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3DNormandy SR2 scale model

Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
edited April 2012 in Work in Progress #1
Hi,
I'm currently working on a scale model of the Normandy SR2 from the Video game Mass Effect 2.
you might be wondering what i'm doing posting a thread about a scale model on a CG board. wel the beauty of this project is. its entirely made using maya 2011 and 3d printing technology.

normandy04.jpg
this is one of the refrences i am using it is not my model.

i model it as acuratly as possible and then send each individual component off to the printers.

i think its a challange to make models look good for 3d rendering purposes but i think its even more challanging to make a model for 3d printing. especialy if you want to keep the costs down.
because you have to take into acount that the thickness of the material your working with might not be strong enoegh to support its weight. The entire model will be 1.2 meters long and feature several moving parts. the printer is limited to only 23x18x31 cm print surface so i have to make the entire model in pieces and assemble it once i recieve the final pieces. again added complexity to the model.

anywho without further adu here are some initial screenshots and a feature list for the final real model.

* First the wings will partialy retract into the fusilage in two stages.(by pulling a single lever on the bottom of the ship, both wings will retract)

* Also while the wings are moving the rear part of the engine will extend outward.

* The cockpit windows will have armor plates that slide down over it. (using a fairly simple rail system)

* The Thanix cannon extends from the bottom of the fusilage. it will be concealed like in the game.

* The hanger door can open and close

* The small airlock on the left side of the fusilage next to the cockpit will slide open.

* And last but not least it will have a small battery hatch (also concealed) for the LED lighting system. (engines and cannons will light up blue, fusilage windows will light up yelowish orange)

Screenshots:
first few printed pieces:
img0278y.th.jpg

img0277lo.th.jpg

the walls of these pieces are 1mm thick just slighty above the recomended minimum wall thickness of the material. its fairly ridig.

CG model so far:
model is hollowed out and filled with support structures to keep the material rigid.
Red = mechanisms
Green = supports to keep the wing in place (still WIP)
example2s.th.jpg

example3.th.jpg

Rear engine mechanism:
this will be attached to a gear next to the main wing support which will make this mechanism move when the wings are retracted,
mechanismexample2.th.jpg
Extended - Wings retracted

mechanismexample1.th.jpg
Retracted - wings extended
Post edited by Cerberus373 on
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Posts

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Thats so COOL.
  • Halo BuffHalo Buff331 Posts: 0Member
    Completely Mindblowingly Awesome! I so want one of those models! Any chance you'll do the Ascension or any of the other ships from the game? Maybe an SR1?
  • DarkoneDarkone177 Posts: 258Member
    Fantastic!:thumb:
    You been taking lesson form "Ice Dragon"?:cool:
  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    excellent work, do you have plans for the CG pieces after you're done? you could turn it into an excellent model aswell
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    IRML wrote: »
    excellent work, do you have plans for the CG pieces after you're done? you could turn it into an excellent model aswell

    yes i intend to make a short assembly animation intercut with live action footage of me assembeling it.
    and a short animation for my portfolio.

    @Darkone who is Ice Dragon?
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    Halo Buff wrote: »
    Completely Mindblowingly Awesome! I so want one of those models! Any chance you'll do the Ascension or any of the other ships from the game? Maybe an SR1?

    actualy if i decide to do another mass effect print model after this. it would likely be a to scale with the SR2, Normandy SR1 or sovereign (probably not to scale :P sovereign is 2k long the normandy between 200 and 300 meters. that would be too much i think :P
    i already have some cool ideas for either model mechanism and posability wise. but first lets finish the sr2 shal we :P. its gonna take a while though :P printing aint cheap and i will need to paint it all afterwards aswel.
  • Halo BuffHalo Buff331 Posts: 0Member
    It can be expensive. I'll look forward to seeing your work. I've been addicted to these games since I bought them. Can't wait for ME3
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    I recieved the new front maneuvering thruster here you can see a comparison between the old and the new. dimensions have remained the same apart from the connecting joint, the old one wasent wide enoegh and the pins that held it in to what ever position you wanted didnt extend far enoegh for the mechanic to be effective. resulting in a fairly weak joint that would fall down if left hanging for a while.

    newcy.th.jpg

    Also i've done more on the whole wing itself, again progress is slow because i am constantly calculating wether or not a certain component will be strong enoegh to bear the load. Also you can see more examples of the mechanism. i'll post a video later to show how it will all work once i finish the wing assembly.

    The blue and purple pieces are the ones i ordered and should be recieving in a few days.

    red = Mechanism
    Green = Supports
    normandywing1.th.jpg

    I've started a blog for this an all my other escapades at:
    http://havocanimationstudios.blogspot.com/

    Enjoy.
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    new pieces arrived today and here are some screenshots :)
    Top:
    img0297k.th.jpg
    Bottom:
    img0300el.th.jpg
    These are the new pieces seperated. this is done so i can attach the top part of wing to this engine by using those two hexagonal pegs. after i get the wing i'll glue these pieces together aswel as tot he wing. just a bit of extra support.
    img0306j.th.jpg

    crits and comments are as always much apriciated.
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    next piece of my model is due to arrive either wednesday or thurseday.
    it'll be a test print of several of the gears, rollers and their mounts and the top cover of the middle engine piece. The purple highlighted piece here
    nextpiece.th.jpg

    the reason i didnt go for the big bottom one aswel is that its big and rather expenive. and since the top piece also has the same rollers mounts i figured i'd better test it on a cheaper piece. My measurements are pretty accurate but these printers have a minimum acuracy of 0.2 mm so there is always a small margain for error.
    based on my measurements this engine when the engine pod is fully extended will be 75 cm long.

    sorry there havent been many cg updatess lately thats because most of the stuff i've been doing has been hollowing it out and building the mechanism. however i'm getting close to being done with the wings and will likely move to the main fusilage real soon.

