You are definitely capturing the retro look of the ship's tech, with lots of useless blinky lights, reel to reel tapes, etc. It really does look like the Jupiter two. God they wasted so much space on that huge red ball for an alarm?! Why not just a panel?
Damn good work. Modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, you;ve got it all down.
BTW, I would not kill myself trying to get the volume right. Let's face it, in LoS the J2 had a volume of "Plot cubic feet" I.E if they needed a new room for one ep, POOF! it appeared.
You are definitely capturing the retro look of the ship's tech, with lots of useless blinky lights, reel to reel tapes, etc. It really does look like the Jupiter two. God they wasted so much space on that huge red ball for an alarm?! Why not just a panel?
Damn good work. Modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, you;ve got it all down.
If I remember correctly the red ball assembly was not just an alarm indicator, it was a detector (with other sensors spread around inside and out) and the AI logic for the warning system as well. To paraphrase the movie version of Major West, the ship was in many ways a robot itself; that is true for both the movie and the original versions.
The blinky lights were for show naturally, but once you get down to it real systems readouts back then were often just lights and mechanical gages so it is not that unrealistic for the time. The same goes for the tapes, 1960’s computers were mostly tape based with some scratch space on the small and very expensive disk drives of the time, and Hollywood liked to use things the audience would recognize instead of projecting what they might look like in the future.
One funny note about the control panels is that when they built the sets they used flat Formica countertops for the panel surfaces, which is why they are Formica institutional green. Also the exterior shots of the ship “dug in” have that indent at ground level because of the foundation; the outside set was actually a park ranger building in Red Rock Canyon Park made of concrete that the studio built in cooperation with the park authorities.
^Yes, I've also seen the "red ball" described as the gyroscopic system as well. And the system to its right - just under the "vector flight recorder" was supposed to be an atomic clock.
BTW, here's my interpretation of the famous gantry shot before liftoff: J2_Gantry001.jpg
Thanks! Another one: Here are the "freezing tubes" on the main deck. I could feel the radiating heat of my video card during rendering of all the reflections There's still a lot of noise around the ceiling in this Vray image, but I'm not so good with the patience needed to get it better. Especially if I'm not being paid for the work!
Here are some shots of the more developed main control console on the flight deck. As mentioned a while back I'm attempting to blend the original aesthetics of buttons-n-switches with a more modern digital look. Here, some of the original computer panels used in the show have been integrated into the console. You can see the original flight consoles in post #208 on the previous page of this thread.
(And a side note: I'm still using the old MAX scanline renderer here simply for speed. I do plan on converting to Vray eventually.)
I've also done some ergonomic studies of the original pilot chairs. They are awkward in their proportions and quite low to the floor. I'm guessing they were designed to allow for better camera angles of the displays and actors. Here, they are raised a bit and an extended portion of the armrest has been added to aid in the handling of the joysticks.
I've also changed the original seat mounting to something that would allow more movement of the chairs:
I love that stasis room-- it looks like a set photo!
I like the control consoles as well, but... the look of it isn't quite unified yet, maybe you might consider muting down the colours on the controls (I do love the old fashioned buttons and switches and knobs). Maybe you might also consider keeping any sort of visual display off of there, just lights, anything that's a screen should go on the hologram display, give 'em a bunch of buttons and levers and so on.
Having said that, I do like the idea of it being colourful since it's a family ship, maybe each console has a different colour scheme, so navigation is blue or science is green or engineering is yellow and so on, so you know where you're sitting at a moment's notice (and you can easily imagine a J2 remote with knobs in those colours, you know what you're doing naturally).
That is phenomenally cool, I just sat here and read through all the posts! What a labor of love. If you end up sharing these models that would be fantastic. I have Poser Pro 2014, Vue Infinite, and am sorely tempted to get into C4D because of what you've done here.
I don't have Poser but can export any mesh as .obj. .dxf. .3ds, etc which Poser can then import. I was going to prep the Jupiter 2 exterior, selected interiors and the Jupiter 3 (which is the larger version that will hold all of the TV show's interiors plus extras) and upload it here but haven't gotten around to it yet. If there is interest I'll make that more of a priority in the coming weeks.
Good question I presume this Station is perhaps 10-15 times the mass of the Jupiter. And the fact that the Station is mirrored in the z-axis to accommodate 2 ships at once precludes locating the drive like the Jupiter's design. Maybe the 3 drives work in concert to move the ship. I'm open to suggestions! This Station may or may not actually appear in the web series. It was done for the helluvit!
