[Zardoz]

Originally Posted by Jed Starkiller

I dunno I just thought they did a good job of making it look Treky but different from the Saucer section, Star Drive and Warp Pylon styles of the other ships. I guess that why visually I like Voyager its different.

Hmmm a good point that hasn't been brought up before.

[1THGfan]

Defiant was all rough and tough in DS9, but with 50 other ships against a borg cube it was badly damaged and Worf was going to ram it!

One part of FC I didn't like was showing us a pathetic ship that was almost unbeatable in DS9!

[Commodore]

Originally Posted by 1THGfan

Defiant was all rough and tough in DS9, but with 50 other ships against a borg cube it was badly damaged and Worf was going to ram it!

One part of FC I didn't like was showing us a pathetic ship that was almost unbeatable in DS9!

Well, to be fair, the Defiant was supposed to be the first of a fleet of "Borg busters," but it was likely the only one around at the time of First Contact (other Defiant-class ships may have still been under construction or deployed elsewhere in the Federation, IMO). I would imagine that a bunch of Defiant-class ships working together would be able to take down a Borg cube fairly easy.

On the other hand, perhaps First Contact showed that the Defiant-class really isn't "all that" as a Borg buster anyway. Aside from its quantum torpedoes, it's biggest weapon would seem to be its pulse phaser cannons which can make mincemeat of Jem'Hadar vessels, but may be only marginally more effective the Borg. The Defiant has overpowered engines for a ship of its size, but then that would probably make it on par with ships that are several times its size...

[dholleyuk]

It worked well in DS9, it fit the style of the show, but when you look at it in First Contact (doing what it was designed to do) it looks out of place to the other ships...

Star Fleet ships look better with Saucer sections and warp Pylons

[Falstaff]

The mighty Defiant is to Starfleet what the A-10 Warhog is to the US miltary. She may not be as graceful-looking as other craft, but few things can stand up to her attack power. I'll take the Defiant over another starship anyday. It's small size makes it easier to park.

As for how it was handled in First Contact--it did what the writers wanted it to do. I take that portrail as seriously as I take the battle between an old Bird of Prey and the Enterprise-D in Generations. The writers wanted a quick fight, and couldn't care about the actual stats. If Sisko was in charge, and the Borg attached DS9 on that show, the Defiant whould have defeated the cude and done what it was designed to do.

[Zardoz]

Originally Posted by Commodore

Well, to be fair, the Defiant was supposed to be the first of a fleet of "Borg busters," but it was likely the only one around at the time of First Contact (other Defiant-class ships may have still been under construction or deployed elsewhere in the Federation, IMO). I would imagine that a bunch of Defiant-class ships working together would be able to take down a Borg cube fairly easy.

On the other hand, perhaps First Contact showed that the Defiant-class really isn't "all that" as a Borg buster anyway. Aside from its quantum torpedoes, it's biggest weapon would seem to be its pulse phaser cannons which can make mincemeat of Jem'Hadar vessels, but may be only marginally more effective the Borg. The Defiant has overpowered engines for a ship of its size, but then that would probably make it on par with ships that are several times its size...

Didn't O"Brien say soemthign to the effect of the Defiant-Class was scrapped because they couldn't get the power balnce right for the frame, and that it had Galaxy Class power systems in a small ship? I might be remembering wrong...

[Saquist]

Originally Posted by Jed Starkiller

I dunno I just thought they did a good job of making it look Treky but different from the Saucer section, Star Drive and Warp Pylon styles of the other ships. I guess that why visually I like Voyager its different.

Yep...I agree.
It was perfect. But I must admit I wasn't ready for it yet.

[Gunny1]

Originally Posted by Saquist

Yep...I agree.
It was perfect. But I must admit I wasn't ready for it yet.

U.S.S. Iowa, BB-4



U.S.S. Iowa, BB-63



This is one thing I like about Trek; both ships above are 'propellor-driven ships-of-the-line with turret-mounted main batteries', and hence could be argued to be the 'same basic idea', you can see the design advancements that have created a whole new 'look' to battleships.

Likewise, Trek manages to keep this real-world example alive. The familiar aspects of warp-phaser-shields are there; but in a totally different configuration in the Intrepid-class as opposed to the Constitution-class... just like real life. (...and pre-warp ships are like sailing ships, etc., etc...)

[Commodore]

Originally Posted by Zardoz

Didn't O"Brien say soemthign to the effect of the Defiant-Class was scrapped because they couldn't get the power balnce right for the frame, and that it had Galaxy Class power systems in a small ship? I might be remembering wrong...

I think all that was said that it was extremely overpowered for such a small ship and design problems (as well as the diminished Borg threat at the time) was one of the reasons why the project was briefly abandoned. The Defiant produced a warp signature that was equivalent to that of a larger vessel (but how much larger is anyone's guess, IMO). I don't recall if it was actually referred to as being as powerful as a Galaxy-class starship, but I do vaguely remember in one episode the Defiant had to divert power from another system just to reach Warp 9.5, which is slower than the maximum safe speed (Warp 9.6) of the Enterprise-D. I would imagine that most ships the Defiant's size wouldn't have the power necessary for all its weapons...

[Akula2ssn]

Originally Posted by Gunny1

U.S.S. Iowa, BB-4



U.S.S. Iowa, BB-63



This is one thing I like about Trek; both ships above are 'propellor-driven ships-of-the-line with turret-mounted main batteries', and hence could be argued to be the 'same basic idea', you can see the design advancements that have created a whole new 'look' to battleships.

Likewise, Trek manages to keep this real-world example alive. The familiar aspects of warp-phaser-shields are there; but in a totally different configuration in the Intrepid-class as opposed to the Constitution-class... just like real life. (...and pre-warp ships are like sailing ships, etc., etc...)

As opposed to the


USS Maine ACR-1


USS Texas



Both of these were the first battleships in the USN which used off center turrets. However, this design fell out of favor in a matter of a few years with the introduction of the Indiana class. (On a side note, I always end up doing double takes with the Iowa BB-4. It's almost identical to the Indiana class with the exception of the higher freeboard.)