Miranda class model In the earliest scripts of the was supposed to be a . However , the cumbersomeness of the " Enterprise " studio model from ( vehemently expressed by Special Visual Effects Supervisor Kenneth Ralston at the time ) was part of the reasons why the class of the " Reliant " was redesigned from a " Constitution " - class to the , the other reason being that the producers were afraid that audiences would not be able to tell the two ships apart during the battle sequences . " " In the dogfight you had to instantly recognize which ship you were looking at , so they had to look different . At the same time , you had to make them look like they came from the same culture and had the same technology " " , Joe Jennings elaborated . ( ) In the process , the " Miranda " - class became the first new true Starfleet starship design ever seen by the public in a live action production . The design has become a ubiquitous presence in the " Star Trek " prime universe , having made several appearances in subsequent productions , establishing it as a long - lived class , serving as the workhorse of Starfleet , exactly as its designers had originally intended when they designed a " clean and workmanlike " vessel . Design . The script called for an older cruiser of " " Enterprise " s own class " but of a " different configuration . " This ended up being a different class of starship in its own right , the first distinct Federation starship design other than the NCC - 1701 to " ever " appear in a filmed , live - action " Star Trek " production . What was to become the " Miranda " - class studio model , specifically the USS " Reliant " , was designed at Paramount Pictures by Joe Jennings , Mike Minor , and Graphic Designer Lee Cole . On the design Jennings noted , " " It was the first time a new spaceship had been designed since the Klingon battle cruiser . That was a lot of fun . She was supposed to be a coastal and geodetic survey ship , like a buoy tender . She would be armed perhaps , but only lightly ; she wasn ' t a lion ship like the " Enterprise " . Also , remember , the " Enterprise " was supposed to be an exploratory vessel , where the armament was secondary . That was even more true for the " Reliant " ; she was supposed to just stick around in the known universe and take care of things that everybody already knew about . ( . . . ) It was fun to try to make it look identifiable different ; we had long postulated that the circular saucer said " " This is Starfleet Navy " , " and it uses engines that looked pretty much like those on the " Enterprise " . " " ( ) The " Miranda " - class model was originally designed in a reversed orientation , with the nacelle s above the dish and two counterbalancing torpedo launch pods below the dish . Lee Cole , however , later explained , that when the initial drawing was sent to Harve Bennett for approval , he viewed the drawings upside down . He liked the design and signed off on it . The visual effects team debated whether or not to send the sketches back to Bennett ( who was in Israel at the time working on another project ) with the correct orientation , but they decided that there was insufficient time to do so and decided to add a " rollbar " to balance out the suddenly dropped nacelles . ( ) Co - designer Minor was especially pleased with how their design worked out , as evidenced by this observation , " " I also came up with the shot where the " Reliant " just comes right out of the water , so to speak , and right over " [ note : after " Enterprise " staved of destruction in its first encounter with " Reliant " ] " . That got a good yelp out of the sound technicians when they were previewing the film to lay the sound effects . It got some good yelps in the theatre " [ sic . ] " , too . I was happy with that shot . All in all , ILM thought the film had a good kinetic feeling about it . I felt vindicated in my choices of how to shoot the ships when they ' d done it so well and made us look good . People seem to like the " Reliant " . Our producers , Bennet and Sallin , felt that the " Reliant " was a better looking ship that the " Enterprise " . I don ' t necessarily agree or disagree . It ' s just different . I think it ' s clean and workmanlike . That ' s something Joe and I came up with simultaneously . I detailed the ship , again worked on the working drawings with Lee Cole . We drafted that and got full sets of full - sized blueprints . " " ( " Enterprise Incidents " , issue 14 , p . 