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3DF-44C Rapier

Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
edited December 2012 in Work in Progress #1
I restarted my old, old Rapier from Wing Commander, with an eye toward updating the old girl, while keeping some familiar elements from the games, incorporating elements from WC3/WC4, and some elements of modern aircraft design (Internal weapon bays, mostly)

DISCLAIMER: This is not trying to rewrite WC cannon, add to it, or start arguments! It's a personal project inspired by a beloved classic. Like doing King Lear set in Brooklyn

Yes, I just compared Wing Commander to Shakespeare. Somewhere, Chris Roberts' eye just twitched a little. :)


Trying to model most of the greebles, though a lot more detail will be added when I do the bump maps.

This one's going pretty fast.

Hope you enjoy!
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Post edited by Klavs81 on
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  • HaturodHaturod0 Posts: 0Member
    Good job! Can't wait te see more of this! It is never a bad idea to renew old things in to something newer and cooler. Why recreate something that was made several years back as a bitmap? :)
  • SchimpfySchimpfy396 Posts: 1,632Member
    Methinks this would've improved the WC movie slightly. ;) Looks good.
  • HaturodHaturod0 Posts: 0Member
    Define improved? I think this model levels just about any ship featured in the movie ;)
  • Mach CritMach Crit0 Posts: 0Member
    Well, it wasn't the models that caused the movie to suck...
  • HaturodHaturod0 Posts: 0Member
    true... models don't make themselves :)
  • floodcasso2floodcasso2259 Posts: 124Member
    nothing better than old wing commander ships! I miss that franchise. Awesome work!
  • MephMeph331 Posts: 0Member
    Hear! Hear! Great recreation. That ship always looked like a speedy sports car!
  • wminsingwminsing171 Posts: 0Member
    Very nice! Retains all the cool looks of the original, but has some nice features of it's own.

    As an aside, I always thought the weapons in WC were in internal bays- I don't recall seeing any fighters with obvious external ordinance except for one Kilrathi fighter in WC2?

    -Will
  • GuerrillaGuerrilla789 HelsinkiPosts: 2,865Administrator
    Always room for more Wing Commander here. :thumb:
    Comco: i entered it manually in the back end
    Join our fancy Discord Server!
  • Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
    Thanks guys! But what's a fighter without a fighter pilot?

    You'll note that he's red (but not subtly so), like the movie. It's got buckles (and the belt buckle), like the live action games, and the helmet is a tribute to the WC1/WC2 "Motorcycle helmet"

    The sidearm is just a placeholder.

    Also note the human to scale, and I've added a few more greebles to the ship itself, including some handy doors that snap shut over the guns. (Because moving doors are neat)

    Also added things like handholds and a boarding ladder. Mussn't forget the human element. No stock roll 'em up ladder for this bird, no sir!
  • Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
    I think I have modeling Tourette's Syndrome!

    Reworking the Marine Landing Craft, with influences from the CH-53.
  • HaturodHaturod0 Posts: 0Member
    Nice!!!

    Wing Commander II: The Movie here we come :)
  • MephMeph331 Posts: 0Member
    Lovelay, lovelay :thumb:
  • publiusrpubliusr550 Posts: 1,746Member
    That landing craft should have been in Avatar.