Because it looks like we are going toward all-digital sets, I've designed a version of the Jupiter 2 with the viewport pushed outboard, similar to the original. What this does though, is create a very large flight deck. I've included a quick study showing the scale...
Ron, that fuel barge absolutely HAS to appear somewhere in your storyline, it is a beautiful, well conceived piece of work (your usual), and a vast improvement on the original. (And I think the multiple drives can be chalked up to redundancy, thankyouverymuch). SO glad you are taking the original concept for this webseries further, and believe many here will agree with me.
Now for a potentially heretical idea; ahem...I really like the design concept of moving the flight controls, and main viewport forward, creating the larger flight deck. This brings her back more in line visually and proportionally with the original and I believe is a much more elegant layout. But some secondary system monitors and controls were eliminated along the sides to facilitate the change. This si where it might become controversial, but I kind of like the idea of creating a free-standing panel behind the flight chairs (a la Worf's station, but in miniature) to regain some of those lost functions, sort of a very high tech, expanded and multi-system "check engine" light, with it's own slide up touch screen display.
Ron, that fuel barge absolutely HAS to appear somewhere in your storyline, it is a beautiful, well conceived piece of work (your usual), and a vast improvement on the original. (And I think the multiple drives can be chalked up to redundancy, thankyouverymuch). SO glad you are taking the original concept for this webseries further, and believe many here will agree with me.
Now for a potentially heretical idea; ahem...I really like the design concept of moving the flight controls, and main viewport forward, creating the larger flight deck. This brings her back more in line visually and proportionally with the original and I believe is a much more elegant layout. But some secondary system monitors and controls were eliminated along the sides to facilitate the change. This si where it might become controversial, but I kind of like the idea of creating a free-standing panel behind the flight chairs (a la Worf's station, but in miniature) to regain some of those lost functions, sort of a very high tech, expanded and multi-system "check engine" light, with it's own slide up touch screen display.
JAT
Ok, I'm going to respond to my own response here. While a "ships systems" monitoring panel might in fact be a useful and cool addition behind the flight chairs, I find I much prefer that tactical station idea (freely stolen from another series). It just seems like it could make for some very nice visuals, as well as moving the characters away from their omnifunctional flight controls, so possibly even adding some amount of drama. EX; there's a large somethingorother directly in our flight path and the thruster thingie is on the spacefritz, we need to blast it with the laser or all is (yet again) lost. We then move the action just a few steps away from the flight consoles as Don (or whomever)brings up said object, dramatic music builds as time again runs out, target locked, laser fires and object is dustified, just in time. Now, let's check this blinking "check engine" light out. Or yet another angry alien populace has launched another of those annoying saucer-seeking missles, etc etc. Seems like that could be a dramatic and visually interesting control station location.
Now, while I have you on the phone, there's something else that I think needs to be said. I find myself really looking forward to any new images or videos that you produce, REALLY anticipating the next Ron Haselius work. I believe it was your visuals as much as anything that caught the attention of many of us and was key in fueling our very strong interests in the Lost In Space web series. While the original story idea grabbed me, its focus changed, then changed again. Through those changes it was your marvelous work that kept me coming back for more, looking forward to seeing new views or scenes.
I'm not saying all this to try and blow smoke where smoke doesn't belong, but this was my epiphany last night. Ron, for what it's worth, I believe you have become THE GUY. Your work with the Jupiter ships specifically is hugely responsible for many of us following the series through its various efforts. There are other artists out there doing some very fine work (and some not) of the Jupiter, but YOU have brought the ship to virtual life for us. Combining your obvious skills and affection for the subject matter with attention to detail, your Jupiter 2's are the ones by which all other Jupiters are measured. And yes, I realize and recognize how much credit must go to Ron Gross and others that have provided you with necessary information to accomplish what you have, and my great appreciation goes out to them. But, like it or not, and I believe it to be both an honor and a burden, you have become the standard bearer, and the standard setter for those of us who fondly remember the Jupiter 2.