51 ) A design patent , No . , was issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office to Paramount Pictures Corporation for the design of the USS " Reliant " on 28 February 1984 ( there called a " toy spaceship " ) , which noted both Joseph R . Jennings and Michael Minor as the " sole inventors " of the design . The patent issued was valid for fourteen years . The patent application was tendered by the studio on 7 June 1982 . A set of " STARSHIP " RELIANT " MODEL BLUEPRINTS AND " STAR TREK II : THE WRATH OF KHAN " DEVELOPMENT DOCUMENTS " , used in developing the " Reliant " miniature , and estimated at US $ 800 - $ 1 , 200 , was sold on 7 October 2006 as in Christie ' s " " auction for US $ 4 , 000 ( $ 4 , 800 with premium ) . Large studio model . The studio model was constructed at Industrial Light & Magic ( ILM ) under Supervising Modelmaker Steve Gawley . Among Gawley ' s crew were model makers Bill George , Sean Casey , Larry Tan , Jeff Mann , Steve Sanders , Brian Chin , Bob Diepenbrock , and Mike Fulmer , with Martin Brenneis responsible for model electronics . Visual Effects Supervisor Kenneth Ralston remembered as follows , " " The " Reliant " however , had to be built from scratch . Once a design was settled on , the model shop geared up and constructed it in record time . It ' s a gorgeous model , perfectly constructed for shooting . It ' s light ( vacuum - formed sections over a very light aluminum interior frame ) , highly detailed , non - reflective ( easy to shoot using the blue screen matting process ) , and could be easily mounted from all sides for any possible setup . " " ( " American Cinematographer " , October 1982 , p . 1037 ) Expressing his contentment of the model over the " Enterprise " model , Ralston gleefully added , " " The " Reliant " is a nice squat contraption that looks a lot more believable to me . The ship takes the best of the " Enterprise " , rearranges it , and adds a few goodies of its own . It ' s much easier to have it sit there and look right . And the model is great . It ' s made of vacu - formed plastic and two guys can mount it on the pipes for a shot . " " Apart from this , Gawley ' s team made sure that the wiring for the internal lighting was much simpler than the one on the " Enterprise " model , with which the VFX team had so much trouble . ( " Cinefantastique " , issue 44 , Vol 12 # 5 / 6 , p . 55 ) In constructing the model , ILM took much consideration in creating a model that could be light enough to be easily maneuvered during photography . This approach was taken because they did not want to create another bulky model , like the " Enterprise " built for " The Motion Picture " . As a result , the " Reliant " model was made at scale three - quarters that of the " Enterprise " . The model ' s simpler interior wiring was limited only to what was required of it as written in the script . The interior contained a metal armature that allowed it to be mounted in various positions as required for filming . The roll bar was a removable piece . A heavily modified duplicate was constructed to showcase the battle damage for later scenes in the movie . Gawley ' s team needed about four months in 1981 to build the studio model as well as all the derivative ( partial ) models of the class . " " We started in September and finished in late December . I ' ve been dealing with the producer , Robert Sallin , since late August . He ' s been very involved . " " , according to Gawley . ( " Cinefantastique " , issue 44 , Vol 12 # 5 / 6 , p . 55 ) The high quality large scale studio model continued to be reused for the subsequent fifteen years by the producers of " The Next Generation " and " Deep Space Nine " to represent a variety of different starships and classes . Following either more or less extensive modifications , the model was re - used in creating the , , the ( on the model misspelled as " Brittain " ) , the , and the . In a privately shot behind - the - scenes video , shot by Effects Supervisor Gary Hutzel at Image G ( where all the footage of the model for its televised appearances were shot ) , it was disclosed that when the model was prepared to make its appearance as the " Lantree " , the effects crew were unable to make the internal lighting of the roll bar work on time , so the decision was made to have the " Lantree " appear without it . One of the more extensive modifications occurred when the model was to represent the USS " Bozeman " in " The Next Generation " fifth season episode , . According to the " " ( 3rd . ed . , p . 195 ) , the intention was " to make the ship a 1960s - era , pre - movie " Constitution " - class starship , but budget demands put an end to that when the costs of creating and filming ship , props , and costumes were added up . " Simply put , what was meant was that most of the visual effects budget for the episode had already gone into the construction of the various models deemed necessary for the episode , such as several break - away model s , the large nacelle model , and the shuttlebay model . Instead , the existing " Miranda " - class model was utilized , embellished with several add - ons to give it a differing appearance . The embellishment parts were constructed at Greg Jein ' s model shop . Michael Okuda has put it as follows , " " It was originally hoped that a new design could be developed for the " Soyuz " - class U . S . S . " Bozeman " , but practical considerations dictated the reworking of the existing " Miranda " - class U . S . S . " Reliant " model originally built for " Star Trek II " . The modifications were designed by Greg Jein and Mike Okuda . The class was named for the Russian spacecraft that shuttled cosmonauts up to the " Salyut " and " Mir " space stations . " " ( ) Okuda made use of the fan - produced " Ships of the Star Fleet , Volume One " ( pp . 