    any feedback is much apriciated.
  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    based on my measurements this engine when the engine pod is fully extended will be 75 cm long.
    wowzer, how big is the whole thing?
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    IRML wrote: »
    wowzer, how big is the whole thing?

    its in 1:180 scale total length will be 1.2 meters
  • dwldwl0 Posts: 0Member
    I'd love to see a few side-by-side cg & photo's of the pieces. You're going to have a very nice model at the end of this.
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    Alright boys and gals, time for a big update.
    The CG modeling work on the wings is done, all the mechanisms are in place and its ready for printing.
    Here are some screenshots:

    2 wings in their final position (exterior shots)
    render3m.th.jpg
    render4i.th.jpg

    And now for an exploded view.
    Each wing consist of 75 parts. of which 51 are unique pieces.

    normal
    render8x.th.jpg

    Exploded
    render9.th.jpg
    render10o.th.jpg

    There have been some problems with my last print so i cant give an ETA on the next real life object update but i hope sometime next week.
    I hope you guys enjoy, and as always crits and comments are much apriciated.
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    new components update.

    img0311q.th.jpg

    The smaller components were a little smaller than i expexted especialy the rollers. but i have found a new set of pins that will hold those in place so no problem
    that peg thats suposed to hold the longer gear on was too thick and i could put the gear on it so i'm going to re-order that. its small and easy to fix so i wont go broke over it.
    the large engine cover fit like a glove :) all the openings in it are perfect no blockages or print errors what so ever. next up the base of the engine cover. need to make a few small tweaks to it before i order :)
    The hull construction so far is now 47 centimeter long (a little over 18 inches)

    enjoy and, as always feedback and comments are much apriciated. (now to get back to finishing LotSB :)
  • Dr-TimelordDr-Timelord0 Posts: 0Member
    I don't anyone else has made a physical model of the Normandy SR2 yet (?)

    this is brilliant, i cant wait to see more!
  • Dr.SleepDr.Sleep0 Posts: 0Member
    Man, you are god to me...
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    forgot to include this in my last update. the inside of the main engine cover.

    i also ordered the part this attaches to. should be done sometime next week (if its not delayed again)

    img0426b.th.jpg
  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    so I take it these prototyped parts come out pretty sturdy then? I always imagined them being crumbly and fragile
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    they are suprisingly sturdy. but it greatly depends on what material you use and how thick you print it.
    for example if in were to throw one of the pieces i have now down the stairs in my house. they would be fine. (depends on the shape fo your object)
    if i were to do that with the same piece but made out of sandstone, it would break the moment it hits something.

    for my purposes this material is the strongest, lightest and cheapest i can use.
  • dwldwl0 Posts: 0Member
    Quite a lot of thought has gone into each piece, have you printed a model before? Also, if you don't mind, approximately how much does each piece cost to print?
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    no this is the first model i have ever printed (straight into the deep end :P)
    the cost is calculated by how much material is used in the printing procces. so the more material the higher the price. thats why i am keeping the outer wall of the model between 1 and 2 mm thick (it sounds like it should be pretty weak but trust me its quite strong)
    so far the last piece i have ordered today has been the most expensive. thats the bottom piece of the large engin's middle section. thats where most of the mechanisms in the wing come together so i couldnt really split it up too much. this cost me 72 euro's or 91 USD
    how ever this is likely going to be the most expensive piece on the model (at least for the wings) each of the smaller pieces i have so far have been around 20 to 30 euro's. still the top and bottom of the top part of the wing are estimated at 40 euro's each, 80 euro's for the top part of the wing.
    but the lower part of the wing will have pieces costing no more than 25 euro's each.
    and all the mechanical parts inside are quite cheap. the mechanical pieces i have now were 5 euro's combined and thats with 1.50 euro's startup costs.

    still the final estimates for the completed model are around 1000 euro's (including paint, electronics post production)
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    quick update :)

    started doing some work on the ships main fusilage. and here's the mock up so far :)

    roughhull.th.jpg roughhull2.th.jpg
  • Dr-TimelordDr-Timelord0 Posts: 0Member
    Looking good so far, loving the detail
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    as per schedule.
    the engine is finaly stating to take shape :)
    p1020055x.th.jpg

    p1020049g.th.jpg

    p1020047uu.th.jpg

    i've found a few small problems on one of the next pieces i was going to print so my next model update might take a little longer than usual

    Enjoy
  • Dr.SleepDr.Sleep0 Posts: 0Member
    I have small request. Can you please make blueprint of model for me? I for long time IA’m trying to find model of Normandy as papercraft, bo there is no paper model (good at least) on internet... so I decided to make model, texture it and make my own through pepakura... but I need blueprint and I donA’t know how to make ortho renders in blender to scale one to another. Can you please post blueprint?
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    these are the size charts i made.
    hope they help :)
    normandysr1sr2sizechart.th.jpg

    normandysr1sr2sizechart.th.jpg
  • DCBDCB331 Posts: 0Member
    Try these:

    mesr2orthos.th.jpg me2normandysr2.th.jpg

    And some I posted in another thread of SR2 vs SR1:

    menormandy01.th.jpg menormandy02.th.jpg menormandy03.th.jpg menormandy04.th.jpg

    EDIT: Hrmm...ninja'd, and by some very familiar pics lol.
  • Cerberus373Cerberus3730 Posts: 0Member
    yeah i grabbed those pics from that thread and used them to get the real size of both normandy's or a close aproximation at least.
  • Dr.SleepDr.Sleep0 Posts: 0Member
    Oh my god! So many pictures, thank you all!!! Some of them I already found, but there were always picture from side, where was SR- 1 in front of SR-2 and covered view... again, thanks a lot. :D
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