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I don't remember where I came across the pics, but a few years back someone posted a bash of an Ambassador Class Ertl kit. I still have the pics. I"m a sucker for these model kit bashes, especially when they are done well, because I used to do them myself. I still Have the pics:
I really liked this one. The parts were re-used so cleverly, and the concept of an Akula-Like Ambassador bash appealed to me greatly. I thought I would very much like to do a mesh of this bash some day. I added it to my list of future projects, and that's the number I drew. So here goes.
I started by bashing my Ambassador mesh in just exactly the same way as this artist bashed his kits:
This is just a first step, to get an idea how he pulled his work off, and to give me a starting model to make a fresh mesh from. Even in this form, it actually looks pretty good. I could stick this mesh in the background of a scene, and it would serve as an excellent extra in a battle (or Ship Graveyard) scene...
Since I'm not limited to mere kit bashing, I'm going to go ahead and build this mesh from the ground up. I've decided I'm going to scale it down and make a scout or destroyer type hull. Something akin to an Akula class, but in the Ambassador family. Should be fun to work it out here.
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Yeah, I'm going to shrink it by at least a third. I think about .7 is where I want it to be:
So I started sketching out the basic shapes I might want:
As you can see, the shape is very close to the straight up kit bash. Just some minor changes to the saucer shape, particularly the under dome, and refinements to the back end of the secondary hull, where a straightforward aft shuttle bay is going to be. Easy-Peasy. I'll carry over most of the detail from the Ambassador Class- really the hardest decision I have to make is the shape and details of the impulse engines.
Yeah, that's probably why I'm so into it. I love the Challenger Class.
Done. Really happy with the way it turned out, but I think I messed up and made it a little too big to be a scout. I'm going to call it a surveyor and call it good!
I really like this look; I'm thinking of modeling an entire Ambassador family.