Ambassador class model The was the second major federation starship to be introduced after the introduction of the , the first one having been the kitbashed in the form of the . Though a significant design variation , utilizing design elements , the design , established as an older one , was only to have a limited presence in the " Star Trek " - franchise . Design . The studio model was designed by Rick Sternbach , based on sketches as well as on a design concept painting produced by Andrew Probert for the first season of . The design was intended to suggest an intermediate step between the and the starships . A relief sculpture of Probert ' s design was placed in the observation lounge aboard the . Unfortunately , the model was needed for much sooner than the time it would take to fabricate the smoother lines of Probert ' s concept , requiring Sternbach ' s alterations which ended up on Greg Jein ' s final model . As Sternbach later renumbered , elaborating in detail on his thought processes , " The deadline for sketching and blueprinting the " Ent " - C was pretty normal in that I had a few days preproduction to sketch up the ship as first suggested in Andy Probert ' s color painting , get it approved as an intermediate shape between the " Excelsior " and the " Galaxy " classes , and then work up the blueprints . Greg Jein was given the miniature job , as we know . I suppose it took about three or four days to draft up the hull shape . The port elevation sketch was the first and , ultimately , the only sketch view of the " Ambassador " class " Enterprise " - C done for the TNG episode " Yesterday ' s Enterprise . " Time constraints dictated that the blueprints and filming miniature be started as soon as possible , and the general look of the ship was quickly approved . " The genesis of the design came from a small color painting done by Andy Probert back in the early preproduction for Season 1 , plus a mental blending of the " Excelsior " / " Enterprise " - B and " Galaxy " class " Enterprise " - D . While Andy ' s color sketch showed an elliptical cross section for the engineering hull and an intended elliptical saucer ( not clearly visible but confirmed by Andy ) , the " Enterprise " - C would require some simplifications if it were to be constructed in time for filming . I began drawing up the blueprints with a circular saucer and a circular cross section for the engineering hull , knowing that they would make model maker Greg Jein ' s job markedly easier . Swinging compass arcs for the major saucer thickness changes and secondary hull bulkheads took much less time in the drafting stage than calculating ellipses , which is not impossible with pencil and tracing vellum ( using something called the trammel method ) , just tedious . With the basic line work completed for a combined top / bottom view and a fore / aft view , all of the expected details on a Starfleet ship were added . Shield grid lines , phaser strips , lifeboat hatches , reaction control thruster s , running lights , engineering access hatches , and windows populated the surface . " Understanding Greg Jein ' s knowledge of starship modeling , I felt comfortable penciling in a single " wedge " of saucer details and then instructing him to repeat the wedge around as necessary , rather than draw every single component . Did anything get left off the blueprints ? Torpedo launcher s , I think , and maybe a tractor beam emitter or two . Why Greg didn ' t catch that , I ' ll never know . " Once in his hands , Greg added a lot more surface texture in the form of more shield grid lines , as well as a unique paint scheme . The front view was inked ( inked ? ! ) to become part of the bridge displays on the " Enterprise " - C . If you didn ' t know before , black line art was typically shot on high - contrast negative film and then colored from behind with gels , mounted to light gray smoked plexiglas , and backlit . Okay , you knew that . Today , of course , it ' s all and and a bunch of other image apps printed out to backlit inkjet film . Anyhow , most of the status displays and engineering cross section diagrams were originally done with black technical pen and Xerox pasteup and thin black crepe tape . Half of a top view could be flopped and copied and pasted together to make a full top view , and incorporated into a control panel . " One thing you ' ll notice from the front view is that the nacelles don ' t peek over the top of the saucer , but rather " look under " the saucer to allow the Bussard collector s to work . Same goes for " Voyager " and the " Enterprise " - D . I may have doodled the " Ambassador " class pylons reaching way up over the saucer but discarded the idea ; some shapes just don ' t feel right , so they get reworked . The nacelles themselves are deliberately a bit oversized , as if Starfleet was experimenting with a new warp coil that was perfected later in the " Galaxy " class . " The " Enterprise " - C was certainly a fun ship to work on despite the short time frame , and to see it come out as a couple of different model kits was an added bonus . " Probert his original design in 2007 in preparation for a possible release of a model kit . One of Sternbach ' s redesign sketches turned up at Propworx ' s " The official STAR TREK prop and costume auction " of 8 August 2010 as Lot 320 where it sold for US $ 480 ( including buyers premium ) , being estimated at US $ 200 - $ 400 . Studio model . Time constraints also meant that the model was of less quality than normal , but in this particular case this was not necessary since the battle - damaged model was intended to appear only in wide shots on relatively low - resolution TV screens . In order to have the model ready in time Jein also needed the help of subcontractors Ed Miarecki , who constructed the secondary hull master , and David Merriman , Jr . , who built the master for the nacelles . Merriman , who had helped out Jein on previous occasions when the latter found himself in a time pinch ( especially when it came to producing warp engines ) , later recalled , " I ' ve indicated that " Paramount " didn ' t give Greg much lead - time to produce the miniatures for the ST : TNG TV show , Case in point : the " Enterprise " - C job ! The next call from Greg involved his need for another warp engine " master for a new Starfleet craft , but he needed it in hand within ten days . " Weeeee ! . . . " About this time Ellie [ remark : Merriman ' s wife ] and I had adopted the playful title of " Warp Engines R Us " . Oh well ! Better to be type cast and get the work than not to be appreciated for possessing special talents and to not get the work at all . " The next day the plans arrived . One break presented itself as I studied the drawings : The 1701 - C ' s warp engines were nearly circular in section , permitting me to lathe turn the master from wood and to carve , file and sand it to the final shape , streamlining our work a great deal . " Turning the Sugar Pine piece on the wood lathe to the shape of the warp engine , I cut in two radial recessed areas forward . The portions of the radial recesses that had to be brought back to the height of the warp engines surfaces were built up with . Thin gauge plywood sheet barriers defined the borders of the recessed areas . I used a molder ' s gauge to assure symmetry of the cuts made into the wooden pattern - i . e . the left side was of the same contour as the right . Once roughed out the shape , the master was worked with sandpaper and primer to a smooth finish . " With a big sigh of relief we sent the 1701 - C warp engine master off , not expecting to hear from the West Coast for some time . " ( " Sci - Fi & Fantasy Models " , issue 30 , p . 39 ) The battle damage on the " Enterprise " - C was painted on , but Jein also used sparkling fireworks , held close to the model , to apply smudges and scorching , " " To simulate the damage on the " Enterprise " - C , we used a lot of leftover pyro that we had from the Fourth of July , like firecrackers and smoke pots . We actually scorched the surface of the ship rather than painted on it . " " ( " " , p . 138 ) . The model came in at 41 . 19×26 inches in length and was constructed out of glass fiber reinforced cast resin with styrene details . Both Jein ' s construction blueprints , as well as Sternbach ' s orthographic plans prepared for Jein , were upon completion of the model gifted to Gary Kerr , a personal friend of Jein , who used them to draw up his own set of blueprints for intended use in Michael Okuda ' s canceled " Starship Enterprise " reference book project . The next appearance of the " Ambassador " - class was as the in ( misspelled and mislabeled as " USS " Zuhkov " " , NCC - 62136 ) . For reasons as of yet undisclosed , the appearance of the model was noticeably changed after it was rehabbed to remove the battle damage it sported as the " Enterprise " - C . The saucer section ' s connection to the engineering hull was shifted slightly aft , with the nacelle pylon assembly moved a corresponding distance in the same direction . Cowlings were added around the Bussard collectors , making them appear closer to that of the " Galaxy " - class . The lower sensor dome became more elaborate and closer in appearance to the " Excelsior " - class and the deflector dish was modified . Finally , the width of the shuttlebay was increased and a second facility resembling that on the " Excelsior " - class engineering hull was mounted directly underneath the original one . Graphics were upgraded with the Starfleet insignia of the 2360s . Apart from these changes the layout and the number ( from sixteen to twenty ) of lifeboat hatches on the bridge module was changed . All these changes befuddled ( re ) designer Sternbach , who once commented , " " Once the drawings and / or blueprints left my desk , I didn ' t have a whole lot of control over what happened to the models , as evidenced by the weirdness with the " Enterprise " - C and ships like the Romulan scout and Talerian ( Tarelian ? ) cruiser . " " The model later appeared in as the , as stock footage , thereby appearing both in its original and modified form . It made its final appearance in as the . At the time of its retirement , the studio model bore the markings of both the " Excalibur " and " Yamaguchi " . A final modification was to shorten the nacelle pylons , ( possibly due to damage done after final filming ) and thereby lowering the warp nacelles in their entirety below the saucer section , when the model was briefly considered to make an appearance in . When the model was no longer deemed suitable enough for an appearance in a live - action production , it was shortly released by the studio for public relations purposes , having been on display in the 1995 - 1996 London , UK , leg of the European " " traveling tour , the one and