Thank you, Ron for all of your excellent work
Ok, I'm going to respond to my own response here. While a "ships systems" monitoring panel might in fact be a useful and cool addition behind the flight chairs, I find I much prefer that tactical station idea (freely stolen from another series). It just seems like it could make for some very nice visuals, as well as moving the characters away from their omnifunctional flight controls, so possibly even adding some amount of drama. EX; there's a large somethingorother directly in our flight path and the thruster thingie is on the spacefritz, we need to blast it with the laser or all is (yet again) lost. We then move the action just a few steps away from the flight consoles as Don (or whomever)brings up said object, dramatic music builds as time again runs out, target locked, laser fires and object is dustified, just in time. Now, let's check this blinking "check engine" light out. Or yet another angry alien populace has launched another of those annoying saucer-seeking missles, etc etc. Seems like that could be a dramatic and visually interesting control station location.
Now, while I have you on the phone, there's something else that I think needs to be said. I find myself really looking forward to any new images or videos that you produce, REALLY anticipating the next Ron Haselius work. I believe it was your visuals as much as anything that caught the attention of many of us and was key in fueling our very strong interests in the Lost In Space web series. While the original story idea grabbed me, its focus changed, then changed again. Through those changes it was your marvelous work that kept me coming back for more, looking forward to seeing new views or scenes.
I'm not saying all this to try and blow smoke where smoke doesn't belong, but this was my epiphany last night. Ron, for what it's worth, I believe you have become THE GUY. Your work with the Jupiter ships specifically is hugely responsible for many of us following the series through its various efforts. There are other artists out there doing some very fine work (and some not) of the Jupiter, but YOU have brought the ship to virtual life for us. Combining your obvious skills and affection for the subject matter with attention to detail, your Jupiter 2's are the ones by which all other Jupiters are measured. And yes, I realize and recognize how much credit must go to Ron Gross and others that have provided you with necessary information to accomplish what you have, and my great appreciation goes out to them. But, like it or not, and I believe it to be both an honor and a burden, you have become the standard bearer, and the standard setter for those of us who fondly remember the Jupiter 2.
Thank you, Ron for all of your excellent work
JAT
The stand at the console thing that Aâthe otherAâ series did was one of the stupidest inventions in TV Sci-Fi. It is barely believable in the setting of its show where the gravity compensators work on both the Warp drive and the Impulse drive to keep people from falling across the bridge and smashing on the rear bulkhead. It would not work at all in a LIS style setting where it is established that the gravity keeps people from floating or falling to the rear of the ship during regular magnetogravitic drive accelerations but has no compensation for the acceleration produced by the atomic thrusters.
Using the characteristics already shown on the show the above scenario would go more like: they have to blast something out of their way so the Don equivalent unstraps from his couch, runs to the console, the thrusters fire for an emergency evasive maneuver and he gets flung across the room and breaks his neck hitting the tubes and controls at the rear of the compartment.
Even if they had the STTNG style gravity compensators there is the problem of ship shaking. Why make a combat control panel that can only be used with one hand at most since there is nothing holding the operator in place but their other hand? Granted some of the races could probably use a bite bar and hold on with their teeth but it is still the most idiotic piece of brain-dead mis-engineering to come along in a very long time. The occasional scene where everyone is getting slammed around in their chairs and Worf is standing at the console barely rocking and using both hands to input commands has sparked some very amusing speculation about what exactly he is holding on withAâ¦..
The flight deck is excellent as it is (though personally I would probably put some readouts and screens and whatnot on the side walls next to the consoles and make the Huds retractable). If some kind of stand up to use consoles are actually needed for something then it would be best to make them for a function that is done while on the ground or at least not in a high maneuver situation.
Well, wasn't the astrogator a sort of "free standing panel"?
Yes, it was as were a number of other panels in various places. None of those were things that would be used in combat or other maneuver intensive situations. A standup tactical station is another matter entirely.
Wow, Jeff, thanks for the kind words. I'm officially blushing.
Yes, perhaps the flight deck does need additional "stuff". I've tried various ideas but nothing really grabbed me. I'll think on it some more...
I have been tinkering with the lower level galley. I decided to re-vamp the area behind the galley and turn it into a more conventional food-prep area rather than relying upon some magical replicator machine that the TV show implied. The conveyor belt and machinery behind it is now simply a complex beverage dispenser.
I tried to keep the aesthetic of the existing galley walls (which also carries through elsewhere on the original J2).
DISCLAIMER: Like most of my images here, I'm just using the dumb old scanline renderer in MAX. I'm not too concerned about converting it all to Vray just yet. It's far faster to study the geometry this way and test the fit of the various components and get a sense of the materials. If time warrants, I'll make some prettier pictures!
