I’m starting to get more and more into Trek, and I
love how the ship designs reflect the cultures that produced them. My ranking is mostly based on design, but I do
take into account practicality and balance (which is why don’t include such
blatant Sue-Wagons as the Prometheus and the Scimitar). A warning, though: I do include a couple from
Discovery and the Reboots. Also, my takes on the various manifestations of the Constitution class might ruffle some feathers.
34. STARFLEET CONSTITUTION CLASS
Star Trek TOS
As iconic as it is, I’ve never been a big fan of the Enterprise’s
design. I never particularly cared for
the separate engineering section. I
still have to give it credit, though.
The price of practical space design is the lack of interesting style.
33. ROMULAN BIRD-OF-PREY
Star Trek TOS
The design is a bit dated, but it’s unique. The ship itself introduced the cloaking
device and was a riveting introduction to the Romulans. The 22nd Century version looks
more in line with the developed Romulan aesthetic (and looks better as a
result), but it’s a bit of a continuity problem.
32. CARDASSIAN GALOR CLASS
Star Trek TNG, DS9
Awkward-looking from most angles, but it gets points for
being shaped like its government's emblem.
31. “KLINGON” BIRD-OF-PREY
Star Trek Discovery
Practically nothing about Discovery has anything to do with
Star Trek, let alone where the Klingons are concerned, but the ship does look
cool.
30. BORG TYPE 03
Star Trek TNG
Still an indirect product of the Borg, but it shows more
individuality that is reflective of Lore’s Borg faction.
29. STARFLEET SOVEREIGN CLASS
TNG Movies
On one hand I love the sleek, spry look of this
ship. It’s one of the best shaped
vehicles from Starfleet, and it reflects its role as a top-of-the-line
battlecruiser. But what spoils its appearance
is the rough, ugly skin surface. An
interesting parallel to the Sovie is the contemporary Ford Taurus: actually a
pretty shapely car that was covered in ugliness. The color palette is a bit confused, as
well. It doesn’t help that it’s often
rendered in hideously bad CGI.
28. STARFLEET DEFIANT CLASS
Starfleet’s first admitted warship, it has an efficient,
compact design. I have mixed feelings
about the appearance, though. Especially
its odd “nose” structure. It also has a
few reliability issues.
27. STARFLEET GALAXY CLASS
Star Trek TNG
I never was that fond of it, but it really suits the work
it stars in. It’s a bit ungainly, but
that suits its role as a ship of peace and exploration. Its smooth surfaces and cool color palette
give it a maternal look. If I were
Stefan Molyneux I would accuse the ship of seducing me on purpose with its
kissable Navigational Deflector. As much
as it’s mocked for its luxurious nature, it makes sense as mobile military base
during peacetime.
26. STARFLEET EXCELSIOR CLASS
Star Trek III – TNG Era
From most angles it’s an attractive, robust-looking
ship. I also like how the inward curve
dominates the ventral stern. However,
the ship looks awkward from the top, with its small, circular disk and its warp
nacelles connected to its hull with flimsy, ungainly-looking pylons. It must have been a good design to last so
long, though.
25. STARFLEET CONSTITUTION CLASS (REFIT)
Star Trek Movies
The cool paint job, the blue navigational deflector, and
the attractive warp nacelles do wonders for this ship’s appearance. The swept-back pylons make a world of
difference in how spry the ship looks, as demonstrated by the Discovery
version of the pre-refit Enterprise.
24. STARFLEET OBERTH CLASS
Star Trek III, TNG Era
Not much of a combat vessel, but I love the unique layout
of this research ship.
23. STARFLEET DANUBE CLASS RUNABOUT
A practical light ship suited for operations from a space
station, and I like its design.
22. UNITED EARTH NX CLASS
Star Trek: Enterprise
Deserves a lot of credit for being the ship that helped
humanity become competitive with its Warp-5 capability. It also has a great, sleek shape I wish that
Starfleet had stuck to.
21. KLINGON D5 CLASS
Star Trek: Enterprise
A great-looking ship.
Uniquely Klingon, well-desienged, but crude enough to plausible as an
older predecessor to TOS era ships.
20. STARFLEET DREADNOUGHT CLASS
Star Trek into Darkness
A dark, intimidating nemesis to the Enterprise.