only time the model has been on tour before it was auctioned off in 2006 . Established as an older design , no CGI model for production purposes was ever created for the class . The studio model was featured in the documentary " " due to its appearance in " " auction . The model , listed as , and estimated at US $ 8 , 000 - $ 12 , 000 , was sold on 7 October 2006 with a winning bid of US $ 40 , 000 ( $ 48 , 000 including buyer ' s premium ) to Adrian Hancock , the same British collector who also acquired the and the studio models . Prior to its sale , the model was on pre - auction views at Christie ' s London - based auction house from 3 August through 8 August , and subsequently at their New York City - based auction house from 29 September through 4 October , 2006 . Display models . Aside from the frequent appearances of the " Ambassador " - class relief sculptures throughout TNG , and later and the display model in through , there were at least two other depictions of the " Ambassador " - class appearing on various LCARS displays , including a display shown in , and a classroom " Starship Chronology " display appearing during DS9 Season 2 . The display model in as one of the golden model s in the display case in the observation lounge was a creation of John Eaves . " " This was before eBay , so I went and scoured the hobby shops all the way from Los Angeles to PHX Arizona to find any and all kits of the " Enterprise " s . What was available then was the " Enterprise " A , a TOS " Enterprise " that was too small so I opted to get the cutaway version that was substantially bigger , and the " Ent " . D . That left the " B " , " C " and the new " E " . For the " B " I grabbed one of the Playmates toy which was a good scale . For the " C " my friend Nelson tracked down a beautiful Garage kit that , too , was a good scale . For the " E " , I had just finished making a big 28 inch study model for the producers here in LA and for the model guys and gals up at ILM . It was almost too big , but there was no time to sculpt another one so it had to do . Herman asked for 3 of each ship because we were now going to have the smashing of the case scene . In the end , we wound up making 6 of the " D ' s " and about 6 or 7 of the " C ' s " because it was the one that all the glass would fall on top of . " " , Eaves remembers on his blog . Molds were taken of the model and solid resin casts copies were made ( since there were multiple takes of the scene ) . After smoothing out the surfaces , the models were gold electroplated at ArtCraft Plating . The models were subsequently smashed when the scene was filmed . For there were again three models needed ( though due to a script change they would not be used there ) , this time because there were three display cases and Eaves more or less repeated the procedure , this time using an AMT / Ertl model kit ( No . 8001 ) , solidifying the models by filling them up with resin . They were seen as display models in the observation lounge in . Eaves and the studio initially retained the models but most of them were later sold at various auctions ; one was sold as Lot 17 with an estimate of US $ 800 - $ 1 , 200 in Propworx ' " STAR TREK auction III " on 24 March 2012 for US $ 550 ( $ 677 including buyers premium ) ; one sold as part of a complete set of six in the Profiles in History " Hollywood Auction 44 " on 15 May 2011 as Lot 1550 for US $ 11 , 000 ( for the whole set ) ; one sold as in November 2008 in " It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction " for US $ 17 , 750 ; one sold as part of a complete set of six in Profile ' s The Star Trek Auction on 12 December 2001 as Lot 288 , estimated at US $ 10 , 000 - $ 12 , 000 , again for the whole set , and another one has reportedly been sold in an on - line Sotheby ' s auction in October 2000 . Derivative franchise use of CGI models . Whereas no CGI model was ever constructed for live - action production purposes , some were , for reproduction purposes in , by the franchise licensed " Star Trek " print publications . The first time an " Ambassador " - class vessel showed up as CGI imagery in an officially licensed publication , was as the " Enterprise " - C on the center spread , " Fleet Museum " , of the 2006 " " calendar , reproduced in its corresponding book of the same year . Though the complete depiction was composed by former Foundation Imaging employee Sean Scott , the model of that particular ship was constructed by his former Foundation colleague Robert Bonchune . The latter revisited his build , and refined it for a far more featured representation in the 2010 reference book " USS Enterprise Owners ' Workshop Manual " . Later CGI builds were Dan Uyeno and Tobias Richter ' s versions , which were respectively featured on the February , and June spreads of the calendar . Their versions differed form the " official " ones , as they have tried to incorporate more " Excelsior " - class elements into the design of the former , as well as some of Probert ' s original design elements for the latter . A more recent CGI version of the " Enterprise " - C , was a new model Ed Giddings constructed for the " " partwork project , managed by Ben Robinson . It has not been clear why Robinson deemed Bonchune ' s version unsuitable for the project and commissioned a new one , especially considering the fact that Bonchune , as supervisor , was " on staff " of the publication .