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3DAnother scifieric Enterprise

TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
edited December 2022 in Work in Progress #1
I've been retired for a couple of years now and am always in search of something to do. I've been modelling for quite a few years now starting with Anim8tor, Animation Master then Cinema 4D. Well, for the umpteenth time, I thought I would give Blender a go again. And to help learn it, I was going to do scifieric's excellent Enterprise tutorial. Got quite a way through it and got so frustrated with Blender, I went back to Cinema 4D. So, this Enterprise follows Eric's tutorial about 90% and the rest is my figuring out how to do it in C4D. Gotta' admit, there were quite a number of things that I really enjoyed in Blender, but the software just closing for no reason and the large number of clicks to perform an operation was too much for me. Anyways, after all that rambling, here is what I have so far...

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Post edited by Tralfaz on
ashleytingerBolianAdmiralStarshipStarCruisercaveat_imperatorscifiericLizzy777Warp Propulsion LaboratorypubliusrRory1707and 2 others.
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  • Paul MoechnerPaul Moechner541 Posts: 126Member
    that looks awesome! I look forward to getting that far in this tutorial.
    scifieric
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    Very nice!
    scifieric
  • TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
    Thanks folks. As I have been working on the model, it occurred to me what an technological marvel the Enterprise studio model was. To think that the ship had a 5-6 foot diameter saucer, mounted to a forward heavy neck, mounted to the secondary hull which had two warp pylons supporting the back end heavy warp nacelles all mounted on a pole used for filming purposes! Amazing stuff that it was all so well balanced and survived so many years!
    scifiericpubliusr
  • StarshipStarship464 São Paulo - BrasilPosts: 1,976Member
    It´s cool to see you back!!
    scifieric
  • trekkitrekki939 Posts: 1,394Member
    Very nice Al
    scifieric
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    Tralfaz wrote: »
    Thanks folks. As I have been working on the model, it occurred to me what an technological marvel the Enterprise studio model was. To think that the ship had a 5-6 foot diameter saucer, mounted to a forward heavy neck, mounted to the secondary hull which had two warp pylons supporting the back end heavy warp nacelles all mounted on a pole used for filming purposes! Amazing stuff that it was all so well balanced and survived so many years!
    Excellent work, my friend! You've got a great star ship there.

    And yeah, although age is definitely catching up to the old girl now. A short time after their new paint job, the paint started cracking (if I am remembering correctly). Although, I am VERY glad they made it fairly well resemble the original version of the model at the end of the second season!
  • TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
    Quick update. Been slowly making progress on my Enterprise. Getting there, but still a long way to go. Glad to see how many ongoing models of the TOS Enterprise are currently being worked on.

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    ashleytingerRory1707StarCruiserPaul Moechnerevil_genius_180scifiericlewisnivensrspicer
  • Paul MoechnerPaul Moechner541 Posts: 126Member
    nice!!!
    scifieric
  • trekkitrekki939 Posts: 1,394Member
    Hi Al,
    what a beautiful object.
    Is the bridge dome really green ?
    scifieric
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    That's looking really good so far.

    I hear you on the frustration with Blender. I tried using it (again) recently and I found myself fumbling to do something simple in it. I went back to Lightwave and very quickly did that simple thing.
    scifieric
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    trekki wrote: »
    Hi Al,
    what a beautiful object.
    Is the bridge dome really green ?
    It was certainly green, to some degree. It's hard to assess just how green it was, although I tend to think it was a very light green, but again, difficult to judge. The images where you can see the coloring of such things either were very old pictures, or in the case of the shows themselves, the images went through a bunch of matting shots and lost a lot of color. So, artistic interpretation is the best way to go. I think this model looks great!
  • lewisnivenlewisniven2491 UKPosts: 462Member
    That's looking really good so far.

    I hear you on the frustration with Blender. I tried using it (again) recently and I found myself fumbling to do something simple in it. I went back to Lightwave and very quickly did that simple thing.

