Lovely. Always great to see new artworks from you.
Concerning the Puma strike craft you posted a couple of pages ago, the canopy, being fully integrated in the fuselage and as wide as it, makes the ship look very small, i don't know if it is voluntary or a side-effect of the design choice for the canopy. Looks very good anyway, i like the engine exhaust.
That shuttle is very good too, very Sanger-esque to me
it's a nice model and the colours a good choice but the positions of the stripes really do not work with the shape, they break it up visually in a most annoying way.
Isn`t canopy in rescue version somewhat too big (considering the man on the wing)? I mean debris, radiation, etc. will be a common thing for rescue operations, and that huge window will be a high risc area. Any way, I do like the design. Somehow it looks like those spacecrafts from old illustrations.
Looks really good! (although i agree with stonecold that the big bubble canopy might be a little too prominent). It is actually very different from the commercial shuttle.
Thanks guys! It's actually on the to do list to round off the joints of the cockpit mating, which will make the size of the panes smaller and to add some framing. I can see a resemblance to the X-37 as well, think it's the layout of wings and tail.
This is a fun size of ship to do, more flexibility than fighters and not as time consuming as capital ships. I could see them being the most numerically important size of ship in the VIA-verse; single stage to orbit so can be stationed anywhere with a runway, useful for a bunch of in-system short duration missions, and cheap to keep. Might be hanging out with this size for a while
Edit: Meant to add, I can see where you're coming from regarding the size and utility of this sort of craft. I'd imagine they're the VIA-Verse equivalent of transit van or similar light goods vehicle.
Hey the site's back up! This place goes down more than Asa Akira. I like that cockpit a lot Stonecold and will change it today, I'll post an update later. Here is a look at the back end;
awesome ship bbzwbbzw, i too see the x-37b resemblance which does make me think that this hull may be more appropriate for a fighter or bomber of some kind. i don;t usually like spacecraft with tail planes but this has been perfectly executed. my guess from the design is that this is designed for quite a lot of atmospheric work as well as in space. you say modelling stuff that size is easier than fighters, perhaps because there is more space so less difficulty cramming things you need inside? with this shape you really should try some other craft with the same hull, it's too good to use only once.
p.s. stonecold: nice gif of the mig 105 spiral
Hey the site's back up! This place goes down more than Asa Akira. I like that cockpit a lot Stonecold and will change it today, I'll post an update later. Here is a look at the back end;
Jihadists seems to be hacking the site once again. Just wonder, do they think its some secret CIA forum, or something?
And rear end seems to be classic and quite awesome. Like those re-entry shields a lot. Upper ones seems to be useless, but look cool never the less. Well, maybe protection of thrusters from debris, and crew, doing EVA work from residual radiation is their purpose.
@ Stoneold: did they slap a reentry capsule as the cockpit of the spaceplane?! Can it be used as a lifeboat as well? That's brutaly efficient. (also, awesome Paint skills ^^)
@bbzw2: everyone could use a vehicle of that size, coast guards (well, orbital guards), customs and police forces, private companies, military and paramilitary groups could use it as transport, armed patrol craft... Actually the spacefighter-sized spaceship is quite a niche vehicle, with no other use than shooting stuff, in comparison to that extremely adaptable class of ships, really.
Well, here is the redone cockpit; it isn't quite like stonecold's example as I really want a look like an Avro Vulcan or Westland Wessex. And yeah, I was thinking that this could be used for a whole bunch of different roles. In fact the pairs of pipes and round holes on the hull are meant to be attachment points for mission specific equipment.
While the site was down I took a break from the above ship and started work on a UOE cutter of similar size and role. I wanted to go with a different shape than the usual I do;
The new cockpit definitely conveys the impression of being sturdier.
That UOE cutter is wonderful! I have a soft spot for simple "realistic" shapes with strong axial symmetry.
@ Stoneold: did they slap a reentry capsule as the cockpit of the spaceplane?! Can it be used as a lifeboat as well? That's brutaly efficient. (also, awesome Paint skills ^^)
From what I see - yes, whole cockpit is an escape pod with re-entry capabilities. As far as I remember, there were several versions of this spaceplane planned, including recon plane (depicted at gif - you can see a huge ass camera on the left side) anti-sattelite interceptor (yeah, space-to-space missiles on board!) an so on. Later, program was switched to unmanned version of spaceplane and then canceled in favor of Buran program.
Well, here is the redone cockpit; it isn't quite like stonecold's example as I really want a look like an Avro Vulcan or Westland Wessex. And yeah, I was thinking that this could be used for a whole bunch of different roles. In fact the pairs of pipes and round holes on the hull are meant to be attachment points for mission specific equipment.
Definitely better looking and gives better impression of scale of the vessel.
While the site was down I took a break from the above ship and started work on a UOE cutter of similar size and role. I wanted to go with a different shape than the usual I do;
Wow. That`s truly DIFFERENT. For a moment I thought that it is some sort of escape pod .
Whoa that UOE cutter is fantastic, radically different from just about anything else in the -Verse but totally believable! Five stars my man, five stars :thumb: Like the look of the UC cutters backside as well
Also started roughing out the US cutter, a redo of an older design I always liked. The old one had a symmetrical nose which I hated, but I've learned enough to give it the asymmetrical nose I always imagined it having. Think from now on I'll be posting most WIPs in native sketchup, I'll do renders for milestones on progress though
And after much experimenting I settled on plain yellow for the UC cutter, with RAF No. 22 Squadron badge. The front end really does remind me of a Wessex. Also reminds me of something from the Thunderbirds, which is fine by me!
Obviously have a long way to go but I'm pleased with where it is.
And just for yucks here it is in native sketchup;
Actually it looks good even now (due to relatively small picture size). Just as a side note - maybe heat-resistant plating on the belly will add some more charm to the design?
