Ship-Talking Podcast

This week's episode features Trek-legend & TNG Ship Designer Andrew Probert and Star Trek Online's Lead Ship Artist Thomas Marrone. The chat with them includes discussions about creating the Galaxy-class/ Enterprise-D, its saucer separation and original battle section plans, its Captain's yacht, the original vertical D'deridex design, and ship bathroom facilities. An expanded chat with Andrew and Thomas is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tieron Patreon. Also in the episode, answers to this week's Community Q are discussed, a new question is announced, and this week's All Hands on Deck Drill training plans the community sent in are reviewed. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected].

Star Trek Online's Design Director Al "CaptainGeko" Rivera met us in Quark's Bar this week to talk sh*p. Not only did he speak about bringing ships into the game, but we also discussed balancing ships from various eras, ship ability design based on on-screen features, and more. An expanded chat with Al is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tier on Patreon. Submissions for this week's Community Q were also shared before announcing the new one, and this week's All Hands on Deck Drill sent the community to the Holodeck to load up some historic ship battles. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected].

The incredibly talented Bill Krause joins us on this week's episode. Not only is he a ship artist who physically models all of his designs, but he is also the founder of Tycho Starship Yards. He joins the gents in Ten Forward to chat about bringing original designs to life, model design and build process, how ship interiors lead to designing the exterior hull, and founding a shipyard to inspire fleet design. An expanded chat with Bill is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tier on Patreon. Your answers to this week's Community Q are also discussed, a new one is announced, and this week's All Hands on Deck Drill sees the community visiting the shipyards to retrofit Federation ships with enhanced technology. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected].

This week's episode features James Swallow, author of many official Trek books set in the Titan-, TNG-, Discovery-eras & more; and Jack Curtis, ship-centric fan storyteller who runs the popular @Songs_of_Kahless Instagram page. The chat includes a discussion about ships as characters, narrating ship battles, ships from books becoming "on-screen canon", and ensuring ships are still awe-inspiring in a written medium. An expanded chat with James and Jack is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tier on Patreon. We also discuss your answers to this week's Community Q, share a new question, and review the rescue mission that sent you all to the Delta Quadrant in this week's All Hands on Deck Drill. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected].

Trek Author and Project Manager for Eaglemoss/Hero Collector's 'The Official Starships Collection' Ben Robinson joins Brandon and Robbie in the shipyards for the pod's first episode of 2021. They speak about research and reference for model accuracy, modeling ships with detached nacelles, evolution of ship design, and the special edition Regula I model. An expanded chat with Ben is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tier on Patreon. Also, your answers to the latest Community Q are discussed, a new question is shared, and this week's All Hands on Deck Drill sees the community become Chancellor of the Klingon High Council (and thus leader of the Empire) for a day. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected].

Our 2020 holiday bonus episode brings Ship-mas cheer to all! Brandon and Robbie sit down by the fire to quickly reminisce and share behind-the-scenes insights about each episode before they share a teaser clip of the expanded chat with each special guest that joined them thus far. Before they warp out, they reveal the guest line up for the start of 2021. And, make sure to listen until the very last second for a surprise visit from Santa himself! No peeking ahead, tho… Don’t forget, hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected]. We'll see you in 2021!

In our last full episode of 2020, Brandon and Robbie bring two colleagues together for their first time meeting each other: Trek-ship legend Tobias Richter and Star Trek Online Ship Artist Donny Versiga. Their discussion includes prepping for a potential DS9 remaster, modeling ships for STO, the research that's required pre-CGI creation, and getting ships ready for players to fly. An expanded chat with Tobias and Donny is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tier on Patreon. Your answers to this week's Community Q are also shared, there's a new question given, and the latest All Hands on Deck Drill has two Trek ships go head-to-head. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected]. Have a very happy and safe holiday season and New Year!

In his first-ever interview, Mark Rademaker—designer of the Vesta-class/ U.S.S. Aventine from the Star Trek: Destiny novels—joins Brandon, Robbie, and special Guest Host James Lee this week to talk about his legendary ship. They spoke about how the Vesta came to be, what went into designing it, its unique capabilities, and mechanics of its quantum slipstream drive. An expanded chat with Mark is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tieron Patreon. Also, answers to this week's Community Q are discussed, a new question is announced, and this week's All Hands on Deck Drill training plans the community sent in are reviewed. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected].

Content warning: This week's guest chat includes adult language in the form of several (Enterprise-)F-bombs. Listener discretion is advised.

Star Trek: Voyager Actor and Trek-franchise Director Robert Duncan McNeill joined Brandon and Robbie in Ten Forward this week to talk sh*p. He gave them a full rundown on the training he participated in to prep for "piloting" Voyager and shared thoughts on starship conn interface evolution & interactions. The gents also spoke about the feat of landing Voyager and the creation of the Delta Flyer. An expanded chat with Robert is exclusively available to our patrons at or above the Constitution-class tier on Patreon. Your answers to this week's Community Q are discussed, a new one is announced, and this week's All Hands on Deck Drill sees the community refitting Starfleet ships with Dominion technology. Hailing frequencies are always open at www.shiptalkingpod.com or email [email protected].