    In terms of the aft view of the fighter--the nozzles remind me of the raised eyestalks of the ghost crab.
  • Knight26Knight26191 Posts: 837Member
    Very nice, loving it
  • floodcasso2floodcasso2259 Posts: 124Member
    this is just so cool. any chance of you doing a dralthi next?
  • Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
    Textures coming along smoothly, now for some grime...
  • SchimpfySchimpfy396 Posts: 1,632Member
    Very nice. :)
  • cavebearcavebear179 Posts: 623Member
    I really like the fighter but the squat attitude looks wrong some how. I would make the nose gear oleo's longer by at least half a meter. Other than that she is a beaut.
  • Knight26Knight26191 Posts: 837Member
    Can we get some more shots of the underside and maybe some detail shots? The model looks great so far, but the thick wings bug me, are they carrying the missiles in there, if so then cool.
  • MephMeph331 Posts: 0Member
    Hmm, id could use some colour, some black or blue detailing/striping in some good locations? Something to add some more depth to it. While looking cool and realistic, the all-grey scheme does seem a bit boring for such a sporty craft.
  • Starman01Starman010 Posts: 0Member
    Excellent model, i like it :) In the last renders it looks so real like it would have been built out of plastik in the real world :) It's amazing to see when the old, ugly blocky models can be upgraded that way while keeping all design specs that make it recognizable (spell ? ) :)
  • LentowskyLentowsky172 Posts: 38Member
    wminsing wrote: »
    Very nice! Retains all the cool looks of the original, but has some nice features of it's own.

    As an aside, I always thought the weapons in WC were in internal bays- I don't recall seeing any fighters with obvious external ordinance except for one Kilrathi fighter in WC2?

    -Will

    Dont remember whether or not the later models had internal bays, but the early WC fighters used external hardpoints as far as I know. I have to dig out the old plans I have for them.
  • Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
    My thanks for all the nice comments!

    The Original WC2 Variant did carry missiles externally. Mine will be internal. The thickness of the wing is meant to convey a sense of mass and bulk, lots of fuel is needed (propellant) even with mass and acceleration compensators (handwavium). Once it hits the atmosphere, it has to fly at least partially on aerodynamics.

    Plus, it's not a very "super hard" scifi ship, so I feel justified in making it sleek, pointy and mean looking, plus it's still an homage to the original.

    The bird will remain mostly gray (that hi-temp spacecraft paint only comes in so many colors!) but I may do a few 'CAG Birds' in the future, once I get all the stenciling and the cockpit done. The overall green color is gone for good.
  • TovetteTovette5 Posts: 13Member
    looking good, Klavs81. One can never have too much Wing Commander.
  • ComcoComco317 Posts: 1,281Administrator
    Beautiful, Klavs. :cool: The best visualisation of the Rapier I've seen yet. I especially like your work on the rear of the ship - It's got some real call-backs to modern aviation and looks far more...robust than some of the models I've seen. And as Guerrilla said - there's always room for more Wing Commander here. :)
  • baylisjbaylisj0 Posts: 0Member
    Always been a fan of your WC stuff, Klavs. Two thoughts- you might want to lengthen the central weapons bay, the idea being to facilitate heavier weapons (think wing commander versions of the jdam or moab, or even amrams). Also, you might want to move the maneuvering thrusters on your landing craft further forward or adding a second set. It would work fine in space, but as soon as it goes atmospheric, I see it tumbling nose first because all the lift is in the rear.
  • Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
    Cheers guys, I kind of went for an "F-22 Sheen" when finishing the textures. I think we can stick a fork in this one, it's done!

    For now...

    ...Maybe not quite dirty enough, but I figure this ship is on it's first cruise. I may do one later that's been through the wringer a bit more.

    When I do the cockpit, I'll rebuild the forward fuselage with more detail so the textures don't show any jaggies for closeups of the pilot during animations.

    Okay, so I'm not quite done, but it's to a level I'd feel comfortable putting it into an animation.
  • Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
    Two more!
  • ComcoComco317 Posts: 1,281Administrator
    Looks awesome, Klavs. Nice touch with Angel's artwork on the side. Although I'm not seeing any cat silhouette down the side for her kill count...Might be a nice touch...

    In terms of realism, the colour scheme looks great, but it is a little...drab. The F-22 is grey so that it blends in with its surroundings - obviously, when in space, anything short of black isn't going to cut it from the camouflage point of view. Would you consider doing a green and gold WC1 version of the paint scheme? I'd love to see what she looks like in the traditional colours...Or, speaking of camouflage, in the WC3 Excalibur black/red colours. :cool:

    Oh, and are you going to put a low poly pilot in the cockpit?
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