I've replaced the two control panels that used to be on either side of the table with sliding partitions that reveal the backroom food prep area:
Overviews of the area. The two rooms to the rear are for food storage. Their size and placement are dictated by the structural system of the saucer:
Detail shots:
I've moved the "Seed Bank" to this area and tripled it in size. There's room now for 90 varieties of seeds, which are kept in stasis until needed for hydroponic or ground planting:
Ah, Worf, now there's a true man. I guess you're probably right, BC, that a console could be an issue placed there, but I'm still in favor of moving the characters around the flight deck some if only for visual interest and drama. I wonder if, with its already existing screen, the communications station might double as a weapons control/ targeting display? It's not as though it's going to be used on a weekly basis (how many alien races can the Robinsons routinely piss off?...oh yeah, about all of 'em). This would also allow for the limited number of switches and blinky lights to be dedicated solely to the Jupiter's flight control, and not merely stand in for what ever function needs to be performed in a particular scene, as was often the case in the original series.
I believe those HUDs are meant to be retractable, at least that is the impression I first had. And I like the idea of display screens in those side panels, maybe with small dedicated pop-out controls. That could be visually interesting as well as useful. Now, as for that newly gained space behind the flight seats, maybe a koi pond, with a relaxing waterfall or fountain. Or a fire pit, those are always cool!
Another potentially useless idea for the rear area of that flight deck; a second B-9 lock/ interface position, somewhat akin and duplicating the one below decks, but allowing the Robot to assume flight monitoring and control functions in the event the pilot and/or crew is for whatever reason unable to perform their duties. Yes, I know that this is an unnecessary position and that the B-9 could probably do this from the galley if need be, and not be required to be "plugged in" as it were, at any particular point. But with all the monitor screens and controls, and possibly even some set into those side bulkheads, this could again make for some interesting visuals as well as story points.
Or, those flight/crash chairs
Ooh, or an in-flight jacuzzi, with a wet bar
I've pretty much settled on revisions to the lower deck plan. Below is shown Scheme A in which the Planetary Control Room (at the top) and Microsatellite Bay replaces the traditional lower viewport. (The original viewport hull cut is preserved but acts as a door to launch the recon satellites during planetary surveillance.) This control room also justifies the 7-person crew by adding 4 stations to the 3 already set for the consoles on the upper deck. I'll eventually post Scheme B which will show instead a viewport and a modification to the control room.
The mechanicals shown here are merely schematic but indicate some possible configurations. I always imagined the perimeter of the saucer to be the main drive system of the ship and powered by the fusion core below. However, since the ship moves horizontally most of the time I also added "gravity field modulators" which alter the drive fields to propel the ship forward and backward. Like the original Jupiter 2 the newer Jupiter 3 has 4 perimetric reaction control thrusters for use in fine tuning the attitude of the ship.
To resolve the octagonal structural system of the ship with the tripod landing gear, the perimeter of the J3 is subdivided into 72 parts, marked by the perimeter drive ring supports. This allows preservation of the visual characteristics of the J2 and the locations of the various rooms.
I'm also settling into a groove with revisions to the upper (Main) deck. I'll post those soon, along with detail shots. I'm taking your suggestions seriously for changes to the flight deck (posted months ago! ) and will show what I hope is a good way to "fill up" the large space. And no, it's not an infinity pool, although i really like that idea!
Thanks! Yes, this project also grew out of my childhood desire to have my own Jupiter 2!
Here are some perspective shots of the lower deck, along with some additions and alterations to the plan posted above. The last image shows the floor structure of the main deck above.
Again, thanks! The main (upper) deck is finally coming together. The rooms have been in place for quite a while but I have been revising them recently. A major change is the addition of a conference/mission planning room to the port side of the flight deck. It will have a porthole identical to the existing one next to the main airlock. Up next are revisions to the Cryogenics and Space Pod bays.
Got to hand it you, this is fantastic. I always wondered how the inside of the Jupiter 2 would look like if it was really built. Again, great job, can't wait to see more.
Posts
Damn good work. Modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, you;ve got it all down.
If I remember correctly the red ball assembly was not just an alarm indicator, it was a detector (with other sensors spread around inside and out) and the AI logic for the warning system as well. To paraphrase the movie version of Major West, the ship was in many ways a robot itself; that is true for both the movie and the original versions.
The blinky lights were for show naturally, but once you get down to it real systems readouts back then were often just lights and mechanical gages so it is not that unrealistic for the time. The same goes for the tapes, 1960’s computers were mostly tape based with some scratch space on the small and very expensive disk drives of the time, and Hollywood liked to use things the audience would recognize instead of projecting what they might look like in the future.