84 - 85 ) to make annotations on one of the blueprints for the adjustments , eventually seen on screen . Apart from the different add - ons to the original studio model for it to become the " Soyuz " - class , Gregory Jein , Inc . also constructed several debris parts as embellishments for the collision scene where the " Bozeman " collides with the and their subsequent destruction in the episode . One of these , an , out of resin constructed aft warp nacelle fragment ( presumably from the port engine , as it was this one which hit the " Enterprise " - D in " Cause and Effect " ) , measuring 16 inches , turned up as in the Profiles in History " The Ultimate Sci - Fi Auction " of 26 April 2003 , estimated at $ 600 - $ 800 , actually selling for the low estimate . The add - ons for " Cause and Effects " were not permanently affixed , which was just as well as the model was again endowed with different add - ons for its appearance as the ( NCC - 31911 ) in s pilot episode . After " Emissary " , the model was put back together in its original configuration and returned to its birthplace , ILM , for a last time use as an unnamed ship in , without having its " Brattain " markings on the roll bar nor its " Saratoga " - markings on the saucer changed , since that was deemed unnecessary as the markings were illegible on - screen . In this last configuration the model was , on 31 July 2002 , shortly on its only public display appearance in the lobby of the Paramount Pictures Theater on the occasion of the theatrical screening of the Director ' s Edition of to celebrate the release of the one week later . The model , measuring 63×37 inches , and labeled as both the USS " Saratoga " ( on the main body ) and USS " Brattain " ( on the roll bar ) , was eventually sold as on 7 October 2006 in Christie ' s " 40 Years of Star Trek : The Collection " auction , described as " USS " RELIANT " MODEL " . Estimated at US $ 7 , 000 - $ 9 , 000 , it sold for US $ 50 , 000 ( $ 60 , 000 with premium ) . The model was added to the collection of ScienceFictionArchives . com , an European organization that is dedicated to preserve science fiction production assets for public display purposes , such as in museums . The winner subsequently sought out Ed Miarecki ' s help in restoring the model to a pristine condition . Partial studio models . Enlarged section models were constructed for close - up shots , notably the roll bar . Explosive charges and pre - packaged pieces of plastic scrap , called " nernies " ( an internally - used ILM term that was also used to describe miscellaneous nondescript bits and pieces attached onto their studio model builds ) , that flew outwards upon detonation , were packed into the casts to give the illusion of an exploding ship . The explosion model was formed from wax to allow the pieces to be easily re - molded for additional shots and was constructed in such a way that most of the model remained intact after detonation of the charges . ( " Cinefantastique " , issue 44 , Vol 12 # 5 / 6 , p . 57 ) Other pieces that were constructed in a similar fashion were a port nacelle and a section of the aft deck were the impulse deflector crystal was located ( these pieces are featured in the " Inside the Star Trek Archives " special on the TNG Season 2 DVD ) . Gawley commented , " " It was very interesting and quite a challenge , to construct models so that Ken Ralston and our pyrotechnics expert , Thaine Morris , could blow them to smithereens on film , without actually damaging the " [ studio ] " model . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , issue 44 , Vol 12 # 5 / 6 , p . 55 ) , to which Ralston has added , " " One of the engine pods blows up . We couldn ' t blow up the whole pod for some reason , so I built a shape similar to it and it was more like glass blowing out of the warp nacelle . We shot that as a separate element an then printed that on top of the actual model of the " Reliant " , with other pieces blowing off of it . Then , when the whole nacelle blows off , that was just a bunch of explosions and a separate arm that we shot using motion control . " " ( ) The nacelle soldiered on in providing services as debris of the exploding in as well as debris of the crashed in . Other filming models . Apart from the high - quality large scale model , the same ILM team also built a smaller battle - damaged version for forced perspective shots in the movie ( the second encounter with the " Enterprise " in the Mutara Nebula ) . It was constructed out of an AMT / Ertl " Enterprise " model kit , No . S970 , and custom made vacuum - formed pieces , and like its bigger sister it could also be outfitted with it a battle - damaged roll bar , apart from a pristine roll bar . It was the only time that this model was used for filming purposes . Prior to being sold off at auction , it made its only tour appearance at Christie ' s , London on 3 August - 8 August , 2006 . This model , sporting the battle - damaged roll bar , was eventually sold as on 7 October 2006 in the aforementioned Christie ' s auction . It was described as " SMALL BATTLE - DAMAGED U . S . S . " RELIANT " MINIATURE MODEL " , estimated at US $ 6 , 000 - $ 8 , 000 . Measuring 17×10×4 inches , the model came with the above mentioned studio blueprint depicting the early concept for " Reliant " in its original " upside down " configuration . It sold for US $ 24 , 000 ( $ 28 , 800 with premium ) . The winner , a man from London , is featured in The History Channel ' s documentary " " . Three so - called break - away models of the class , cast from the molds taken off the studio model , representing the USS " Saratoga " , were built for the DS9 premiere " Emissary " . ( ) The " Saratoga " destruction sequence , along with the other Wolf 359 visual effects sequences , was one of the first scenes filmed for " Emissary " , during pre - production on the pilot episode . The sequence was shot on a Paramount sound stage , rather than at Image G due to safety reasons over the use of explosives . Three takes were required to achieve the desired detonation - using all three breakaway models built for the sequence . ( ) Another physical model was constructed representing the appearing in . This was a modified AMT / Ertl model kit ( No . 8766 ) of the USS " Reliant " . The origin of the name is a result of the rearrangement of the letters R - E - L - I - A - N - T to get T - R - I - A - L ( minus the E - N ) . The registry was also conceived the same way , rearranging 1 - 8 - 6 - 4 to get 1 - 9 - 4 - 8 . Visual Effects Supervisor David Stipes has made use of additional model kits , labeled " NCC - 4186 " and " NCC - 9481 " , again achieved by rearranging the model kit registry decal , for the closing fleet shots in , footage of which , shot for that episode , was also used for consecutive episodes as stock footage , most notably in the scenes where the ships circled Starbase 375 . " " Yes , if Miranda = Reliants . ( All model kits of Reliant ) Not to confuse " [ the ] " issue , there may be another Reliant in the distance . We shot several groupings of Reliants . Some were dropped because of technical problems and some ships were removed to make the shot less confusing . " " , Stipes clarified . Aside from the filming models , camera test model s of the " Miranda " - class , typically made out of Styrofoam , were used throughout the entire run of " Star Trek " , where the class was applicable . One of these , endowed with the registry " NCC 1810 " was offered up for sale at a February / March 2009 " It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction " as , but went unsold . Other " Miranda " - class derivative starship filming models . An additional AMT model kit of the USS " Reliant " was utilized by Adam Buckner to " kitbash " the USS " Bradford " in a configuration that was reminiscent of Jennings ' " et al . " original design intention , but with two additional under - slung cargo containers , akin to that of Franz Joseph ' s design for the design . Buckner stated , " " ( . . . ) it ' s a cargo variant for carrying substantial loads . I always Imagined the rest of the main hull being converted to traditional cargo bays as well . Large doors and transporter arrays for loading cargo . " " The model was constructed in order to beef out the opening scene of a retreating flotilla of Starfleet vessels in the " Deep Space Nine " episode , . In private correspondence with a poster on the Flare Sci - Fi Forums , Buckner has stated that he used parts from helicopter and tank model kits for most of the add - on parts ( " i . e . " the long tubes over the shuttlebays are missiles from the helicopter kit , and the " ring " around the Saturn V cargo containers are tank treads ) . The top part of the " Reliant " weapons pod was on top of the hull . There was an " Excelsior " shuttlebay underneath the ship . Also add were parts that were meant to look like patches that were bolted on to cover hull damage , implying that it ’ s a pretty old ship that ’ s been haphazardly repaired . The whole idea Buckner was trying to convey with this ship was that instead of the sleek , streamlined Starfleet vessels normally featured , this was more like a tugboat that did all the grunt work . It , however , was not present in the scene , as Buckner related , " " I also have a " Reliant " converted Tug we built that I think dodged most photography sessions as it sat on Peter Lauritson ' s desk for a little too long . " " It was however , prepared for shooting as Buckner later confirmed , " " Those photos show the ship while still under construction and the top of the dish had not yet been secured while we were waiting for the neon to be fitted . It was a pain in the patoot , and after that most of that round of kit bashing was done with UV paint and UV tape for windows and nacelles . " " Another " Miranda " - class derivative model , Buckner built , and which " did " make it onto screen , was that of the ( NCC - 9844 ) . In the above mentioned private correspondence , Buckner further explained that it was a standard " Reliant " model kit with an AWACS pod made from the stand of an AMT " Excelsior " kit ( No . 