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3DRe-Imagined Eagle Transporter

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Posts

  • PagrinPagrin171 Posts: 0Member
    Nice!
    As for the Thumbnail change thing. I've tried asking that and haven't found an answer, so if you do please post the how to.
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Is 3.5 megs alot? Doesnt seem like it... compared to the huge graphics and video files I work with.... hmmm! I try to make every poly count (ha ha! a pun!) and am sure to keep the mesh as clean and coherent as can be. I'm thinking this might be a real challenge in the texture department. I may have a go at my Y-Wing first, since compared to this, it's a walk in the park mesh-wise... I think. Thnaks for looking into that thumbnail thing, I'll ask around, too, someone knows how to do it. Thanks guys!
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Apparently you just replace the first image in your thread to change the thumbnail... viola!
  • markpilbmarkpilb0 Posts: 0Member
    Very nice work, the Eagle is a great design and still looks good today but love your update of it, Super Eagle!
  • BuckaroohawkBuckaroohawk2 Posts: 0Member
    JWWright wrote: »
    Is 3.5 megs alot? Doesnt seem like it... compared to the huge graphics and video files I work with.... hmmm! I try to make every poly count (ha ha! a pun!) and am sure to keep the mesh as clean and coherent as can be.

    No, 3.5 megs is actually an extremely small size for the amount of detail you're building into the model. I was making a joke, paraphrasing Doc Brown from "Back to the Future" by replacing 1.21 gigawatts with 3.5 megs. Guess I missed the mark because as they say, "If you have to explain a joke, then it ain't one."
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Oh! Got it... this would have helped: doc_emmett_brown.jpg Haha! Love that guy.

    Apparently the company I work for has enterprise licenses for the latest Maya, Max and Inventor... happy day! Got 'em installed and will start to learn them... I've been getting by on Max6 and C4D11... I love C4D the best so far.

    I usually build a Connie first thing, to crash course a new software package, I figure if I can make an accurate model of that old girl then I'll be up to speed on a new product. So, I may open a new thread soon...

    New toys rock.
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Sliding doors, for airlock function. Time to sort out the basic interior, which will also be modular... passenger seating, lavatory, sleeper bunks, galley, TM control, etc...

    th_230.jpg th_228.jpg th_227.jpg th_226.jpg th_229.jpg
  • PagrinPagrin171 Posts: 0Member
    Cool. I hope the new software works out as well.
  • todaytoday0 Posts: 37Member
    Neat! This has certainly moved along since the last time I've taken a peak at this thread!
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Apparently the interior space is almost two decks high... I'm not so sure about how this is working out... this TM is going to be for passengers making trips from Earth to orbital stations and the moon.

    I'm putting a moon trip at about an 18 to 24 hour flight. This module should accommodate about 24 people, and even has sleeper bunks. Starting work on the overhead life support units...

    Been so busy, I havent had the chance to play with my new toys, other than to translate step files to filmbox for a hot legal case I'm working on.

    th_239.jpg th_237.jpg th_236.jpg th_233.jpg th_232.jpg th_231.jpg th_240.jpg
  • daibakadaibaka171 Posts: 0Member
    Just curious, but does this beauty have VTOL thrusters hidden away anywhere? The attitude jets on the landing pad housings don't look like they quite have the "oomf" to lift it up off any Earth-type planet the Alphans might come across. Unless I missed them somewhere back in the thread of course. Been a while since I read the thread from the start!

    It is an excellent model and I love the detail and forethought thats going into this.
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    VTOLs... They haven't been modeled yet, each of the two connecting mod's will have two VTOL's like the original, the transporter mods will have them, too for soft landings as a lifeboat (and parachutes...) and for relocation as a standalone structure on the ground.

    I believe the VTOLs will lift the ship, the main thrusters are what takeover and push it out of a planets gravity well vertically, like any traditional rocketship.

    Landing is something I should sort out... I really think the ship will turn 180 to use it's main thrusters for approach deceleration; more practical than graceful...

    Maybe it then drops into an atmosphere on its upright horizontal axis and uses the VTOLs to control it's descent? Possibly... the VTOLs could use the same reactant source as the main thrusters, they would also have their own hot isotope rods that cause rocket thrust, too I would suppose. Or maybe the pods reactant would be used for the VTOLs...

    Thank you so much for checking my model out! Observations, questions and suggestions are always welcome here.
  • SanderleeSanderlee1 Posts: 0Member
    Also, not sure if this has been mentioned before, but according to information mentioned in the first episode, they DO have some limited form of artificial or anti-gravity. As they're thrusting away from the Earth, Victor states "We're down to 3 gees, we're compensating." The only way to compensate for gee forces and still walk around unencumbered as they do for the rest of the scene is to control gravity to some extent.

