Oberth class model , was one of the few " Star Trek " productions that introduced a multitude of new space faring designs at once , six in this case , including the . Though it was introduced as the fourth new Starfleet vessel design in as the , a far greater restraint has been observed , in comparison to the contemporary " Excelsior " - class studio model , when calling upon the " Oberth " - class design for repeat performances in later spin - off " Star Trek " productions . The design had only a limited presence in the , , and one appearance only in . Design process . For " The Search for Spock " , a unique approach to designing was adopted , not seen before or after in the " Star Trek " franchise . Instead of the traditional way of thinking out a design , devising a design , coming up with detailed drawings to be approved of by visual effects supervisors and building models from blueprints , this time visual artists and Nilo Rodis - Jamero of Industrial Light & Magic ( ILM ) produced their pre - visualization artwork and handed it over to model makers Steve Gawley , Bill George , and their team to be translated into study model s , in essence inviting them to use their own imagination to finish up on the design . Very much a collaborative effort , Carson later remembered , " " We ' d churn out quite a few sketches . Then the ones that were most promising we might polish up a little in color for presentation . It wasn ' t uncommon for me to do a drawing that would inspire Nilo , who would then turn it into his own drawing that would be much more impressive ! He would often inspire me . " " ( ) Once turned over to the model makers the resulting study models were presented to producer Harve Bennett and / or director Leonard Nimoy for appraisal or as supervising model maker Gawley put it , " " You had all these models sitting on a table so that the director could really get a feel for what we were talking about . It just made everything easier to understand , and insured ( sic ) that everybody was on the same page . It also made it easier to give cost estimates . " " ( ) Director of Photography Kenneth Ralston elaborated further , " " From the beginning , once Nilo Rodis , one of the visual effects art directors , had done a sketch and they got an idea of what direction to go , the model people all built prototypes . The had four or five small prototypes . The Bird of Prey , I think , had only two because we all knew this one design would work and we were selling that one . The Merchant Man and the " Grissom " also had several designs . When Leonard and Harve and Ralph Winter came to meetings we presented them with three dimensional models . It really is a lot better doing it that way because they can physically see how different angles would work . " " ( " American Cinematographer " , August / September 1984 , p . 62 ) The " Valiant " study model . One of the study models Ralston referred to was labeled as the " Valiant " , and was featured in the 2002 documentary , " Space Docks and Birds of Prey " , disc 2 from the DVD , already very close to the final design . Photo documents reportedly taken around the time of the filming of of this " Oberth " - class model have given rise to some speculation that it was this model that was used in the evacuation scene of Veridian III . However , screencap analysis showed that the layout of the impulse deflector crystals as well as the layout of the impulse engine exhausts / transporter emitters on the nacelle deck did not correspond with the layout as shown on the actual study model . Furthermore , study models were never outfitted with an internal lighting system as that constituted a flippant expenditure of budget funds . It can therefore be surmised that it was in fact the original physical studio model , still wearing the decals . Physical studio model . The original studio model for the " Oberth " - class , built at ILM by Gawley ' s team , measured an overall length of 28 inches . The model first appeared in " The Search for Spock " as the ( NCC - 638 ) , and was subsequently relabeled to represent other vessels of the class . The first time the model was relabeled was for as the ( NCC - 640 ) as recalled by ILM ' s Model Shop Supervisor Jeff Mann , who has stated , " " We had an incident in the beginning of the film , where we needed a " Reliant " - class " [ sic . ] " , so we put a new paint job on the old " Reliant " model , changed a small shuttle " [ sic . ] " called the " Grissom " to the " Copernicus " and we added a back half to the shuttlecraft that Scotty flew around in . " " ( " The Making of the Trek Films " , 3rd ed . , p . 