I learned a whole bunch of other stuff for this render.

This image has 7,646 objects, 122 shaders, and 49 lights.  Now 2000 of those objects are the blocks in the ceiling of drydock so I don't think those really count.  That means that I beat 5,646 objects into this image.  The details of the image show and that makes it one of the better images I've rendered.

I've been watching the orignal star trek show while working on all this stuff and the new version of the show which they released a few years ago shows off the Enterprise from below quite a bit.  I think they do this for a couple of reasons.

1.)  I agree with you that it makes the ship look big (coolness).

2.)  There's more shapes and angles and stuff to see from that angle.

3.)  It's a view point that we never saw in the original show because of the way the model was mounted limiting the camera angles.  So I think the CG guys for the re-worked show wanted to make sure that angle got the attention it deserves.

4.)  I've rendered this model (and the many incarnations of it) about a zillion times and I've always thought this view from the back and below gave the model the best sense of size and depth (don't know why but that's how it seems).

I'm already working on my next version of the model (posted an image of it in the 3D Modeling forum).  I'm kind of getting tired of always wanting the model to be finished so I think I'm just going to beat it into submission and do everything to it that I can while I'm stranded here without Amapi.

The ultimate would be to actually cut out the holes for the windows and model the internals but there's absolutely no way I would even consider that without Amapi.

Two more days and I'm going to be fully engaged on the Star Destroyer so the Enterprise will have to go back in the box for a little while.

-Kix