    So, it's possible that the Eagle's VTOL thrusters don't have to be quite so Ooomphy! :) After all, if they've got some limited AG fields, then the VTOL thrusters don't have to lift the whole weight, just that part the AG field can't compensate for.

    That said, I Love This Thing!!! It's splendiferous, spectacutastic, awesolicious!

    Keep up the work, JWW. :thumb:
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks!

    Yeah, I mentioned somewhere earlier about my artificial gravity technology that uses floor plating which posses the property of attraction on one side, repulsion on the other, like the poles of a magnet....

    In addition to providing the crew with comfort, it would also cut down the mass profile of the ship by some conveniently fictional ratio, and make for softer landings...

    The additional technology advancement in this scenario is the life support system which I've been thinking about. It's essentially an atomic re-breather. Oxygen molecules are stripped from the CO2 and re-circulated, the remaining carbon atoms are electron enriched to become oxygen atoms, and re-circulated.

    Of course, there are also reserve air tanks, for emergency.

    The ceiling structure that contains the LS system, is a series or redundant re-breathers, and air conditioning; cooling, heating, humidity and trace gases.

    Space suit backpacks are also equipped with these units, nuclear powered and can support respiration for a very long time.

    The pilot treatment for a next-gen series for the wayward moon takes place a few generations after the series we all know, with an altered backstory. The moon wasnt thrown out of orbit by a nuclear waste explosion, which is not very believable and would not account for the interstellar travel depicted in the series.

    It was an accident involving research for FTL propulsion.
  • kippakippa0 Posts: 0Member
    The attention to detail in this model is stunning. Are you an architect by tradescraft?
  • Breech BlockBreech Block0 Posts: 0Member
    I was always a big fan of Space 1999 and am really enjoying seeing its most iconic model being brought to life. Love all the attention to detail. Great modeling skills. Keep up the good work.
  • SkaroSkaro0 Posts: 0Member
    Great stuff so far, the Eagle Transporter was one of my fav ships when I was a kid :)
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks guys, I really appreciate the enthusiasm!

    Nah, I dont have any formal training, but I do study architecture and engineering very closely, I work in an engineering related field, creating technical visuals. Everything I know how to do is from my unbridled, lifelong embrace of all that is geeky.

    Which puts me in good company.
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    I couldnt resist doing a beauty render with some light sources... just for the hell of it!

    th_242.jpg th_241.jpg
  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    You have done a fantastic job of updating the design! I especially like the payload module section and the engines. But I'm not crazy about the cockpit module. It looks too big and bulky to my eyes. Something about it just seems out of flow with the rest of the craft, but even with that glitch it is still just beautiful work.
  • RonPadaRonPada0 Posts: 0Member
    I actually like the new windows. The original seemed so restrictive for looking at anything but what is straight ahead. This design is more functional and give the impression the crew is jammed in the command module like sardines.
  • BuckaroohawkBuckaroohawk2 Posts: 0Member
    Those beauty shots with the light sources look great! They really bring the ship to life, even though it isn't finished yet. Very nice indeed!
    RE: The moon breaking orbit in the original series. If I remember correctly (and I can't say that for sure because it's been so long since I've seen the show), The moon was initially knocked out of Earth orbit by the nuclear explosions, then it fell through a singularity that sent it hundreds of light years from Earth. It became something of a rogue planet, floating through unknown space with no way for the Alphans to get home. I think they eventually abandoned the idea of getting back to Earth and started looking for a new planet to colonize. Like I said, I'm not sure but I seem to remember something like that.
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    I appreciate the feedback!

    The CM is a little larger for this one, as it accommodates an airlock, egress ramp, two pilots, suits, its own life support, maneuvering rockets, parachute, and floats (like the TM, it too is a lifeboat) possibly a head and storage of various equipment and sundries...

    Doing some more interior work, added a centerpiece to the LS system, could be a scanner/decontaminator unit above the main hatches.... I think I'm going to redesign the interior hatches.

    th_246.jpg th_243.jpg th_244.jpg th_245.jpg
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks man! I cant wait to see how I'm going to pull off textures... not my strength at all... saving that for last.

    Lighting is going to be a bear, I want running lights, self illumination, glowing hidden power sources... and then theres the interior... yow!

    Hmmm, I missed that whole singularity thing, but they must have fallen through one every week, to get around the way they did... I think if a propulsion experiment gone awry sent the moon into hyperspace, it would account for the distance.

    In the next gen pilot I'm working on, it's been sorted out and controllable, each season takes place in a single star system... similar to Robert L. Forward's Rocheworld series:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocheworld

    He's a favourite write of mine, I highly recommend everything he's ever written.

