Redresses of the Arkonian Warship
by Bernd Schneider and Jörg Hillebrand
For the Arkonians in ENT: "Dawn", a new CG ship was designed by John Eaves and modeled by Pierre Drolet. It was used for two more alien species in Star Trek Enterprise, in recurring roles as a Xindi-Arboreal ship in season 3 and as a Tellarite design in season 4. We can see the model in the following roles and episodes:
1. Arkonian warship (ENT: "Dawn")
2. Xindi-Arboreal ship (ENT: "The Council", "Countdown")
3. Tellarite cruiser (ENT: "Babel One", "United"), Mirror Tellarite cruiser ("In a Mirror, Darkly II")
4. Tellarite cruiser, animated (PRO: "Preludes", "Supernova I")
The ship looks a bit different each time it appears on screen in Enterprise. Yet, with one exception this is only a matter of different lighting conditions of the CG scenes and of different light effects applied to the model itself.
Analysis
Arkonian warship
The model is first seen in ENT: "Dawn" as an Arkonian ship. The hull is brown. Glowing areas can be seen in several places. The six engine nozzles at the rear end (two vertically stacked, plus four separate pods at the top, bottom, left and right) are bright turquoise. A kind of deflector in the lower half of the front section as well as several details light up green. Furthermore, we can see red lights facing forward on the top and the bottom of the aft section.
Xindi-Arboreal ship
The hull color was not changed for the appearance as the Xindi-Arboreal ship in the third season of Enterprise. It is still brownish and looks only a bit paler now. The color of the six engine exhausts was not modified either, it still is turquoise. The deflector continues to glow greenish (a little weaker, not as clearly green as on the Arkonian ship) and the two red light areas can also be seen.
Tellarite cruiser
For the appearances as a Tellarite ship, the model was modified more clearly. There is one definite change, as the weapon pod on the underside was removed, which used to be a part of the Arkonian/Xindi design. Two monitor images in "Babel One" still show this pod, but it is missing from the actual model that only appears in the following episode "United".
The hull color is now grayish and no longer brown. The six engine nozzles glow green and no longer turquoise. The deflector is still green and the two red glowing areas are also still present.
There are new illuminated areas on the Tellarite cruiser. The two tubes that are on the sides of the ship always used to be unlit, but now the openings of these tubes at the front are just as green as other areas of the hull. The Eaglemoss model of the ship and the accompanying drawings insinuate that there may be something like a translucent cover around this whole lateral region but quite possibly it is a homogeneous illumination that creates such a impression in ENT: "United".
There is also a bright green glowing area on the underside now, and the green glow from the deflector is reflecting off the hull, which it never did before, making everything appear even more illuminated. The front view of the Xindi-Arboreal ship next to a view of the Tellarite warship illustrates the differences. This comparison also reveals that the Tellarite design has a small bright glowing dot on top of the front section, which did not yet exist on the two previous versions. On the other hand, the Tellarite ship seems to lack the illuminated row of windows at the front.
Tellarite cruiser (animated)
The Tellarite cruiser also appears in Jankom Pog's recount of how he ended up in captivity in PRO: "Preludes". Here, the ship appears upside down; we can see the unlit deflector dish on top. Furthermore, we can identify the design in "Supernova I", as part of the effort to defer the destruction of the Federation fleet by the Living Construct. Here, the design is not verbally identified as Tellarite but the intent is obvious.
The animated ship differs from the old CG model in many small details but there are no structural differences. The lateral illuminated areas are yellow instead of green (and they look like a cover is present indeed although there probably should be none), the red lights are missing and the engine color is more bluish now.
Summary
The producers probably liked the Arkonian design and may have considered it a waste to retire the model after its first appearance as an alien-of-the-week ship. It would have been desirable (if not mandatory) at least for the Xindi-Arboreal and the Tellarite vessels to be distinct designs though, considering that both are major races and it is unlikely they have been in contact before. Yet, the removal of the cannon is the only slight change to the structure of the model. Aside from that, only the colors and the lighting were played around with.
Here is an overview of the appearances:
| Ship type | Episodes | Weapon pod | Hull color | Engine color | Lateral light |
Arkonian warship |
ENT: "Dawn" | Yes | Brown | Turquoise | None |
Xindi-Arboreal ship |
ENT: "The Council", "Countdown" | Yes | Pale brown | Turquoise | None |
Tellarite cruiser | ENT: "Babel One", "United", "In a Mirror, Darkly II" |
No | Gray | Green | Green |
| PRO: "Preludes", "Supernova I" | No | Brownish | Turquoise | Yellow |
See Also
Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships A-E
Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships S-Z
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