The design theme for the ships of the Royal Æther Fleet was inspired by a retro Star Trek ship plan created by Brad McClintok in 2000 and featured here with his approval (and surprise) that his April Fools Day / Fake Movie thread had become the inspiration for such an endeavor.

McClintok's Original Enterprise Photoshop and Movie Poster:

It was from this single Photoshop Enterprise image by McClintok that Admiral Toboll began using Photoshop to create the Dauntless. Later he used Sketchup to create a 3D render of the Dauntless and subsequently the entire RAF Fleet of ships. Later renditions were created using Blender to expand on the details of the Skechup version.

Admiral Toboll's original static 2D Dauntless using Photoshop (circa 2002):
 

First 3D Dauntless version using Sketchup v.2017 (2017):

Second 3D Dauntless version using Blender v.2.8 (2020) :
 

Third 3D Dauntless version using Blender v.2.9 (2021) :