aaaaaaaaaaaaand... UPDATE!!
No, seriously --I
am alive and have been working on this project in the months since I last posted anything. In fact, I've finished constructing the basic shapes.
So let's get to the fun stuff right away:
OK, now some explanation and commentary:
First, please excuse the image quality. I know they are a little grainy, but I was over at Vaaish's place and he helped me take some quick snapshots just for illustrative purposes. I guess I'll save the gallery-quality shots for when I complete the construction.
As you can see, I'm still trying to adhere heavily to my 3D model concept (see last page) in execution. There are a few areas that are slightly different, but in essence, the plan hasn't changed much regarding the visual direction I'm headed. Admittedly, not all of the angles transition perfectly from the front part to the new scratch-built back piece. But fortunately, all of the areas that do not transition seamlessly are covered by the engines, so you can't see them.
At this point, as I said, the basic bulk of construction is complete. Now I get to do a lot of the fun aspects of detailing and fine-tuning. I still have to construct the dreadnought cargo rail and grapple as well as the ribbing and interior greeble detail on the back, underside cargo hold. I've also still got to work on the wings a little to create some weapons pylons for the missiles and such. And then there's still paneling and other stuff, so I've still got a good deal of work ahead of me.
There
is one major deviation in my plans though. I actually have two Stormravens that I plan to convert in this manner. In the beginning, my intention was to replicate my work on this 'raven for the second one. However, while I was in the middle of constructing the back end, and realizing the enormous amount of work and time I had already invested in creating just ONE of these, I decided that I really need to get this cast up in order to maintain my sanity. I am what you may call a "resin virgin" and I don't really have the money at the moment to invest in the equipment I'd need to cast this piece myself,
so I'm hoping to perhaps convince one of you fine gentlemen (ladies?) to help me cast a duplicate of the rear section.
Ideally, it would be nice to find someone who is here in the 'States and might be interested in giving me a bit of a discount on the casting costs in exchange for my permission to cast a few personal copies for themselves if they'd like. I've constructed almost everything so far in three main pieces so that it should be possible to cast everything fairly simply. I say "almost everything" because of the way I currently have the wings attached the fuselage. They are attached with long plasticard tabs that slot deep into the fuselage and are held in place with a combination of friction and magnets. It's a great system and works quite well, but I devised it before I determined that I'd need to cast everything and there's just no way that I can make that system work with a two-part mold in mind. So I'm going to need to re-think this part. Other than that, I don't see any major issues with duplicating things in resin.
That's all for this time. Hope you enjoyed the update. I'm hoping to perhaps have the construction completed by Christmas of this year.
--X