.

[@Lightman0359]

If its Excelsior era, it could be a refit to a romulan d-7 to experiment with what would become the d'deridex singularity core

[@shinjofox]

You should interview Leonard Kirk. He is a southern Ontario based comic artist who drew some DS9 Comics when it was on the air, He has a good story about visiting the set while it was in production. He attends many comic conventions in Southern Ontario. Also he is a friend of mine.

[@owenwildish331]

I remember seeing this from an old STNG Marvel or DC comic around the mid-90s early 2000s, I think it was in a brief flashback to an incident in the late 23rd cen or something that linked to the main 24th cen events, it was meant to be the intermediate stage between the TOS Romulan Battle Cruser and the TNG Warbird (the comic was definitely before Nemesis & Enterprise, possibly before Voyager and around Generations)

[@mekkler]

That front module is a 70s era cassette deck.

[@ralphsexton8531]

Keith Harper is dead on. DC Comics "The Tabukan Syndrome," volume 1 was from September 10, 1992. I have the 6-volume series, with volume 1 autographed by George Takei, and I chose that for his autograph as it was Captain Sulu's first mission in command of the Excelsior. A favorite of mine, and a favorite memory meeting him. Personally, I don't think it needs to look more "Romulan" than this. This ship is on service only around 20 years after the tech exchange with the Klingon empire, and a good 60 years before the D'derdix. It need not look too much like the later.

[@oStarfax]

I would alter it to sling the bridge module a bit lower to balance the ship out aeshetically. A bit like Pacific 201 did to the Deadalus to balance that design out.

[@johnsantiago1872]

I think it has to do with something similar to the lend lease program we had during WWll. Where we didn't exactly give the newer technology to the Russians because we didn't trust what they'd do after the war. So maybe the Romulans were sold the older tech or parts of damaged ships as salvage. The Romulans then adapted it to their needs. But I do agree, why would'nt you connect the upper rear decks and the lower battle decks ( at least a gangway or ladder like a jeffries tube )?

[@philhsueh4860]

Except that we did, for the most part, give newer tech to the Russians. We may not have given them the latest planes we did give them our latest tanks like the Lee/Grants and Shermans, both of which were developed during the war. Even the P-39, which we gave the Russians in droves, wasn't that old of a design and we gave the Russians tons of them mainly because they weren't that popular in the US.

[@PsychoStreak]

Oddly, I like the fact that this ship doesn't have a beak. I don't think the beak design aesthetic had come about yet among Romulan ship designers. Wings, yes, and possibly feathers, but not a bird head. Even non-canon ships like the V7 were pointed, but all flat planes like a Cadillac. It's a bit of an extravagance and one could argue a waste of material as it has to create more unusable spaces than a sphere, oval or cube. At this point in the timeline, the Romulans should still be comparatively resource poor for ship building, though they were on par with the Federation and Klingons technology for the most part. Their cloaks were presumably superior to the Klingon versions, particularly after having Starfleet space jack their prior improved design just a few years earlier. They're a pragmatic lot, so they made the most use of the parts they had on hand - Klingon command modules, impulse engines and warp nacelles, then combined it with hull and wing sections that were more Romulan in feel, more graceful curves and a thicker profile. And they fix the long slender boom problem, as the probably run the ships to tighter tolerances and higher safety standards than the Klingons. Serviceable, well understood core components providing a base platform to begin the process of designing a new generation of Romulan ships. The lower weapons pod keeps the upper section less crowded with equipment, and gives it a clear forward (and aft) firing arc, while retaining the more conventional armaments up top. They could probably swap in different modules down there, ala the Miranda. Wouldn't be surprised if this type of ship was also used to test their artificial singularity warp cores.

[@Tyranidus7]

Kind of looks like the inspiration for the Emperors ship in Discovery. That was the first thing I thought of. Add a sun in the middle and there you go.