    This is always an issue when changing 3d package. I suspect it's not necessarily a 'blender' issue, just a problem in that things have different names in every package. I'd have the same problems trying to move the opposite way to LW for example, I really struggle with LW, I find everything very clunky, but them I'm not used to it. Can you remember what you were trying to do?
    scifieric
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    edited October 2022 #14
    lewisniven wrote: »
    This is always an issue when changing 3d package. I suspect it's not necessarily a 'blender' issue, just a problem in that things have different names in every package. I'd have the same problems trying to move the opposite way to LW for example, I really struggle with LW, I find everything very clunky, but them I'm not used to it. Can you remember what you were trying to do?

    I've built things in Blender before. The issue I was having most recently was a tool not behaving the way it has in the past. I don't know what changes they made with the 3.X release, but the last version I used was 2.8-something and it behaved very differently. I've had this issue in the past with Blender, as they tend to change the way things behave between versions. I was actually looking forward to using Blender again, as I've used it quite effectively in the past. Plus, I like the Cycles render engine better than the one introduced in Lightwave 2018, which is the most recent version I have.

    Many of the tools between Lightwave and Blender actually work very similarly, or at least they used to. The biggest issue I usually have switching between Lightwave and Blender is trying to use keyboard shorcuts from one program in the other. :lol:

    Edit: And, I actually just re-downloaded Blender and figured out the issue I was having. So, I might actually have to give it another look. ;)
    Post edited by evil_genius_180 on
    scifieric
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    You can always download and install the version of Blender that you like! There are repositories. I'm definitely NOT using the latest version. I'm still using the version I'm familiar with. 2.79b.
    evil_genius_180
  • TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
    Thanks for the comments folks. As for me, I am a retired software developer who specialized in GUI and user interaction with the programs. Programs that are buggy or crashes for no apparent reason really rubs me the wrong way. I've been using Cinema 4D for over 20 years now and in all that time, it has crashed once, maybe twice. Blender 3.2 crashed 3 times in one evening (can't remember what I was doing). There were quite a few things that I really liked the way Blender did things. Others, not so much, but could live with it. And I agree with Blender changing the way things work between versions. Would be nice for them to lock down what the functionality was going to be and stick with it. If I did that stuff in my job of over 22 years, I don't think I would have lasted as long as I did. I am still using R15 of C4D that I bought used off of eBay. Can't afford to upgrade to newer versions, so was hoping Blender would provide me with a path to newer software. Well, done ranting for tonight, maybe tomorrow too!
    evil_genius_180scifiericPaul Moechner
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    edited October 2022 #17
    scifieric wrote: »
    You can always download and install the version of Blender that you like! There are repositories. I'm definitely NOT using the latest version. I'm still using the version I'm familiar with. 2.79b.

    Thanks, I forgot about that. Yeah, 2.79b. I think that's the last version I was using effectively. I think I was making some pretty good progress on a Star Trek ship in that version at one point. If memory serves, I wasn't fond of 2.8X either. I think that was one of their big change versions. I may have to peruse the repositories. That's one great thing about free software, they don't have to try and sell you the latest version. :)

    Somewhere between the last version I used and the current stable version (3.3.1) they changed the way box select works. You used to press a key (B, I think) to box select. Now it's activated by default. I was trying to manipulate a bezier curve but instead of grabbing the handles to move the curve, I kept accidentally box selecting. It was a frustrating experience. I realize now that it's because I needed to select something else from the left hand icons. But I didn't know that because I hadn't used Blender in a long time, I only knew it wasn't working the way I remembered.

    I own licensed copies of Lightwave 9, 10 and 2018. There are more tools in 2018, but I can pick any tool that's in LW9 or LW10 and it will behave exactly the same in LW2018. They changed the interface colors for LW10, but the interface layout is the same as LW9. In fact, LW2018 looks exactly like LW10, but with more tools. I think some programmers underestimate how much people like consistency like that.
    Tralfaz wrote: »
    Thanks for the comments folks. As for me, I am a retired software developer who specialized in GUI and user interaction with the programs. Programs that are buggy or crashes for no apparent reason really rubs me the wrong way. I've been using Cinema 4D for over 20 years now and in all that time, it has crashed once, maybe twice. Blender 3.2 crashed 3 times in one evening (can't remember what I was doing). There were quite a few things that I really liked the way Blender did things. Others, not so much, but could live with it. And I agree with Blender changing the way things work between versions. Would be nice for them to lock down what the functionality was going to be and stick with it. If I did that stuff in my job of over 22 years, I don't think I would have lasted as long as I did. I am still using R15 of C4D that I bought used off of eBay. Can't afford to upgrade to newer versions, so was hoping Blender would provide me with a path to newer software. Well, done ranting for tonight, maybe tomorrow too!