One funny note about the control panels is that when they built the sets they used flat Formica countertops for the panel surfaces, which is why they are Formica institutional green. Also the exterior shots of the ship “dug in” have that indent at ground level because of the foundation; the outside set was actually a park ranger building in Red Rock Canyon Park made of concrete that the studio built in cooperation with the park authorities.
BTW, here's my interpretation of the famous gantry shot before liftoff:
J2_Gantry001.jpg
Good work all around. :thumb:
Stasis_Large_01.jpg
Here are some shots of the more developed main control console on the flight deck. As mentioned a while back I'm attempting to blend the original aesthetics of buttons-n-switches with a more modern digital look. Here, some of the original computer panels used in the show have been integrated into the console. You can see the original flight consoles in post #208 on the previous page of this thread.
(And a side note: I'm still using the old MAX scanline renderer here simply for speed. I do plan on converting to Vray eventually.)
I've also done some ergonomic studies of the original pilot chairs. They are awkward in their proportions and quite low to the floor. I'm guessing they were designed to allow for better camera angles of the displays and actors. Here, they are raised a bit and an extended portion of the armrest has been added to aid in the handling of the joysticks.
I've also changed the original seat mounting to something that would allow more movement of the chairs:
I like the control consoles as well, but... the look of it isn't quite unified yet, maybe you might consider muting down the colours on the controls (I do love the old fashioned buttons and switches and knobs). Maybe you might also consider keeping any sort of visual display off of there, just lights, anything that's a screen should go on the hologram display, give 'em a bunch of buttons and levers and so on.
Having said that, I do like the idea of it being colourful since it's a family ship, maybe each console has a different colour scheme, so navigation is blue or science is green or engineering is yellow and so on, so you know where you're sitting at a moment's notice (and you can easily imagine a J2 remote with knobs in those colours, you know what you're doing naturally).
Just as a side note... who put the ExcelsiorAâs naceles under the chairs?
Ron, that fuel barge absolutely HAS to appear somewhere in your storyline, it is a beautiful, well conceived piece of work (your usual), and a vast improvement on the original. (And I think the multiple drives can be chalked up to redundancy, thankyouverymuch). SO glad you are taking the original concept for this webseries further, and believe many here will agree with me.
Now for a potentially heretical idea; ahem...I really like the design concept of moving the flight controls, and main viewport forward, creating the larger flight deck. This brings her back more in line visually and proportionally with the original and I believe is a much more elegant layout. But some secondary system monitors and controls were eliminated along the sides to facilitate the change. This si where it might become controversial, but I kind of like the idea of creating a free-standing panel behind the flight chairs (a la Worf's station, but in miniature) to regain some of those lost functions, sort of a very high tech, expanded and multi-system "check engine" light, with it's own slide up touch screen display.
JAT
Now, while I have you on the phone, there's something else that I think needs to be said. I find myself really looking forward to any new images or videos that you produce, REALLY anticipating the next Ron Haselius work. I believe it was your visuals as much as anything that caught the attention of many of us and was key in fueling our very strong interests in the Lost In Space web series. While the original story idea grabbed me, its focus changed, then changed again. Through those changes it was your marvelous work that kept me coming back for more, looking forward to seeing new views or scenes.
I'm not saying all this to try and blow smoke where smoke doesn't belong, but this was my epiphany last night. Ron, for what it's worth, I believe you have become THE GUY. Your work with the Jupiter ships specifically is hugely responsible for many of us following the series through its various efforts. There are other artists out there doing some very fine work (and some not) of the Jupiter, but YOU have brought the ship to virtual life for us. Combining your obvious skills and affection for the subject matter with attention to detail, your Jupiter 2's are the ones by which all other Jupiters are measured. And yes, I realize and recognize how much credit must go to Ron Gross and others that have provided you with necessary information to accomplish what you have, and my great appreciation goes out to them. But, like it or not, and I believe it to be both an honor and a burden, you have become the standard bearer, and the standard setter for those of us who fondly remember the Jupiter 2.
Thank you, Ron for all of your excellent work
JAT
The stand at the console thing that Aâthe otherAâ series did was one of the stupidest inventions in TV Sci-Fi. It is barely believable in the setting of its show where the gravity compensators work on both the Warp drive and the Impulse drive to keep people from falling across the bridge and smashing on the rear bulkhead. It would not work at all in a LIS style setting where it is established that the gravity keeps people from floating or falling to the rear of the ship during regular magnetogravitic drive accelerations but has no compensation for the acceleration produced by the atomic thrusters.