[@benharding5727]

like scotty with the mouse in the movie LOL

[@thesilverstormtrooper6968]

Can you guys do the norway class i just noticed that you didn’t cover it yet

[@paulcochran1721]

The bottom pod is a radio out of a 1959 Buick.

[@we-got-green__lightsabersy1807]

Paul Cochran spot on! You got that right!

[@RichtorLazlo]

Change the front boom to a t-10 Bright one and lower it to attach to the bottom of the oval and you have a much more romualn look to it.

[@brennana.murray68]

Does anyone remember a Star Trek PC Video Game that had Motion Picture Romulans in it? The Romulans were using a Pre-Dederidex design. Basically, it was a Dederidex with a blunted beak and a more angled wingspan as opposed to the curved organic wing. There were video reels of the ships fighting in the game.

[@brennana.murray68]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIbFaoCgjq6gmLc

[@SkyStarNova]

Looks like a variation of an idea I had for a Phase II fan series episode.

[@90lancaster]

Quite a lot of some of the better ones end up getting 3D models if they are interesting enough - for example that 24th Century Intrepid variant with a Saucer.

[@glennlaroche1524]

Swear to God, that secondary lower hull looks like a car radio/cassette player lolz.

[@bluerift]

Have you done the Norway class yet?

[@reverendbernfriedaxewielde8443]

I Love those semi canon TMP ships! But for her i would wish they would put the bridge section into the center of the bow section.

[@derekrankin7842]

It actually reminds me of the ISS Charon

[@tempest0392]

Its the predesessor of the d,deridex

[@lafeelabriel]

Thanks to a little good old fashioned google fu (and vaguely recalling this odd ship myself) I can help you guys narrow it down a bit. Her name is apparently IRW Moonhawk, from the comic Time Crime, published by DC comics, back in 1993. (source: memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Time_Crime ) Hope it helps :D

[@josephcasey7890]

Looks like a D10 and a d-Deridex had a baby.

[@travissmith2848]

Hey..... Scotty tried to talk to a mouse!

[@renanfeitosa101]

Cleary a D'deridex precursor

[@exexpat11]

Place another D7 Body and Boom upside down instead of the sling engine connector.

[@cosmictyger]

Have you guys ever discussed the Star Fleet dreadnought, “Star Empire”? Or even the freighter from Star Trek Aurora? I’d LOVE to see Cmdr. Cockins models of them. 🖖🏽👨🏾‍🎤

[@robbirk762]

this was from the comic series in the 90's ..I have this issue somewhere..

[@nightwingnum1226]

The Art looks like it is from the DC comics from the 89 and the early 90's

[@marleymcleay9228]

Oh, I have the anthology of this series.

[@cosmictyger]

...also, would the Klingons have offered them their newer ships or would they still look like the older D7’s? Ah. Your discussing that.

[@deponia]

Btw captain, incase you don't already have a copy; there is a CD from GIT that collects a ton of the old Star Trek comics into a single CD collection. You can find it on ebay by searching for Git Corp Star Trek: The Complete Comic Book Collection (don't go to amazon .ca or .com cause they're charging a fortune!).

[@gaetanbard102]

How big is it to be!

[@josiahclinch6219]

I want to see ealgemoss or round two to do this ship. I planning to do a kitbash of this ship

[@Darkhorse393]

I would love to see a 3d rendering of this. Would it be scaled to the D10 (B10?) Klingon Battlecruiser?

[@Argonautx66]

At least this makes canonical sense.