19. “KLINGON” SARCOPHAGUS
Star Trek Discovery
Sinister ship adorned with caskets containing the bodies
of fallen warriors, a custom which Klingons are well-known for. An interesting idea, and the ship looks awesome.
18. STARFLEET INTREPID CLASS
Star Trek Voyager
One of the sleeker designs from Starfleet. A medium sized ship with good speed and
functionality.
17. GORN SHIP
Star Trek TOS (Remastered)
We only get a glimpse of it, but it’s a solid layout with
a subtle Raygun Gothic quality.
16. FERENGI D’KORA CLASS
Star Trek TNG
Always liked its unique shape, and the orange color
scheme helped it appear alien. Too bad
it was never on DS9.
15. VULCAN WARP SLED
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
I like the practical nature of a warp add-on to a
universal shuttle, and it looks cool.
14. ROMULAN D’DERIDEX CLASS
Star Trek TNG
A unique, intimidating design and the ultimate warship of
its era. I love the hollow shape, and
the green glow of the nacelles compounds the sinister appearance. Too bad it was replaced with the far blander Valdore
class.
13. STARFLEET CONSTITUTION CLASS (ALTERNATE REALITY)
The Star Trek Reboots
I know this might sound like heresy, but I love this
design. Combining elements from the
original and the refit in a form that is beautifully shaped and better
integrated. While the reboots did a
great job with Federation ship design, it did not succeed at distinctly alien aesthetic,
as evidenced by the infuriatingly generic “spikey alien ship” look of what pass
for Romulan and Klingon vessels.
12. JEM’HADAR BATTLE CRUISER
Not much to say other than I find this ship pretty.
11. TARELLIAN PLAGUE SHIP
Star Trek TNG
One of the most creative designs in the franchise.
10. BORG CUBE
Star Trek TNG
It perfectly embodies the Borg: industrial
anti-aesthetic, decentralized systems, and geometric structure. Huge and invincible, it’s a soulless
terror.
9. FEDERATION TYPE 7 SHUTTLE
Star Trek TNG
I think most of the shuttles look generic, but this
smoothly-shaped class stands out and is my favorite application of Starfleet’s
TNG aesthetic.
8. BREEN WARSHIP
A twisted, sinister design.
7. V’GER
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Large, sinister, and rather gothic-looking, this ship is
enhanced by great atmosphere and patient directing.
6. TAMARIAN CRUISER
Star Trek TNG
Looks like a Star Destroyer, but too much like one.
5. KLINGON NEGH’VAR CLASS
Star Trek TNG, DS9
Big, predatory, and martial. It’s an imposing ship, unless you count its embarrassing
performance against and aging Galaxy refit. Then again, those supposedly weren’t real Negh’Vars.
4. KLINGON VOR’CHA CLASS
Star Trek TNG, DS9
A great evolution of the Klingon aesthetic. A versatile heavy cruiser with an aggressive,
predatory appearance that does justice to that of its predecessor. Still there's a trade-off between the Klingons' Ain't-Broken-Don't-Fix-It mindset and the Federation's innovation. Klingon ships always seem slightly edged out by whatever Starfleet's best ship is at the moment.
3. STARFLEET MIRANDA CLASS
Star Trek II – TNG Era
This has always been my favorite Federation design. A sleek shape without any of the elements I
generally disliked about the Starfleet ships.
Its efficient layout makes it plausible as ship that maintain usefulness
for centuries with appropriate modifications.
Unfortunately it’s a victim of its own success, centuries-old Mirandas’ getting humiliated
when finally faced with state-of-the-art vessels from other superpowers.
2. KLINGON D7/K’T'INGA CLASS
Star Trek TOS, Movies
I’ve always loved this ship since I was a kid. The swept-back wings, the manta-inspired rear
hull, the neck…it was familiar yet alien.
Even the torpedo launcher gives the impression of a maw in a terrifying,
eyeless face. It was top-of-the-line at its time, and lasted centuries. It might also say something about the the D7's quality that the Romulans thought they were worth giving away cloaking technology to the Klingons.
1. KLINGON BIRD-OF-PREY
Star Trek III – TNG Era
Unlike the Miranda, the KBOP adapted well to its long
service life. For all its style, it’s a practical,
humble warship, trading power for speed and efficiency. There seems to be some disagreement over its
class names, which includes B’Rel, D12, and K’Vort (a larger version misused as
a cruiser, presumably the result of a producer’s mistake).