68 ) Neither name nor registry was ever discernible on screen , but were carried over to its next use as the , when it was filmed at Image G for the " The Next Generation " s first season episode . The fourth movie ' s registry still being there was later confirmed , when the remastered version of the episode was released in 2012 . Michael Okuda revealed on that occasion , " " I seem to recall that " Grissom " may have been relabeled to serve as another ship ( the " Copernicus " ? ) in " Star Trek III " or " IV " . I didn ' t try to relabel the model for " The Naked Now " , partly because we realized that the existing registry would not be legible in standard - def video , but also because we were all so insanely busy at the time that no one could take on an additional project that wasn ' t likely to be seen on the screen . " " The number was digitally changed to its correct one , NCC - 53911 , in the first full side view establishing shot . Unfortunately , the digital artist overlooked the previous scenes and the later scene when the smashes into the " Tsiolkovsky " , as it there still carries the original , now discernible , registry number . Subsequently , for the television franchise , the model was relabeled trice , usually done at Okuda ' s art department where Doug Drexler was one of its staffers assigned the chore , first as the ( NCC - 59318 ) for " The Next Generation " s fourth season episode ( stock footage of which later on used as the in the sixth season episode ) and for its only " Deep Space Nine " appearance as such in the pilot episode . It should be noted that all for the model in its television appearances were done at Image G , whereas ILM was responsible for the model ' s photography for all its movie appearances . The second time the model was relabeled as the ( NCC - 19002 ) for " The Next Generation " s sixth season episode . At that occasion neither name or registry was ever discernible on screen , however they could be gleaned from the April 1993 cover of the " Cinefantastique " magazine , which was devoted to " Deep Space Nine " . The cover artist , David Voight , incorporating the registry number , had an actual behind - the - scenes photograph of the studio model , dressed as the " Yosemite " , at his disposal as reference . The model was relabeled for a last time for " The Next Generation " s seventh season episode as the ( NCC - 53847 ) , with subsequent appearances shot in such a way that the decals could not be discerned . Very little further modification , save for some paint touch - ups ( possibly to repair some minor damage after Jein took molds from it ) was ever performed on the model besides relabeling . The last appearance of the model was in the Veridian III evacuation scene in " Star Trek Generations " . The model , still labeled as the USS " Pegasus " , was auctioned off as on 7 October 2006 as part of the " " auction . The estimated price for the model was US $ 4 , 000 – $ 6 , 000 ; it sold for US $ 18 , 000 ( $ 21 , 600 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 SS " Vico " model . A second physical model was later created at Gregory Jein , Inc . for " The Next Generation " s fifth season episode to depict the severely damaged . At the time considered too valuable to cut up the original ILM model for showcasing the damaged " Vico " . Gregory Jein took molds from the original ILM model and from them cast the parts to construct the new model . Co - worker Bruce MacRae helped out with detail construction and painting . Unlike its progenitor , the " Vico " model itself , having escaped the " " and " It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction " s , is still in the possession of CBS Consumer Products and has been on tour displays such as " Star Trek World Tour " , " " , and " Star Trek The Exhibition " as late as 2012 . Display model . Jein later gave away the molds to John Eaves who actually used them to cast a solid resin model and had it gold - plated . It , along with other starship model s , was intended for use as a display piece in the glass cabinets in the observation lounge of the in . However that fell through as Eaves delivered the models too late for use . As Eaves himself 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 " Grissom " model at eBay on 3 July 2013 for US $ 1 , 900 . CGI models . The last appearance of the " Oberth " - class was in in the Battle of Sector 001 scene . With the exception of the Borg cube , Borg sphere , the unnamed " Nebula " - class starship , and the , all other ships were executed as CGI model s , including the at least three " Oberth " - class starships . Never meant to be seen up close but rather serving as deep background elements , the CGI model was built at ILM by modelers Larry Tan and Paul Theren , using software for animation and software for the model , at a fairly low resolution and at a low detail level . Noteworthy was that this was the first and only time that viewers could see an " Oberth " - class vessel discharge it weapons . Established as an older design , superseded by the as far as production staffers were concerned , neither the physical studio model was ever used again , nor was its CGI - counterpart ever upgraded for potentially later appearances , and the class has not been seen ( though referenced to ) in either " Deep Space Nine " , with the sole exception of the use of the physical model in the series ' pilot episode " Emissary " , or . Still , in 1997 a more detailed CGI model of the USS " Grissom " was constructed in the software at one of the two digital effects houses involved with the " Star Trek " television franchise at the time , either Digital Muse or Foundation Imaging , for representation in officially licensed print publications . This model was first featured as File 31 , Card 7 in the 1997 issue 37 of the " Star Trek Fact Files " partwork s publication , and reused in its 2001 US magazine derivative , . In 2006 , Adam " Mojo " Lebowitz again re - utilized the model as part for his contribution to the outing of the " " calendar series , where it was featured on the center spread , depicted in the Battle of Wolf 359 .