    Yeah, crashing too much is a major problem. When I first started using the internet, I think the current version of Internet Explorer was IE4. It crashed constantly. I switched browsers to Mozilla. Then when they switched to Firefox, I started using that. I still use Firefox. To this day, I don't trust built in Microsoft web browsers. Stability is key to your enjoyment of any software.
    Post edited by evil_genius_180 on
    scifieric
  • TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
    Well, I have downloaded 2.79b and am going to give that a try. Tried to open my 3.2 version of the Enterprise and crashed the first time and the second time gave an error with no model showing up. Back to the first video tutorial! Glad I downloaded all of them. Going to get to the point where I can build the Enterprise in my sleep LOL!!
    scifiericevil_genius_180
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    Tralfaz wrote: »
    Well, I have downloaded 2.79b and am going to give that a try. Tried to open my 3.2 version of the Enterprise and crashed the first time and the second time gave an error with no model showing up. Back to the first video tutorial! Glad I downloaded all of them. Going to get to the point where I can build the Enterprise in my sleep LOL!!
    That's it! It's good to have a GOAL! LOL!
  • TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
    Well, gave up on Blender once again and am back with Cinema 4D. I think I am around 95% done the Enterprise now.

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    StarCruiserLizzy777evil_genius_180scifiericRory1707Paul Moechnertrekkisrspicercaveat_imperator
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Looks great. Sometimes it's best to just go with software you know.
    scifieric
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    Tralfaz wrote: »
    Well, gave up on Blender once again and am back with Cinema 4D. I think I am around 95% done the Enterprise now.
    Nice!
    Looks great. Sometimes it's best to just go with software you know.
    I agree 100%!

    trekki
  • trekkitrekki939 Posts: 1,394Member
    I like this ship👍
    scifieric
  • TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
    Just found this on YouTube. Pretty cool to watch the original Enterprise being filmed for special effects.


    Rory1707evil_genius_180ashleytingerPaul MoechnerCowardtrekkiscifiericpubliusrsrspicer
  • Rory1707Rory1707232 Posts: 238Member
    Thanks so much for sharing this! 🖖🏾
  • ashleytingerashleytinger1998 Central OhioPosts: 1,233Member
    Some of those unused shots would have looked amazing instead of the stock footage
    evil_genius_180scifieric
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Some of those unused shots would have looked amazing instead of the stock footage

    I know, right? I was watching some of those thinking how cool it would have been to see those in episodes. I realize it costs money to do the work to get rid of the blue screen and other elements and add the space backgrounds, but it also costs money to do those shots in the first place, so it seems like they wasted some money, of which they didn't have a lot.
    scifieric
  • TralfazTralfaz412 Posts: 846Member
    Well... You can't have an Enterprise without a shuttle craft. Here is my take on the Galileo. Still have a lot of work to do on it, but it is a start. I am using blueprints by Phil Broad. It is deceptively tricky to model the hull (at least for me it was).

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    evil_genius_180caveat_imperatorRory1707StarCruiserCowardtrekkiscifiericLizzy777
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    edited December 2022 #29
    Great start. Yes, that hull is nowhere near as simple as it seems. Like a lot of Star Trek designs, it's got some subtle slopes, curvy bits and smooth transitions that make it more challenging.
    Post edited by evil_genius_180 on
    scifieric
  • trekkitrekki939 Posts: 1,394Member
    Nice start!
    scifieric
  • CowardCoward519 Posts: 34Member
    Great start! Definitely agree with evil_genius_180 that it's more complex than it seems (so many curves and blending surfaces). That interior is looking nice and is kinda motivating me to go and model those chairs.
    scifieric
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