6630 ) , and the nacelle coverings from the same kit used as torpedo launch tubes . It was actually filmed , unlike the Bradford , as a deep background ship element for use in scenes with Starbase 375 before the franchise went fully CGI . Because the scenes were just that , deep background ships circling the starbase , most of them being just standard " Reliant " and " Excelsior " kits , they did not require them to be kitbashed or battle - damaged like the ships in the opening of " A Time to Stand " , and therefore needed only minimal detailing . For example , it did not have the elaborate lighting wiring that the " Bradford " was requested to have , the lighting as seen added in post - production , nor did it require a detailed paint job . This model was furthermore supposed to be a standard Miranda , enticing Buckner to decide of having some fun with it by adding the stand " in lieu " of the standard roll bar . The model , however , was filmed upside - down , so the alterations to the design were indiscernible on - screen , save for one establishing long - shot . Like his other kitbash models , Buckner has retained ownership over this model as well . Evidence of yet another " Miranda " - class derivative kitbashed filming model turned up in 2013 , when former Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Curry provided photographs to the aforementioned Flare Sci - Fi Forums blog . His pictures showed a ship that was canonically established as the , otherwise unseen , ( NCC - 37124 ) , though the model itself was shy of one registry digit , as it read " NCC - 3724 " . A curious design , the model consisted of the main hull of the " Reliant " AMT model kit , with two " Galaxy " - class model kit warp nacelles attached to the dorsal side , while two ball turrets , presumably gun turrets ( reminiscent of the large planet Hoth ion gun turret seen in the second " Star Wars " installment , " The Empire Strikes Back " ) , were placed on the locations of the bridge and impulse engine deflector crystal . Likely built during one of " Deep Space Nine " s kitbash rounds , by an as of yet undisclosed production staffer , the model was actually in a more advanced state of preparation for filming than Buckner ' s " Antares " was , as its paint job was more detailed , and as there was already reflective UV paint applied . Still , that model ended up unused , as there is no visual evidence of it ever appearing in an episode . Display models . Another modified AMT model kit was seen throughout the entire run of , representing Benjamin Sisko ' s USS " Saratoga " . First appearing in the , where the model was displayed in Jake Sisko ' s classroom , it subsequently showed up as a display model in Benjamin Sisko ' s Deep Space 9 office for most of the remainder of the series . Another commercial product was used as one of the four models mounted in front of the sail - shaped top half facade of Starfleet Headquarters on the Presidio appearing in . The top half of the facade was itself a maquette and the starship models were Galoob Micro Machines , most likely taken from the pewter painted " Star Trek Television Series I Box Set " and " Star Trek the Movies Collectors Edition " sets . ( ) A " Miranda " - class vessels was mounted second from the right . Yet another AMT model was slated to make an appearance , along with other models of varying starship classes , as one of the golden models in the display cases in the observation lounge of the in . John Eaves built the model , filled it with resin , had it gold - plated , but failed to deliver the model in time for shooting and it was subsequently never used , as he recalled , " " For the films , I was commissioned to build these models and have them gold plated at Artcraft Plating in Burbank , to be featured in the set case . Over the span of the three films , " First Contact " , " Insurrection " , and " Nemesis " I had to build a lot of models . For " Nemesis " the list grew with the request to build and plate some additional models . The " Voyager " , the " Grissom " , the " Excelsior " , and the " Reliant " . We had two cases to fill and these models were to accompany the " Enterprise " models . The set was constructed in an arch with a display case on either side of a large video playback display . The " Enterprise " models were to be on the right side and the new non Enterprise models were to be on the left . While the new ships were being plated the shooting schedule changed and the set had to be used sooner than later , because of this a double set of the Enterprise models were set in both cases . The new models barely made it back in time , but due to the amount of work involved to change them out it wasn ' t worth the effort , so in the end the new ships were ditched for the two sets of the " Enterprise " s . " " Eaves retained the models , " " I got the other ships done in about a week and took them to the stage and he [ " John Dwyer " ] had already filled the cases twice with doubles of the original 6 . It was too much work to take out and replace the dups with the new so they didn ' t make it on the big screen , but they did wind up at my house again . " " . Eaves , citing " tough times " as reasons for