CT Tector Class Star Destroyer

Okay, I'm not exactly buying the idea behind the Tector class Star destroyer. It simply seems like the dorsal side of a type of Star Destroyer. Either that, or this "bayless" Tector is flying upside down relative to the other starships:









I'm not exactly sure what it is, it probably is a Tector, but I definitely don't believe we're looking at it's underside.

 

I have no idea what a Tector class Star Destroyer is, but I'm digging those screencaps.

I think there was only two designs used for the Star Destroyers, aside from the Super Star Destroyer. The ANH model had a slightly different bridge tower, otherwise the shooting models were identical as far as I know.

 

If I recall correctly, the Tector-class Star Destroyer is the EU name for a concept that was basically invented by the infamous Curtis Saxton, who argued that the above screencaps proved the existence of a type of Star Destroyer at Endor with no launch bays.

 

Yup. And he put its name into Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross Sections, as well.

I don't see any problem with ships flying "upside-down relative to others" . After all, there isn't really an up or down in zero-G.

 

I forgot, what's the argument that this is the underside of a Tector-class, and not the topside of an Imperial-class?

Personally, I think this sort of thing is over-analyzing it. Sorta like with that Clone Wars episode where the creators forgot to do their homework regarding the size of a Recuscant-class destroyer, and then suddenly we have an entirely new ship class.

 

This isn't always true. All solid bodied planets contain iron, as this is what creates a magnetic field around a planet, protecting itself from being blasted to pieces by solar winds. Because of this magnetic field, magnetic north and south poles are formed, and a modern compass points North at all times, giving us the perception of "up", when there is low gravitational pull (there's no such thing as zero-G, gravity is always acting on the body; there is only a perception of zero-G). What's tricky about this, is that this ISN'T necessarily always true. A widely accepted hypothesis created to answer a phenomenon regarding the shifting positioning of iron deposits is the Pole Shift Hypothesis. In it, it states that every hundred million years or so, the magnetic axis of a planet shifts; magnetic north becoming magnetic south, and vice versa. Although we cannot be sure while pole is magnetic north. Assuming GL was unaware of this hypothesis when creating RotJ, I assume that all the ships at the Battle of Endor are meant to be portrayed facing upwards in relation to Endor's magnetic north pole.

I could also take the cop-out option and say that all the starships in the GFFA contain an artificial gravity pump, and so the direction of "up" is perceived in relation to surrounding starships. Either way, if this is indeed a "Tector-class Star Destroyer", it would be considered upside down in relation to the rest of the ships in the Battle.

 

Going 'upside down' would actually be a fairly viable tactic with an Imp-Star. Their heaviest weapons are on the dorsal side, so to hit anything 'below' them, they would have to flip over. Naturally, this presumes that they would do so in the first place, instead of focusing fire on other Rebel ships.

And Mr. K , the Devastator model (ISD-I ANH) has different weaponry too...let me see here...



(apologies for the image quality)

Compared to the Avenger model (ISD-II, ESB/ROTJ)



As for the Tector (or unidentified Star Destroyer if you want to avoid EU )...I think it is the underside, as you don't see the same...well, shape if you look at the top of a Star Destroyer. I'd have to find screencaps though, and compare them to be sure and I'm a bit lazy tonight.

 

That's right. Cool pics! It seems obvious to me too that we're seeing the dorsal side of the ISD. I don't buy this Tector business.

On the topic of the Battle of Endor- Ken Ralston and Dennis Muren made the best space battle footage in movie history IMO. John Knoll's work on the prequels' space battles show more detail and technically is far superior, but it's so chaotic & rapid and cut so fast that one can't focus on any one particular element for more than a moment. Everything is in perfect focus and it's hard to discern perspective that way. It's just a 'bombardment of stimulation' to quote myself. The ROTJ battle has a balletic quality to it. It seems to flow very well from one shot to another. The illusion of perspective (distance from ships foreground & background) is pulled off perfectly, and the ships' movements are more fluid and easy to watch. Again, just my opinion.

 

^ And your opinion is the right one.

 

No.

I also agree, but going around saying things like that, at best, isn't very constructive.

 

Let's watch the snippiness guys

 

Anyway...I think the main case for it being the underside of a Star Destroyer (Tector aside) is the fact that there is some difference there, compared to a standard Imp-I or Imp-II. They showed a pretty fair distance down the hull, but there isn't a terrace in sight. And there are some differences too...



Top of an Imp.

Now a couple of the mystery ship:



There is something right in front of the Falcon that looks vaguely like a (mostly) plated over hangar, judging from the little white part inside the 'trench'. There isn't anything like it on a standard Imperial Star Destroyer.