Using the characteristics already shown on the show the above scenario would go more like: they have to blast something out of their way so the Don equivalent unstraps from his couch, runs to the console, the thrusters fire for an emergency evasive maneuver and he gets flung across the room and breaks his neck hitting the tubes and controls at the rear of the compartment.
Even if they had the STTNG style gravity compensators there is the problem of ship shaking. Why make a combat control panel that can only be used with one hand at most since there is nothing holding the operator in place but their other hand? Granted some of the races could probably use a bite bar and hold on with their teeth but it is still the most idiotic piece of brain-dead mis-engineering to come along in a very long time. The occasional scene where everyone is getting slammed around in their chairs and Worf is standing at the console barely rocking and using both hands to input commands has sparked some very amusing speculation about what exactly he is holding on withAâ¦..
The flight deck is excellent as it is (though personally I would probably put some readouts and screens and whatnot on the side walls next to the consoles and make the Huds retractable). If some kind of stand up to use consoles are actually needed for something then it would be best to make them for a function that is done while on the ground or at least not in a high maneuver situation.
Yes, it was as were a number of other panels in various places. None of those were things that would be used in combat or other maneuver intensive situations. A standup tactical station is another matter entirely.
Yes, perhaps the flight deck does need additional "stuff". I've tried various ideas but nothing really grabbed me. I'll think on it some more...
I have been tinkering with the lower level galley. I decided to re-vamp the area behind the galley and turn it into a more conventional food-prep area rather than relying upon some magical replicator machine that the TV show implied. The conveyor belt and machinery behind it is now simply a complex beverage dispenser.
I tried to keep the aesthetic of the existing galley walls (which also carries through elsewhere on the original J2).
DISCLAIMER: Like most of my images here, I'm just using the dumb old scanline renderer in MAX. I'm not too concerned about converting it all to Vray just yet. It's far faster to study the geometry this way and test the fit of the various components and get a sense of the materials. If time warrants, I'll make some prettier pictures!
I've replaced the two control panels that used to be on either side of the table with sliding partitions that reveal the backroom food prep area:
Overviews of the area. The two rooms to the rear are for food storage. Their size and placement are dictated by the structural system of the saucer:
Detail shots:
I've moved the "Seed Bank" to this area and tripled it in size. There's room now for 90 varieties of seeds, which are kept in stasis until needed for hydroponic or ground planting:
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
I believe those HUDs are meant to be retractable, at least that is the impression I first had. And I like the idea of display screens in those side panels, maybe with small dedicated pop-out controls. That could be visually interesting as well as useful. Now, as for that newly gained space behind the flight seats, maybe a koi pond, with a relaxing waterfall or fountain. Or a fire pit, those are always cool!
JAT
Or, those flight/crash chairs
Ooh, or an in-flight jacuzzi, with a wet bar
JAT
I've pretty much settled on revisions to the lower deck plan. Below is shown Scheme A in which the Planetary Control Room (at the top) and Microsatellite Bay replaces the traditional lower viewport. (The original viewport hull cut is preserved but acts as a door to launch the recon satellites during planetary surveillance.) This control room also justifies the 7-person crew by adding 4 stations to the 3 already set for the consoles on the upper deck. I'll eventually post Scheme B which will show instead a viewport and a modification to the control room.
The mechanicals shown here are merely schematic but indicate some possible configurations. I always imagined the perimeter of the saucer to be the main drive system of the ship and powered by the fusion core below. However, since the ship moves horizontally most of the time I also added "gravity field modulators" which alter the drive fields to propel the ship forward and backward. Like the original Jupiter 2 the newer Jupiter 3 has 4 perimetric reaction control thrusters for use in fine tuning the attitude of the ship.
To resolve the octagonal structural system of the ship with the tripod landing gear, the perimeter of the J3 is subdivided into 72 parts, marked by the perimeter drive ring supports. This allows preservation of the visual characteristics of the J2 and the locations of the various rooms.
I'm also settling into a groove with revisions to the upper (Main) deck. I'll post those soon, along with detail shots. I'm taking your suggestions seriously for changes to the flight deck (posted months ago!
Here are some perspective shots of the lower deck, along with some additions and alterations to the plan posted above. The last image shows the floor structure of the main deck above.
*and you'd get paid lots of money...;)