Christopher Ross Christopher " Chris " S . Ross is a model maker who has worked on several studio model s that were used in , while in the employ of Magicam , Inc . . In 2012 , Ross came full circle , working as Concept Illustrator on J . J . Abrams ' . According to the IMDb , Ross is also working as Concept Illustrator on the sequel . Freshly graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena , California ( as was his fellow Magicam co - worker Mark Stetson and which also counts William Ware Theiss and Andrew Probert among their alumni ) , Ross started his professional career at Magicam in 1978 . His first assignment was helping his supervisor Jim Dow drawing up a preliminary set of engineering drawings for the new eight - foot " Enterprise " studio model . Though Probert and Art Director Richard Taylor , had yet to start with the final re - design work , it was by then decided to stick with the established lines of the famed starship which enabled Dow and his crew to start with the construction of the model , thereby saving precious time . ( " American Cinematographer " , February 1980 , p . 153 ) After this chore Ross worked on several of the studio models , the company was tasked to construct , among others the spacedock model , and the travel pod studio model . Still , Ross ' most noticeable contribution was the D7 - class model , when he was appointed lead modeler on its construction . His build as finished however , was not shown on - screen , as further embellishments on the model were deemed necessary , done at Apogee , Inc . , resulting it becoming the . His contributions to " Star Trek Into Darkness " include concept illustrations for the Advanced long - range torpedo and several weapons and medical equipment . Career . Upon completion of " The Motion Picture " , Ross at first followed his mentor Douglas Trumbull to work on " Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Special Edition " ( 1980 ) , though he returned afterwards to Magicam for the remainder of its existence , having workeded on Carl Sagan ' s critically acclaimed documentary series " Cosmos " ( 1980 ) . After the company went out of business , Ross , working for among others Apogee Inc . and Entertainment Effects Group , continued to work as model maker for productions such as " Airplane ! " ( 1980 ) , " Blade Runner " ( 1982 , supervised by Trumbull and Richard Yuricich , and working with Stetson ) , " Dune " ( 1984 ) , " Lifeforce " ( 1985 , featuring Patrick Stewart ) , " Invaders from Mars " ( 1986 ) , " Out on a Limb " , and " Spaceballs " ( both 1987 ) . Around 1987 , Ross decided to switch specialism by adding graphics to his skills set , becoming an illustrator . From then on he worked as a concept designer of props , sets and studio models , and has worked as such on productions like " My Stepmother Is an Alien " ( 1988 ) , " Batman Returns " ( 1992 ) , " Virus " ( 1999 ) , " Minority Report " ( 2002 ) , " The Island " ( 2005 ) , " Iron Man " ( 2008 ) , " The Curious Case of Benjamin Button " ( 2008 , winning him a 2009 Excellence in Production Design Award , shared with among others Jane Wuu and Richard Bennett ) , " Alice in Wonderland " ( 2010 ) , " Cowboys & Aliens " ( 2011 , earning him a 2012 Excellence in Production Design Award nomination , shared with among others Scott Chambliss , James Clyne , and Scott Schneider ) , and " Men in Black 3 " ( 2012 ) . More recent projects include the sequel " Captain America : The Winter Soldier " ( 2014 , executive produced by Stan Lee ) , the reboot of " The Fantastic Four " ( 2015 ) , and the action film " Spectral " ( 2016 , with Bruce Greenwood ) .