ByYourCommand.net

Yes, there was a CG model of an SR-71 Blackbird in the Ragtag Fleet. It is one of many "Easter Egg" ships that were placed in the deep background that was never meant to really be seen.

I did not build this image, but it is taken from multiple sources, mostly from Zoic studios and Gary Hutzel's VFX department, and compiled for purposes of showing the general layout of the vessel.
Additional ship designs can be viewed at the Ship Schematics Database.

I haven't heard that story before. I take it that this insert if from the 2003 series?

Yep - IIRC, Lee Stringer added this, the Enterprise, Sulaco, Nostromo, Firefly and a bunch of other out-of-universe models to fill in the spaces of the RTF to make it look more massive. I suspect he had all these CG models lying around on his hard drive and it was easy enough to do a copy-paste job on the final composite. None of these things were ever supposed to be seen clearly, and high-def TV's were only really just getting started around this time and still very expensive. In later interviews with Stringer, Hutzel and Drexler, a few secrets were let loose over the years.

Here is a high-res pic that Stringer put together back in 2004, with many of the ships mentioned. The SR-71 is way off in the distance, in a cluster of three ships directly below and to the left of the Celestra. And here's a lower-res, yet still visible, cap of the Enterprise in formation:

I was aware of most of the ships inserted expect the SR-71. Thanks for pointing it out.
Side note the 2003 miniseries was filmed in standard def, but the TV series was filmed in HD.

Is it the Blackbird...
or should you "Behold, the eternal glory of Jetfire!"
(Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009))
heehee

And don't let's forget Snoop from the GoBots...