Judy Elkins Judy Elkins was , while employed by Industrial Light & Magic ( ILM ) , an animator on . Ten years later , from 1993 onward , she served as a ( VFX ) coordinator on the entire run of , as VFX Producer Dan Curry has specified at the time , " " Joining the DEEP SPACE NINE Visual Effects crew this year will be Sue Jones and Judy Elkins , and Cari Thomas as Visual Associate . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol 23 , # 5 , p . 62 ) Elkins has been given the opportunity to flex her muscles as VFX supervisor for seven episodes , spread over the last five seasons , but was never permanently elevated into the position . Judy Elkins was part of the team that was mobilized to embellish " Deep Space Nine " s sixth season episode , which needed a shot of a retreating flotilla of Starfleet vessels . To beef out the scene , the visual effects staff built several new ships , kitbash ing them out of parts from commercially available AMT / Ertl - Star Trek model kits . Elkins constructed the Federation tug , featured in the opening shot of the episide , and affectionately called the " USS " Ertl " " among the staff themselves . The warp engine s originated from a model kit ( AMT kit no . 6858 ) . A second kitbash she constructed , was the after her named , ( NCC - 74121 ) , fleetingly seen in the same episode . This ship has been featured in more detail on Doug Drexler ' s While employed at the " Star Trek " franchise , Elkins shared four VFX Emmy Award nominations for her work on " Deep Space Nine " . Career outside " Star Trek " . As a Bachelor of Fine Art graduate from the University of Texas at Austin , she started her professional career at ILM as animator , ( 1981 ) being her first recorded credit . As such she worked on " Dragonslayer " in the same year . " The Wrath of Khan " and followed suit the subsequent year . One year later , in 1983 , she was a key sculptor on . She then honed her skills by diversifying into the field of , by becoming a motion control ( assistant ) camera operator for productions such as , " The Abyss " ( 1989 ) and " Total Recall " ( 1990 ) , in the employ of Dream Quest Images ( DQI , co - founded by Hoyt Yeatman and other former FGC employees who had worked on ) . While in the employ of Boss Film Studios during the latter half of 1989 , she worked as such on " The Hunt for Red October " ( with a slew of other " Star Trek " alumni ) , though she went uncredited for all of these productions . Nevertheless , it was sufficient for her , to secure her position as visual effects coordinator on the " Deep Space Nine " - series in 1993 . After " Deep Space Nine " , Elkins has garnered few additional motion picture credits . As " visual effects coordinator / producer " , she worked on the television show " MythQuest " ( 2001 ) and the television movie " Idiocracy " ( 2006 ) , though she has worked as visual effects coordinator on the " Star Trek " - spoof , " Galaxy Quest " ( 1999 ) . Elkins has left the motion picture industry in 1999 , in order to work on personal title for real - world corporations . Emmy Awards nominations . For her work on " Star Trek " , Judy Elkins received the following Emmy Award nominations as Visual Effects Coordinator / ( Co - ) Supervisor in the category Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects :