[This kit is can also be found on my Google Drive mirror.]
Following up on my recently released Galaxy and Nebula class models, I’ve been working on reconstructing the kitbashes seen in the Wolf 359 starship graveyard scene in The Next Generation episode Best of Both Worlds Part II. This kit provides parts and ship files supporting the the final ship in this series: the Niagara class, as seen in the episode as the USS Princeton.
This ships and parts files are scaled consistently, and meant to be compatible with, all of my other Star Trek Parts Kit.
See my Thingiverse and Cults 3d profile for the full list of parts kits I’ve released so far. All parts are meant to be cross-compatible between kits for your kitbashing enjoyment.
In addition to the combined ship STL files, this kit provides three additional zip files:
- niagara-ship-stls-lower-details.zip – Print-ready version of all ship files without shield grids or windows.
- niagara-parts-stls.zip – contains the kitbashable parts in STL format used to create the combined ship STL files.
- niagara-blender-files.zip – Blender source files used to create the ship and parts STLs.
Included Ships
Niagara class
The original Niagara filming model is very poorly documented. The original does not appear in any public collections and hasn’t been featured in any of the auctions that did such a good job of documenting other rare background props and models. As a result, this kit is my best effort to guess many of the details.
The Niagara’s saucer appears to be a similar part to the one created for the Freedom class, but the details, including the top decks are significantly different, and indicate a larger ship size. The three nacelles are taken from an existing Galaxy Class USS Enterprise model kit, but the secondary hull appears to be a modified version of the Ambassador’s hull.
In addition to the standard ship file, I’ve included a hypothetical earlier version of the ship, featuring Ambassador class nacelles. I’m calling this version the MK1 Niagara, where the standard version we saw in TNG was the MK2.
I also created variants of both versions without the lower nacelle, if you’re one of those people who find the tri-nacelle layout offensive.
Notes on scaling and working with Blender
My target scale for all source files and output STL files is 1:1000. Although these files have not been extensively tested through printing, they are intended to be resized to match common modelling and miniatures scales.
| Target scale | Scale STL files to: | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1/3900 | 0.25641026 | FASA miniature scale |
| 1/3788 | 0.26399155 | ADB Starline 2400 scale |
| 1/3125 | 0.32 | ADB Starline 2500 scale |
| 1/2500 | 0.4 | The Trek modelers "Golden scale" |
| 1/1600 | 0.625 | TOS 3-Ship Set scale |
| 1/1400 | 0.714285714 | Common resin model scale |
| 1/650 | 1.538461538 | Modelling scale |
| 1/537 | 1.862197393 | Common scale for TMP models |
| 1/350 | 2.857142857 | Large scale |
Blenderis free, which to be honest was the primary factor in my decision to learn it. There are many fine video and text tutorials available online if you're interested in learning more. Seethe Blender fundamentals tutorials playlistto get started.
You can use File -> Import -> Stl (.stl) and File -> Export -> Stl (.stl) to load or save STL files in blender.
Note: This kit was built using Blender 3.5.
Post-processing STL output
Although all of the STL files included have been tested as valid watertight meshes, joining the parts together and exporting new STL files can introduce small errors that may cause issues with slicing programs. I recommend any STL files you create are checked using a program like Netfabb Basic free edition. Doing a simple "Close All Holes" repair has fixed most of the issues I've run into so far. If you do run into issues with mesh quality, please let me know.
Parts list
The following lists provide a summary of the included parts. Parts are included in the following ZIP file:
- niagara-parts-stls.zip – contains the kitbashable parts in STL format used to create the combined ship STL files.
Note these parts are not meant to be printed by themselves, they’re intended to be combined to kitbash your own ship variants. For most items, the mesh origin has been set so that when you import these objects into your 3D editor of choice, they are positioned as they would be on the sample ships provided.
