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3DSA-43 Hammerhead

Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
edited November 2013 in Work in Progress #1
My take on the Hammerhead From Space: Above and Beyond.

And a turntable here:

103703.jpg
Post edited by Klavs81 on

Posts

  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    Sweet... I always loved the space hardware from this show... a shame that SAAB is always somehow overlooked.
  • SaquistSaquist1 Posts: 0Member
    Great show...some minor problems with the finale.
    The hammerhead was an interesting fighter. they say Babylon Five was the first show to do realistic space combat physics (naive BSG fans think it was NU BSG) but Above & Beyond was before all of them and it was all CGI at a time well before B5. It's not a sexy design and why have wings in space but it's a unique mesh on these forums.
  • wibblewibble1122 Weimar, GermanyPosts: 493Member
    Saquist wrote: »
    It's not a sexy design and why have wings in space but it's a unique mesh on these forums.

    Because they where used for space and atmospheric combat. And to the sexiness: I like the balance between hard looking technical dedeails and the organic shape what makes it totaly sexy in my eyes. I'm sorry for nagging, but B5 was started in '93 and Space in '95.

    Liked that show too and always love to see something from that. And it is a nicely done modell. Are you planning to use it somewhere or was it just for the sake of doing it?
  • spacefighterspacefighter2 Posts: 0Member
    ooh, that's excellent. really nice design actually. is it available for download anywhere(if not may it ever be?) as the only other sa 43 hammerhead mesh i can find is in .lwo format which i cannot import into blender without total texture loss.

    really great job of modelling there and despite suggestions of it "not being sexy" i think it's actually quite a beautiful design.
    would advise brightening up the underside pics in your render.

    never saw saab not have i ever found it on dvd.
  • meugen06meugen06334 Posts: 5Member
    I always loved the Hammerhead.
  • lennier1lennier1913 Posts: 1,280Member
    Strange, I've always considered the Hammerhead, the Starfury and the B-Wing the most beautiful space fighters out there.

    And as I've already said on another site, "awesome" doesn't even begin to describe it. Even better since you decided to pay tribute to "Queen of Diamonds".
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Nice. With you there regarding comparing this to other classic designs such as the Starfury. I found the show to be flawed, but with loads of potential, a pity it didn't go to another season. The thing it most brought to mind for me though was the game Wing Commander, I feel especially the space hardware, the style of the space battles and enemy aliens almost made the show feel like a Wing Commander adaptation. I imagine the series makers put quite a bit of time in on that game.

    Cracking work on the mesh too.
  • ElowanElowan0 Posts: 0Member
    Saquist wrote: »
    ... why have wings in space ...

    With small thrusters on the outer wings turns in space would be faster. It's all about inertia.

    Also mounting weapons on the wings provides a wider field of fire.

    That and (as already pointed out) it was designed to be flyable in an atmosphere as well as space.
  • wibblewibble1122 Weimar, GermanyPosts: 493Member
    Elowan wrote: »
    With small thrusters on the outer wings turns in space would be faster. It's all about inertia.

    Also mounting weapons on the wings provides a wider field of fire.

    That and (as already pointed out) it was designed to be flyable in an atmosphere as well as space.

    Oh, just found a nother unbeatable reason: it looks cool!
  • spacefighterspacefighter2 Posts: 0Member
    lennier1 wrote: »
    Strange, I've always considered the Hammerhead, the Starfury and the B-Wing the most beautiful space fighters out there.

    would not agree with b wing but starfury(especially the thunderbolt version) and hammerhead are at the very top of awesome.
  • SaquistSaquist1 Posts: 0Member
    wibble wrote: »
    Because they where used for space and atmospheric combat. And to the sexiness: I like the balance between hard looking technical dedeails and the organic shape what makes it totaly sexy in my eyes. I'm sorry for nagging, but B5 was started in '93 and Space in '95.

    Liked that show too and always love to see something from that. And it is a nicely done modell. Are you planning to use it somewhere or was it just for the sake of doing it?

    Thanks for the correction.


