Happy New Years everyone. I'm making some resolutions, one of them is to get some creative work done that I've been procrastinating on for too long and to make an effort to put my work 'out there' again.
I got my Round2 1/350th model kit on Nov.3 2012, and I've been "intending" to do this ever since. And then the Smithsonian restoration happened around 2017 and I've been "super duper intending" to do this ever since.
I haven't really went all out on a 3d model in years, so long that all the boards I used to be on are gone...
Oh well, picture dump;
Just starting out. This is a model of 'the model,' not a starship.
I've come to hate working on the TOS bussard effect. It's always challenging because it was an in-camera effect. Replicating older composited VFX is easy, but a little transparent ball with light rays just bouncing around infinity is not.
A user named Professor Moriarty built a version years ago that did a great job of replicating one of the effects various looks. He had a simple radial pattern on the outside that does a great job of keeping you visually aware of the outer surface. I spent a while experimenting with this, and eventually ended up with a fully segmented version that I quite like but is too far removed from the actual model for me to use right now.
This is the current version I intend to use.
The physical modeling was/is quick and painless with so much reference available, but textures and materials are where I intend to push myself here. I spent the last week hand painting every panel on the top of the saucer, this is just to have a good foundation to lay the heavy weathering down on. It'll be a process.
I rebuilt the impulse shape a few times. The model kit I think is actually too wonky, but there is a unique shape to the outer profile curve that if you don't get right, wont match up to the saucer properly when you extrude it. It's really satisfying when you see all the geometries come together the right way. At this point I can look at my last model (built in '09) and see all sorts of shape problems.
The grid lines can be hard to judge. The top picture has 8mm grid lines, the bottom is 3mm. Almost 1/3 the thickness but I wouldn't think that looking at it.
I got my Round2 1/350th model kit on Nov.3 2012, and I've been "intending" to do this ever since. And then the Smithsonian restoration happened around 2017 and I've been "super duper intending" to do this ever since.
I haven't really went all out on a 3d model in years, so long that all the boards I used to be on are gone...
Oh well, picture dump;
Just starting out. This is a model of 'the model,' not a starship.
I've come to hate working on the TOS bussard effect. It's always challenging because it was an in-camera effect. Replicating older composited VFX is easy, but a little transparent ball with light rays just bouncing around infinity is not.
A user named Professor Moriarty built a version years ago that did a great job of replicating one of the effects various looks. He had a simple radial pattern on the outside that does a great job of keeping you visually aware of the outer surface. I spent a while experimenting with this, and eventually ended up with a fully segmented version that I quite like but is too far removed from the actual model for me to use right now.
This is the current version I intend to use.
The physical modeling was/is quick and painless with so much reference available, but textures and materials are where I intend to push myself here. I spent the last week hand painting every panel on the top of the saucer, this is just to have a good foundation to lay the heavy weathering down on. It'll be a process.
I rebuilt the impulse shape a few times. The model kit I think is actually too wonky, but there is a unique shape to the outer profile curve that if you don't get right, wont match up to the saucer properly when you extrude it. It's really satisfying when you see all the geometries come together the right way. At this point I can look at my last model (built in '09) and see all sorts of shape problems.
The grid lines can be hard to judge. The top picture has 8mm grid lines, the bottom is 3mm. Almost 1/3 the thickness but I wouldn't think that looking at it.
and with 3mm being better but I'm not sure what version of the Enterprise you're going for. Given the super detailing, the last restored NASM version?
