The spread-wing primary hull, long neck and bulbous command module configuration of the D7-class became the basic blueprint for Klingon vessels in the later television series.
In one episode of The Animated Series, "More Tribbles, More Troubles", a D7-class battlecruiser is equipped with an experimental stasis weapon, capable of paralyzing target vessels.
The appearance of the D7-class has been revisited several times in the Star Trek series; an entirely new studio model was created by Greg Jein for the Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations".
[1] The D7-class was again revisited for the remastered version of The Original Series, in which Michael Okuda created a new CGI D7-class model, with improved hull detail and Romulan bird markings for the D7-class vessels in "The Enterprise Incident".
[2] An upgrade of the design used for the D7-class vessel, the K't'inga-class battlecruiser was first conceived for use in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Phase II.
When Phase II was abandoned, the story of the pilot was adapted for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, where three K't'inga-class battlecruisers are used in the opening scenes.
Although sharing a nearly identical configuration with the D7-class, the primary difference in the K't'inga-class is the level of detail on the hull, enhanced to make the model appear more believable to viewers on screen.
ILM's alterations were meant to "contrast... with the Enterprise-A, which is very smooth and monochromatic and cool, while this Klingon ship is very regal and ostentatious and warm".
In addition, the ship possesses an aft torpedo launcher and can fire a powerful disruptor beam from the forward module.
The interior of the battlecruiser was designed by Douglas Trumbull, with the intent of appearing like "an enemy submarine in World War II that's been out at sea for too long".
Introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the Bird-of-Prey has featured in five of the films and frequently appears in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
[5] Industrial Light & Magic designed and built the Bird-of-Prey for Star Trek III, assisted by the film's director, Leonard Nimoy.
The wings of the Bird-of-Prey are able to move, lowering to attack, maintaining just above horizontal in flight mode and raising high when the ship lands.
[7] The Boeing Bird of Prey developed by McDonnell Douglas's Phantom Works division was named after the Klingon Bird-of-Prey.
[9] The interior of the Bird-of-Prey is similar to that of Douglas Trumbull's submarine-like designs for the K't'inga-class; some Birds of Prey are even shown with periscopes to allow the captain to personally target weapons.
Sternbach designed the Vor'cha-class to represent the alliance between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire by The Next Generation, and consequent technology exchange and collaboration.
Thus, the nacelles of the craft were created to be similar to those on Starfleet vessels, while the color was intentionally placed as a midpoint between the dark green of the Bird of Prey and the light gray of the USS Enterprise-D. Sternbach's original concept sketches for the Vor'cha-class were sold at an auction in 2003 for US$850,[10] while a studio model for the debris of a destroyed Vor'cha-class cruiser was sold on eBay in 2006 for US$1,025.
[11] The design of the Vor'cha-class maintains the typical Klingon configuration with a forward module supported by a thick horizontal neck running aft and spreads out into a larger secondary hull.
With a crew of 1,900 and a length of 500 metres (1,600 ft), Vor'cha-class vessels are one of the largest Klingon ships in the Star Trek universe.
In the Deep Space Nine episode "Return to Grace", the cruiser is stated to have enough firepower to threaten subterranean bases with orbital bombardments.
The class initially was designed by Rick Sternbach to appear as a Klingon attack cruiser for an alternate timeline in "All Good Things...", the series finale of The Next Generation.
The Negh'Var-class is also used in the episodes "Shattered Mirror" and "The Emperor's New Cloak" as a flagship in the Mirror Universe; this version is meant to be far larger than the prime universe Negh'Var-class, to this end a 7.62 metres (25.0 ft) model of the underside of the vessel was created to dwarf the studio model of the USS Defiant in combat sequences.
As the studio model is built upon that of the Vor'cha-class, the Negh'Var-class shares many similarities in design in relation to the vessel's shape, color and nacelles.
The design was similar to that of the D7-class, closely following its configuration and shape and incorporating a more rugged and primitive construction to make the ship appear consistent with the earlier time period.
Eaves's objective was to make the craft appear more primitive than the Klingon ships later in the franchise's chronology, with exposed piping and rugged design.
Drexler, who worked closely with Eaves during the creation of the CGI mesh, was allowed to deal with the closer details of the model, such as the position of the shuttlebay.
Designed by John Eaves and compiled as a CGI model by Pierre Drolet of EdenFX, The D5 employed a basic Klingon battlecruiser shape: a small forward hull attached by a long, horizontal boom to a larger engineering hull, with aft-mounted impulse drive units above and two warp engines at the end of backswept pylons.
The ship was designed by John Eaves, who used an abandoned concept for a modified Bird-of-Prey intended for Deep Space Nine as his starting point.
The Bird-of-Prey debuted in the episode "The Expanse" and made multiple appearances across Enterprise, used in roles such as a patrol ship or a destroyer accompanying the bigger D5-class battlecruiser.
[17] The design was intended to be 145 metres (476 ft) long with a top speed of warp 5, and was heavily armed with several wing, neck and head mounted disruptor cannons,[18] and fore and aft photon torpedo launchers.