    @wibble

    Fighters are designed to attack fighters not capital ships.
    A wider field of fire would only decrease the chance of a full volley striking center aswell as forcing individual guns to track to converge on the target. Centered weapons require minimum tracking data.
  • Klavs81Klavs81224 Posts: 197Member
    Thanks guys, I agree some of the details of the show were deeply flawed, but the acting, stories and execution really something special. I always wanted to see a reboot of the concept that did away with the silly Ground Troops/Pilots switch of the week, made the AI's something really interesting, and took us back to a place where our first steps into space were nearly our last and the only thing between humanity and devastation is the U.S. Marines.

    It's fun developing the pet idea that orbital space carriers were invented to avoid the vulnerability of seagoing carriers with all the force projection of a modern carrier. The piloted Hammerheads were developed after the AI wars proved the vulnerability of unarmed combat aircraft. Hence their 'throwback' 1990s fighter jet aesthetic.

    Placed in deep space combat that they were never designed for, the Hammers nonetheless prove effective in keeping the alien menace at bay, yadda yadda yadda.

    Also, F-18 style landing gear.
    103708.jpg
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    Very nice... I do have to say that this is one of my favorite space fighter designs ever... I'd probably place it as number two after the Mk. II Viper and the Starfury Thunderbolt would be number three.
  • lennier1lennier1913 Posts: 1,280Member
    One thing people often forget about were the technical limitations back then.
    The early stuff for B5 was done on Amiga 2000s and even the top models of those had only about 8 MB of RAM.
    From a viewpoint where even our hobbyist desktops have 8-32 GB that's an amazing achievement.
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Indeed, which is why shows like B5 & SAAB would really benefit from a ST:TNG Blu-ray style make over with updated effects. Watched B5 again recently and though the show still makes for a great watch, the effects are obviously quite limited by the era in which they were developed. Watching it back you can't help but imagine how cool those classic designs would look rendered to today's CGI standards.

    Also, talking about classic starfighter designs I'm surprised the X-Wing hasn't been mentioned, one of the most iconic designs out there.
  • rojrenrojren2298 Louisville, Kentucky USAPosts: 1,970Member
    Looks nice. I never got into the show - can't remember why exactly.

    One thing, though. The design doesn't say "hammerhead" to me. The head of the hammer is at the back end of the craft.
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    The fins/canards in front of the cockpit form the Hammerhead look of the ship.
  • wibblewibble1122 Weimar, GermanyPosts: 493Member
    TALON_UK wrote: »
    Also, talking about classic starfighter designs I'm surprised the X-Wing hasn't been mentioned, one of the most iconic designs out there.

    It might be one of the most iconic but I have to say it isn't one of the most beautiful. At least in my opinion. My list would be: A-Wing, Viper MK-II, Hammerhead.
    But of course it doesn't matter which one is the most beautiful. Adam has give us a superb mesh of a far too seldom realised model. Thats all that count.

    And I would absolutely agree with the need for a reboot and/or a TNG-like Blue-Ray release.
    They could use this model for it.
  • Knight26Knight26191 Posts: 837Member
    Loving it Klavs, makes me want to dig my SAAB DVDs out.
  • raytridiraytridi0 Posts: 0Member
    Ship looks beatiful. Nice job
  • spacefighterspacefighter2 Posts: 0Member
    Klavs81 wrote: »
    Thanks guys, I agree some of the details of the show were deeply flawed, but the acting, stories and execution really something special. I always wanted to see a reboot of the concept that did away with the silly Ground Troops/Pilots switch of the week, made the AI's something really interesting, and took us back to a place where our first steps into space were nearly our last and the only thing between humanity and devastation is the U.S. Marines.

    It's fun developing the pet idea that orbital space carriers were invented to avoid the vulnerability of seagoing carriers with all the force projection of a modern carrier. The piloted Hammerheads were developed after the AI wars proved the vulnerability of unarmed combat aircraft. Hence their 'throwback' 1990s fighter jet aesthetic.

    Placed in deep space combat that they were never designed for, the Hammers nonetheless prove effective in keeping the alien menace at bay, yadda yadda yadda.

    Also, F-18 style landing gear.

    looks amazing, even better now it's in brighter lighting. as awesome on the ground as in flight.
  • mikalamikala176 Posts: 440Member
    She's sexy all day!
    Great take on a great ol' ship!
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