reluctantly doing so , eventually sold off his gold - plated " Reliant " model at eBay on 13 July 2013 for US $ 1 , 000 . Another unused display model , this time with a four - engine configuration , turned up as at a " It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction " . Described as " BRONZED STARSHIP MODEL " , this " Miranda " - class derived AMT model had four nacelles , with the standard nacelles under the ship along with two others attached to the roll bar above the other nacelles , and endowed with an overall bronze hue . It sold on 19 January 2007 for US $ 232 , 50 . CGI model . Even as the original models were worn out , a new CGI model was created , making its first appearance as a deep background model in . A low resolution CGI model , built and rendered at ILM by Larry Tan and Paul Theren , having used software for animation , and software for the model itself . . According to Visual Effects Coordinator David Stipes , the " Miranda " - class ships appearing in the later seasons of " Deep Space Nine " and were modeled , surfaced , and animated at Digital Muse , debuting in . Since ILM was requested by Paramount Pictures to hand over their CGI models of the , , , and , also featured in " First Contact " , for remodeling and remapping in the software for the upcoming episode , it stands to reason that Stipes referred to the CGI model of the " Miranda " - class ILM built . But like the others it was built at a fairly low resolution , it being a deep background element , and had to be partially rebuilt and remapped , something Muse ' s Supervisor Bruce Branit later confirmed : " It was the first time that anyone had actually assembled the entire Starfleet fleet in CG . Normally there were always a few ships they used for CG , and they pulled models out , and did motion control . Due to the nature of the show , there was no way they could do it with motion control . There was not enough time and not enough money . They were talking about having fifty to a hundred Starfleet vessels on screen at one time , and there was no way to pull that off in traditional ways . So we were a collecting point for anything that had been done in CG before . We brought the digital models in and converted them to LightWave 3D , which is our rendering package of choice . The " Enterprise " - D had been done before , but in something else , so we were able to bring the geometry in , and bring some of the maps in , but we had to rebuild it . We had all the ingredients , so we could put it together much more quickly than building it from scratch . So now we have folders with the entire fleet all lined up in the same form , so we can just load a " Reliant " , we can load a " Defiant " , we can load an " Excelsior " , whenever we need it . That was the first real challenge , to get all that stuff in order , and to fill the garage with useable ships . " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 30 , No . 9 / 10 , p . 64 ) In 2001 , Robert Bonchune and Adam Lebowitz refined the model for representation in their book " " . The CGI model went on to make several subsequent appearances in and onto licensed " Star Trek " print publications , most notably in the " " calendars and their book derivative . Legacy . For the remastering of , the production crew of David Rossi , Denise , and Mike Okuda briefly considered using alternate ship types to represent the fleet that engaged the M - 5 multitronic unit . According to Mike Okuda , " " one of the ideas we considered was to have a " Reliant " - type configuration for a couple of the guest ships . The problem with a smaller ship is that you don ' t want the sense that the " Enterprise " is more powerful , because that would hurt the drama of the story . Ultimately , keeping all four ships the same emphasizes that the only variable is that the " Enterprise " is piloted by the M - 5 computer . " " Another factor in maintaining the integrity of the original designs , according to Denise Okuda , was that " " we all decided that it was best to honor the expectations of fans who had grown up seeing four " Constitution " - class ships . " " While the refined production - used CGI model was more than ample for any print publication , ( former ) production staffers like Doug Drexler and Adam Lebowitz were , in their role as publication editors , not above giving young , aspiring and non - professional digital modelers a change to prove their mettle in various official " Star Trek " print publications . Drexler authorized Joe Diaz ' digital USS " Bozeman " build for representation in the November spread of the of the " Ship of the Line " calendar series , whereas Lebowitz commissioned digital modeler Fabio Passaro to construct a new model of the USS " Reliant " for the cover of the collector ' s edition of . For Passaro in particular , his association with Lebowitz turned out to be beneficial , as he clarified , " " My first break In the TV / Film industry came after I was asked to model the USS Reliant for the front cover of Star Trek magazine which ultimately led to the BSG " [ Battlestar Galactica ] " mini series gig and the rest thereafter . " "