    A typical season would entail the moon maneuvered into an orbit around a star, where the planets of its system could be explored and considered for Exodus. Eagles would drop various TMs on planets to create ops centers for exploration teams. A single moon orbit around a star would take a couple of years, it could also arc around various planets as it travels through a system, dropping teams off, and a few years later, picking them up on the way out of a system. Or abandoning the moon for a suitable home.
  • BuckaroohawkBuckaroohawk2 Posts: 0Member
    That sounds plausible to me, though I'm not sure I'd like to be on one of the teams left on an alien planet for years waiting for my home base to travel around to pick me up again. That's a long time to be out of contact with HQ. In any case, we have a much better understanding of space travel than we did in the 1970's, so at least we have a better idea of what's plausible and what isn't while still leaving room to bend the rules a bit whe necessary.
  • PagrinPagrin171 Posts: 0Member
    The problem with the original show was that for script writers at the time the terms, Solar system, Galaxy, Universe, Space and Orbit all meant the same thing. The same was true for Lost in Space.
    In those days if you knew the difference you were in a very small minority as far as TV was concerned. Indeed you might even be considered a scientist.
    Which is a term meaning anybody smart. There is no difference between an astrophysicist, and geologist they were both scientist.
    Now we as a general public have a better understanding a the terms, and the fan base is more switched on to real world tech, although we really don't have a very good understanding of the distances involved.
    That's why almost all sci-fi these days have FTL ships. As a script writer you need your characters to be able to get from A to B, preferable just in the nick of time. But you also don't want them to be able to get places instantly, because then they can stop the bad guys in act 1.
    Doctor Who is a great example of this. the Tardis can travel in time and space, so it can therefore go anywhere at anytime. Yet the Doctor very rarely using this fact. If he really had a time machine, he spend at least some screen time setting things up for himself to use last week. Or he never arrive late, because he could always jump back a few minutes and arrive with a little time on his hands.

    However back on topic. Great updates! I like the inside of the TM. She's coming along really well. It might be nice to see one of these parked next to an "old style" Eagle for reference once she's done.
  • daibakadaibaka171 Posts: 0Member
    Only problem with the TARDIS comparison is that the Doctor doesn't really know how it works all the time. In the very first (William Hartnell) years he even had bits of machinery lying around the place that he used to help him figure out how it worked. And its been shown in the new series that the TARDIS is actually alive in some fashion and occasionally just takes the Doctor where he's needed rather than where he wants to go. Any thoughts of fine control seem to go out the window when he's hurtling down that vortex!

    All of which is interesting but of only passing relevance to the Space 2099 Eagle on display here! Still loving this - the interior work is getting better all the time. I like the idea of the CM being a life boat. From the sound of it, if you slapped a small engine pack and short term life support onto one you could make a workable shuttle craft. Which brings up another thought - any plans to do a 2099 version of the Hawk? I have to admit to not having seen the whole Space: 1999 series (apart from a few first and second series episodes back when it was first broadcast...) but the design for that ship always intrigued me. I'd love to see what you could come up with.
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks guys, it's fun to talk about the show!

    When an Exodus investigation team is on the ground, their base is composed of several mission specialised TM's docked together as a habitat, along with vehicles. Satellites deployed throughout the system link the teams with the moon for real time communication, even when the moon is far off behind the systems star.

    The Eagles are good interplanetary vehicles, using main thrusters and slingshotting around gravity wells (planets) they can reach relativistic speeds in a matter of days, deceleration would be about the same. They can reach any base in a system in a week or so.

    The CM's are just that, command modules, which have a number of service modules they can attach to, including the utility transport rig we're all familiar with.

    I've tried, but I never could get the hang of Dr Who... I thought the low budget BBC series from the 70's was better than nothing, when I was a kid waiting for the next episode of the short lived "The Starlost" series from Canada... another candidate for a serious re-visit!

    But the most recent one, I've caught a few eps on Netflix... feh. Can't watch that, I've been spoiled by the new BSG series, ha ha!

    Definitely... a side-by side render with the original would be good eye candy! Good call!
  • nyrathnyrath0 Posts: 0Member
    Pagrin wrote: »
    That's why almost all sci-fi these days have FTL ships. As a script writer you need your characters to be able to get from A to B, preferable just in the nick of time. But you also don't want them to be able to get places instantly, because then they can stop the bad guys in act 1.
    Yes, the old bromide is that FTL in media SF travels at "the speed of the plot"
  • JWWrightJWWright171 Posts: 0Member
    I like the way the new BSG handled travel. Besides the large ships being able to do FTL, the Vipers, Raptors and other ships were sublight... though I dont recall their interplanetary capabilities, I'm guessing it would be about the same, the time involved wouldnt really be part of any story, just an aside, accepted reality. "The Eagle from moonbase will be here in a few days to deliver the Dr., we'll just have to do the best we can." etc...no biggie.

    More updates soon, thanks guys!
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