Missing some of the 'raised' plating, replaced by that odd-texturing job.



When we do hit raised plating, its smaller and a different shape. But, the key thing, is its almost exactly where the reactor bulb should be. Presuming the ship here is the same size as an ISD, that is roughly as far back as the reactor should be. And there should be at least some sign of a terrace by that point.

So I can certainly see it being the underside of a modified Imp (no need for a new class). Or, the top side of a modified Imp. Regardless, it isn't a standard one from what I can tell.*




*Though I do admit I could be wrong. The problem with this ship, is we don't see all the way back. I could be misjudging how much is shown, in relation to a standard ISD.

 

Hard to tell if we're being pulled back far enough to reach the reactor bulb. I only see one of the hangars and it is plated, as you pointed out. But there is a second larger hangar that follows and that one doesn't come into view. I think the shot is cut before we can see it. I'm still of the opinion that this is just the underside of the standard shooting model.

 

Maybe someone with a camera and a model of their own (doesn't have to be the full-sized 6 ft long movie one- can be smaller) could demonstrate whether it's possible to recreate the Star Destroyer part of the above shots or not?

 

Well, comparing with the Devastator from ANH, there are some similarities with the underside to that ship and whichever side is this mystery ship.

Mystery ship:


Devastator:

Both have that deep trench-like pit to them. On the Devastator, it is the Officer's hanger. On the mystery ship, there appears to be a large plate that covers the gap where the hanger should be. Both have what appears to be vents of some sort just past this structure. Now, on the Devastator, there's a pair of dishes (possibly projectors for the tractor beam), but on the mystery ship, these look like they had been removed.

Next area...

Mystery ship:


Devastator:

Where the main hanger is on the Devastator, there's just a bunch of greebles on the mystery ship.

Finally, we get the the back...

Mystery ship:


Devastator:

It appears like the two locations should be the same, but here's the kicker. The reactor bulb, if that's what should be there, isn't simply covered up by a large plate. Rather, it doesn't seem to exist at all. Judging by the size of the reactor bulb on the Devastator, it's much too large to be simply covered over with a metal plate.

I also don't believe we are looking at the dorsal side of the mystery star destroyer because a normal ISD doesn't have the same surface configuration:

Rather, it seems to follow the typical patterning of the ventral side.

So all this comes down to the problem, in my mind at least, of what is going on with this ship. Either the ship is, for some reason, upside down to every other starship we see in the battle, or it's a different type of star destroyer due to the different dorsal configuration from the typical ISD.

 

Honestly, what really interests me in this is the Doylist side of things: was a new SD model really designed for this one shot? If not, how did they get it from one of the existing models?

 

"Took an existing model and modified it" seems more likely than designing a whole new one.

 

Though one still wonders why they would feel the need for a new model/modify an existing one for one split-second shot...


That being said, either it is the top of a heavily modded Imp, the bottom of an equally heavily modified ship flying upside down for some odd reason (most likely a Mon-Cal cruiser below it, since (as I suggested) that's the only way to get the heavy flank guns to bear), or we just have a completely new ship.

 

The other thing that stands out is that the DS2 looks tiny compared to the Endor Moon- and in the first two shots, it's close enough that you can see Endor's horizon behind it.

While I agree Saxton was probably right about there being a Tector-type destroyer that's noticably different from the others, I never understood why he insisted on his 11.5:1 size ratio for Endor Moon to DS2 considering how few shots fit it compared to the number of ones that don't.

 

Exactly. And it does seem like one of those has to be the case, because it's hard to see how that shot was achieved with the "standard" ISD model.

 

The officers hangar is easy enough, just stick a plate there (like they did). The main hangar and reactor...are a bit more problematic.

 

I'm told the proportions are very slightly different- the ANH being proportionally very slightly wider among other things. The model was only 3 ft long whereas the ESB one was 6 ft long.

 

Could this be the underside of the Super Stardestroyer model?

 

The tip- maybe- but the impression I get is that it's too sharply raised- the SSD prow is flatter.

 

One thing, however. In the previous shots, we see the Falcon flying towards a pair of standard ISD models, angling towards the topsides of both.




This shot is followed by Ackbar saying they won't last long against those Star Destroyers, and Lando retorting back. So in the time it takes Ackbar and Lando to say those lines, the Falcon has likely already passed the first ISD and is on its way to the second.

Either way, it looks like we're meant to assume the Falcon is passing over the topside of an apparently normal ISD.