[@bobbylon5]

This is pre TNG, it was in the DC comics. It's essentially a Romulan ship used in the DC comics that ran with the alternate universe storlyline which was the origional pase two story we now see in discovery. The idea is that it's two ships. The second ship is essentially a huge weapon, but the bottom section could be swapped and modulated.. This is where ILM got the idea for the Dederedex. memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Mirror_Universe_Saga

[@jpksready]

It's the IRW MOONHAWK 2288 DC Comics Star Trek 2nd series 1988-89

[@jameskennedy8030]

The ship is the IRW MOONHAWK from dc comics star trek 2nd series

[@WaybackTECH]

Seems like there should be something suspended in the middle there to take up that space... hmm maybe a sun perhaps? Oh wait... wrong Star Trek... Hey, what do you guys think about Patrick Stewart "possibly" having a role in Discovery? I think that topic could fill up a whole show, with, would he really do it? what kind of role would be good for him? Personally I think it would be neat to see him play some kind of ancestor to Jean-Luc, or maybe the leader of Section 31, give him a good "baddy" role in Star Trek. Ohh it was just announced today that Polar Lights is launching a new Star Trek Discovery line of model ships to build which does include, at least shown in the picture, the new Enterprise. trekmovie.com/2018/06/06/polar-lights-to-launch-star-trek-discovery-model-line/ - www.cbr.com/patrick-stewart-star-trek-discovery-speculation/

[@exexpat11]

PS is more Orville friendly.

[@we-got-green__lightsabersy1807]

I'm sure you know romulan and Klingons swap Tec back in tos? This design isn't new it's probably fan fasa! There is several variants been modeled for the Starfleet command game series .

[@mikefalderoff8236]

This Romulan ship is from the old DC comics...I’m VERY shocked that you don’t know this

[@Vagus32000]

For some reason, a Romulan/Klingon Alliance always rubbed this Romulan lover the wrong way. I don’t really know why. It just does.

[@thethunderofwarmachines8374]

Maybe an odd question but, is there any reason why you guys do not shoot the show in 1080p? Odd question aside, love the show guys keep it going on!

[@thribs]

Looks like someone took the TOS and TNG ships and compiled them

[@nicholasedwards5586]

A nice little footnote ship. I don;t see it as something that would warrant screentime on a show or movie. In terms of color....It just occured to me that why would Romulans or even Klingons paint their ships gray? These guys are all about the fear factor,. Black is a great color, but we've all seen what happened with the Vengeance. It gives you eyestrain. Why has neither of these races used red? Blood. Fire! Universal fear images...

[@slighter]

This is some ship I remember from the Star Trek DC comics I read back around 1998/2000-ish. And I guess back then those comics were already quite old. I'm surprised that Steward guesses this as a contemporary IDW comic, and now I wonder how much prep you put into each of your episodes...

[@slighter]

I did a little research and this seems to be from "Time Crime Part I", a DC comic from 1993.

[@resurrectedstarships]

I like it as a guilty pleasure but the design really doesn't make a lot of sense. I am not sure why the Romulans would perfectly copy the forward section of older Klingon cruisers, but then make the drive section uniquely Romulan. I also think the split hull is something that shouldn't appear until later, maybe early to mid-24th century. I believe in my head canon singularity powered warp drives aren't invented until later.

[@foxpianocovers]

I used to own the comic that this design is from...

[@nathdixon2931]

oh that thing is ghastly

[@jameswright4915]

Look at it this way Elon Musk Starship has a counter in China. it looks very much like the Starship design by Musk with only some small tweeks. You could argue the Romulans took a design and built their own version from the Klingon design. We do the same thing today. Rushing through a design that has an advantage you innovate from there.

[@Akuu820]

I think this would look so much better without the - for lack of a better word- 'hat'.

[@-sirfrenzy-1781]

Please do the Newton type or Geronimo class in the next video

[@danspawn85]

I am still a fan of the TMP style of Warbird from Star Trek New Worlds The D'talla class.. media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/14/13776/thumb_620x2000/s5.jpg

[@radmegax]

Did somebody order a dreadnought?

[@jesse33cdn]

❤️🖖🇨🇦

[@markcartlidge6701]

Get a job 😉

[@Zandiv]

No, Just,...no

[@beejcarson]

That....is ugly.

[@unavailable8813]

D7dderidex

[@adamgrog9614]

nice ship. that said, senator class from klingon academy is the best looking rom ship ever.