As for US cutter - with asymmetrical nose, maybe the position of side thrusters should be moved a little bit "downward"? Not nesessary, just a suggestion to try, if they are not fixed permanently yet.
Hmmm.. I was thinking about adding tiles or plating to the bottom of it, but the rub is I would feel compelled to add it to everything. I always operated on the conceit that by the 25th century we developed some sort of super metal that rendered heat shields basically obsolete. That being said, I still felt the urge to add some sort of heat shield to the UOE cutter I'm working on. My rationale is that it is basically a super clunky ship made by the absolute lowest bidders. I do plan on doing super heavy weathering on the RAF cutter to show how many times it has bounced in and out of atmosphere though.
As for the US cutter, I don't think the asymmetry would require much re-engineering; it'd pretty slight, more about my personal anal-retentiveness than anything else I think, I don't think it would require any major re-engineering.
I'm having major fits conceptualizing the CEGD, Soviet, and Holy Russian Empire version of these cutters. Actually, I think I'm OK for the Soviet one, just imagine about what Ronald Reagan had nightmares about; Buran + Spiral + crapload of thrusters and payload... I'm sure Stonecold cane come up with some good suggestions for the HRE . But CEGD? Ain't no way their flying wing look will work for a single stage to orbit, in system cutter. Any ideas guys?
Also, have the Corsarski all done save the fluff text. Will do that while spacing out at work tomorrow.
EDIT: I think that is the closest I will ever get to a 'wall of text'.
Posts
Concerning the Puma strike craft you posted a couple of pages ago, the canopy, being fully integrated in the fuselage and as wide as it, makes the ship look very small, i don't know if it is voluntary or a side-effect of the design choice for the canopy. Looks very good anyway, i like the engine exhaust.
That shuttle is very good too, very Sanger-esque to me
The stripes are meant to break it up, that's the whole point of them!
Anywho, as far as the rescue version, decided to build it from the ground up as it proved to laborious to modify the transport.
Given that this is a commonwealth rescue ship I'm really tempted to do battenburg markings on it...
This is a fun size of ship to do, more flexibility than fighters and not as time consuming as capital ships. I could see them being the most numerically important size of ship in the VIA-verse; single stage to orbit so can be stationed anywhere with a runway, useful for a bunch of in-system short duration missions, and cheap to keep. Might be hanging out with this size for a while
Edit: Meant to add, I can see where you're coming from regarding the size and utility of this sort of craft. I'd imagine they're the VIA-Verse equivalent of transit van or similar light goods vehicle.
I can't believe that sketchup! what render program is it?
The cosair is nice, reminds me of the Wingcommander Vampire for some reason.
Here is an update of the cockpit, I might add another crossbar.
Instead of crossbar, maybe something like this, will be more appropriate?
p.s. stonecold: nice gif of the mig 105 spiral
And rear end seems to be classic and quite awesome. Like those re-entry shields a lot. Upper ones seems to be useless, but look cool never the less. Well, maybe protection of thrusters from debris, and crew, doing EVA work from residual radiation is their purpose.
Well, at least that thing was actually in flight, unlike most ski-fi planes.
@bbzw2: everyone could use a vehicle of that size, coast guards (well, orbital guards), customs and police forces, private companies, military and paramilitary groups could use it as transport, armed patrol craft... Actually the spacefighter-sized spaceship is quite a niche vehicle, with no other use than shooting stuff, in comparison to that extremely adaptable class of ships, really.
While the site was down I took a break from the above ship and started work on a UOE cutter of similar size and role. I wanted to go with a different shape than the usual I do;
That UOE cutter is wonderful! I have a soft spot for simple "realistic" shapes with strong axial symmetry.
From what I see - yes, whole cockpit is an escape pod with re-entry capabilities. As far as I remember, there were several versions of this spaceplane planned, including recon plane (depicted at gif - you can see a huge ass camera on the left side) anti-sattelite interceptor (yeah, space-to-space missiles on board!) an so on. Later, program was switched to unmanned version of spaceplane and then canceled in favor of Buran program.
Definitely better looking and gives better impression of scale of the vessel.
Wow. That`s truly DIFFERENT. For a moment I thought that it is some sort of escape pod .
I squished the nose down a tad and added some details;
And after much experimenting I settled on plain yellow for the UC cutter, with RAF No. 22 Squadron badge. The front end really does remind me of a Wessex. Also reminds me of something from the Thunderbirds, which is fine by me!
Obviously have a long way to go but I'm pleased with where it is.
And just for yucks here it is in native sketchup;
As for US cutter - with asymmetrical nose, maybe the position of side thrusters should be moved a little bit "downward"? Not nesessary, just a suggestion to try, if they are not fixed permanently yet.
As for the US cutter, I don't think the asymmetry would require much re-engineering; it'd pretty slight, more about my personal anal-retentiveness than anything else I think, I don't think it would require any major re-engineering.
I'm having major fits conceptualizing the CEGD, Soviet, and Holy Russian Empire version of these cutters. Actually, I think I'm OK for the Soviet one, just imagine about what Ronald Reagan had nightmares about; Buran + Spiral + crapload of thrusters and payload... I'm sure Stonecold cane come up with some good suggestions for the HRE
Also, have the Corsarski all done save the fluff text. Will do that while spacing out at work tomorrow.
EDIT: I think that is the closest I will ever get to a 'wall of text'.
Great stuff, as always...
Steve
Can`t agree more
Bbzw2, for RUSSR and HRE check this page for inspiration.
http://www.buran.ru/htm/molniya.htm
http://www.buran.ru/htm/3d-model.htm
Most re multi-stage, but you can get the good feeling of shape.
As for CEGD, why not the flying-wing?