Designing ships [possible BFG scale]

[Malika]

My bad, I can tweak the texts a bit!

[Malika]

I've got 14 different types of fighter craft so far. There are basically four categories (interceptor, fighter, bomber, scout), elite versions (only for the interceptor, fighter and bomber) and then there's the MkII version (with the bigger wings).

There's only one major problem at the moment. I'm a sucker for inverted wings, but not it looks as if they are flying backwards, which means that the tails will need some redesigning in order for them to work...



In the meantime I've also started working on a new version of the transport ship (and yes, it include removable containers). It's quite a lot bigger than the previous incarnation, it's more heavy cruiser sized rather than escort. In all the ship will probably be about 10cm long, twice as long as a escorts! The prow fits in the style of the escorts and light cruisers, but is slightly modified to set it apart as a civilian ship.

[Malika]

Small update!

Tweaked the fighters a bit, ditched a lot of the variants, meaning that instead of 14 I (only!) have 7 now. The three basic craft are in the pic:


Also continued working on the transport barge, including a container variant:

[RageofAchilles]

The new container ships are looking cool!

[Malika]

I'm really digging this version of the transport since it maintains a sense of balance. I could if I wanted to also use the hull as a basis for military ships by simply replacing the containers with weapon systems. Might be a bit odd as full on military cruisers, perhaps more as civilian ships converted for a defensive purpose (Q-ships in BFG). A military ship would have a slightly different hull: prow more like the escorts and light cruiser, and lots more weapons!





In the meantime I've been tweaking the transportship some more, it feels like a really solid and sturdy craft, which kinda fits with the more industrial/worker feel I'm going for. The ship still needs some comm array/radars, which I'm planning on building underneath the prow and/or bridge. The back hull needs further detailing, and then a few container variants.

[Pix]

Incredible !!!
Did you already tried to print some of this new models ?

[Malika]

Sadly enough I'm in a bit of a financial downer at the moment, kinda preventing me from doing so. However, the current designs are made with the lessons learnt from my previous experiments. Some test prints should be in order, hopefully I'll be able to do some next month!

[Malika]

Just wanted to give you a bit of an update. I've been contacted by a fellow who's testing out his new 3d printer. The guy wants me to design some terrain for him, no probs! However, I also asked him if he could do a test print of one of my escorts. I've got a feeling the machine is slightly inferior than what Shapeways and other can offer, but it does provide me with an opportunity to get a free test print to see whether the model will work.

In the meantime I've continued working on the escorts:



Modified the hulls a bit, and removed some of the guns. Problem was that the guns were blocking out some of the other details.

The transportship has also received a lot of work:





As you can see the container variants have some more detailing added to them. The ship itself is also receiving more and more detailing. There's still a lot to be done before it's ready though.

[mangozac]

Good news on being able to get some test prints! Even if the quality is poor having the model in your hands gives you a much better sense of the design!

I really like how the warships are turning out. The transport design I'm not as keen on - I think the side silhouette is too boxy.

[Malika]

Hmm, maybe I should try to make the prow a bit 'taller', or play a bit with the bottom of the transport component's hull, make it more akin to the Light Cruiser:

[Blindhorizon]

Your detailing has gotten a lot better! Are those turrets new? If so can i get some close up shots?

Blind-

[Malika]

Thanks a lot! The larger turrets aren't that new, they've been part of the Light Cruiser since its inception. They are rather chunky though, I'll try to get some close up shots later tonight.

[Malika]

has really got me motivated to do some ships again!

This time another escort, but a little bit bigger (5.55mm long). And oh yeah, it's from another faction!



As you may notice, I've been playing with more rounded shapes and returned to introducing the round Distortion Drive from my earlier designs. Another thing I've been playing with are the turrets, in my early designs I really wanted to include some small globe like turrets, kinda like as if the blobs on a Dalek were guns. Back then I wasn't really able yet to do them, now I've sort of got them. I'm happy the way they've turned out, considering the scale.




The ship still needs a lot of detailing, and also some sort of components to put on top/bottom of the Distortion Drive component, kind of what I did with my .

[mangozac]

Glad to provide some inspiration!

I don't dislike the new design, and while I like that you're integrating earlier concepts into it, I feel you've taken a step backwards. You need something to add interest to the side profile: like your earlier ships this again just looks like a big rectangular block

[Commissar-Krad]

Very cool start, though I agree with Zac, they may need something a bit more vertical.