Parts
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| niagara-bridge-lower-detail.stl | Bridge and top-most deck (without shield grid and windows). |
| niagara-bridge.stl | Bridge and top-most deck. |
| niagara-c-deck-lower-detail.stl | Decks between bridge and rest of saucer (without shield grid and windows). |
| niagara-c-deck.stl | Decks between bridge and rest of saucer. |
| niagara-impulse-module.stl | Impulse engine. |
| niagara-nacelles-ambassador-type-port-starboard.stl | Port and starboard Ambassador style nacelle. |
| niagara-nacelles-ambassador-type-ventral.stl | Underslung Ambassador style nacelle. |
| niagara-nacelles-galaxy-type-port-starboard.stl | Port and starboard Galaxy style nacelle. |
| niagara-nacelles-galaxy-type-ventral.stl | Underslung Galaxy style nacelle. |
| niagara-neck.stl | Neck connecting saucer and secondary hull. |
| niagara-pylon-ventral-lower-detail.stl | Pylon connecting underslung warp nacelle with secondary hull (without shield grid and windows). |
| niagara-pylon-ventral.stl | Pylon connecting underslung warp nacelle with secondary hull. |
| niagara-pylons-port-starboard-lower-detail.stl | Pylon connecting warp port and starboard nacelle with secondary hull (without shield grid and windows). |
| niagara-pylons-port-starboard.stl | Pylon connecting warp port and starboard nacelle with secondary hull. |
| niagara-saucer-lower-detail.stl | Saucer with standard phaser strip configuration (without shield grid and windows). |
| niagara-saucer-lower-detail_alt-phaser.stl | Saucer with an alternate phaser strip configuration (without shield grid and windows). |
| niagara-saucer.stl | Saucer with standard phaser strip configuration. |
| niagara-saucer_alt-phaser.stl | Saucer with an alternate phaser strip configuration. |
| niagara-secondary-hull-lower-detail.stl | Secondary engineering hull (without shield grid and windows). |
| niagara-secondary-hull.stl | Secondary engineering hull. |
| niagara-sensor-dome.stl | Lower saucer sensor dome. |
Combined ship STLs
In addition to the standard ship files, additional variants are included in the following zip file:
- niagara-ship-stls-lower-details.zip – Print-ready version of all ship files without shield grids or windows.
| Ship file | Description |
|---|---|
| ship-niagara-mk1.stl | Three nacelle configuration with Ambassador style nacelles. |
| ship-niagara-mk1-2-nacelle.stl | Two nacelle configuration with Ambassador style nacelles. |
| ship-niagara-mk2.stl | Three nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles. |
| ship-niagara-mk2-2-nacelle.stl | Two nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles. |
| ship-niagara-mk2-2-nacelle-alt-phaser.stl | Three nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles and alternate phaser strip configuration. |
| ship-niagara-mk2-alt-phaser.stl | Two nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles and alternate phaser strip configuration. |
| ship-niagara-mk1_lower-detail.stl | Three nacelle configuration with Ambassador style nacelles (without shield grid and windows). |
| ship-niagara-mk1-2-nacelle_lower-detail.stl | Two nacelle configuration with Ambassador style nacelles (without shield grid and windows). |
| ship-niagara-mk2_lower-detail.stl | Three nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles (without shield grid and windows). |
| ship-niagara-mk2_lower-detail-alt-phaser.stl | Two nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles (without shield grid and windows). |
| ship-niagara-mk2-2-nacelle_lower-detail-alt-phaser.stl | Three nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles and alternate phaser strip configuration (without shield grid and windows). |
| ship-niagara-mk2-2-nacelle_lower-detail.stl | Two nacelle configuration with Galaxy style nacelles and alternate phaser strip configuration (without shield grid and windows). |
Blender files
An additional zip file is included containing two Blender files. The first file contains the standard STL parts arranged as used in the sample ship designs, while the second contains parts-source file contains the raw blender objects used to create the parts.
- niagara-blender-files.zip – Blender source files used to create the ship and parts STLs.
License
I'm releasing this under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. You're free to distribute and modify these files (even for commercial use), provided you attribute the creator and distribute your contributions under the same license.
