1/700 & 1/350 scale BH Cygnus builds

Yes, I watched it again tonight, and I came to the conclusion the whole bow section is open, with mesh inside the boxed in section. I noticed the same difference in density you mention during the flyover. I think the circular open section may be between the two outer rings around the observatory. What do you think? The only enclosed area may be the continuation of the central corridor. It looked like a straight shot down the corridor in some interior shots outside the reception area. Also, the observatory is resting on what I think is an extra section of the corridor in the shot you have of the partially constructed model. When I count the sections, it seems like there's one more than the central modules need to attach to. So that my be all that's behind the wall at the back of the docking platform...
 
Oh, sorry to hear your models were rejected! The bow section is looking good. Did you consider not making the mesh part of the, uh, mesh? Just make the frame, and attach window screen? Or I've seen finer metal mesh as well. I was initially thinking of having the levels laser cut and gluing mesh to them. The framing in-between would be rapid prototype parts. Does that make sense? I can't tell -- it's past my bedtime. ;-)
 
I'm cautious about that, but I have to watch the film itself again. Just going by FX screenshots isn't enough. The production pretty clearly was actually laying things out logically, or at least that was the battle plan! You may be right, or it may just be that the armature happened to have to match the corridor shape for light-box reasons and they just carried it on forwards and aft of the spine itself out of inertia. :)

Yes, I was setting myself up for disappointment with the mesh, I knew it. And for sure, I've got some photoetch that will do the job better, but I wondered if I could get an acceptable result with the bracing already printed in place. If I suck at rigging a biplane, I'm gonna suck at getting those all straight and tidy. :)
 
Trust me, the more that comes out of the Shapeways machine, the better my model will look! I'm not sure at this point what I'm gonna do about the mesh-only areas.

Thinking about the corridor/reception area more. There's a scene where the characters come out of reception and come upon a curved ledge. If I'm remembering correctly, they can look down the whole central corridor. I don't expect that the miniature would have matched the live action sets that completely, but I think it might be a clue as to the intent. That curved ledge most likely would've been meant to match the front edge of the observatory platform. So a big open space that the corridor comes off of. I'm just trying to get my head around the internal volume. Obviously the engineering of the model would differ since they wouldn't be shooting inside of it! :) As I watched the movie, I was struck by how I could recognize interior sets matching exterior areas of the model. They really made an effort to match things up, so maybe it can help us visualize areas that aren't that clearly documented. Or am I wandering too far off course? ;-)

I was dreaming about how the sections of the bow fit together last night, so it's quite possible I'm over thinking again!
 
No, sounds about right. One or two of the full-ship Disney drawings have handwritten plot notes all over them. Numbers with callouts to scenes, that kind of thing. Poor copy, hard to make out, but they were definitely trying to keep it logical. If only they'd thought as hard about the ending. :lol

That area is not just curved, it's circular, I think. The other side is a bank of work stations by the look of it, clearly also curved, and yes, it views directly onto the end of the main corridor. The size of the area is pretty big. Could very well be intended to be the 'footprint' area of the observatories, in fact I can't imagine it isn't.

Got a big boost last night just at bedtime. My most recent order (small) had already shipped, while three others were in production of which a couple were overdue. One of these was placed in April and was really looking like it might have fallen over, but it and the second-newest one piled up and shipped together last night. I should be getting eight or nine parts in one hit, woo hoo. This is going to include (all being well) some critical proof of concept type parts that I need to see in the flesh before I can hit 'print' on a bunch of other similar stuff.

Fingers crossed!!
 
Definitely a circular area behind reception. I went and looked again last night. Also, in the flyover it looks like there is a short boxed in area behind the rear docking area wall. I think that might correspond to the actual reception area. The open gap is definitely between the two outer rings around the observatory. So the majority of the bow is open space, backed with mesh. Is that what you think?

Yes, the sphere on the power module is clear. I think it might be a solid acrylic ball; it looks like it's refracting the light around it, and I didn't see any inner surface as you'd expect from a hollow sphere. Also, did you notice that there's an unexplained antenna mast to the right of the travel tube at the beginning of the ride?

Have a part order that's supposed to ship today. They notified me that the leg broke off of my revised observatory piece and gave me the choice of as-is or coupon. I had them send it so I can see what happened. That piece is going to be difficult! Hopefully the rest will be good...

Looking forward to your parts bonanza!
 
OH MY GOD YOU GUYS.

OK, look, I do realise this ship is a niche interest. Definitely out of the mainstream and I don't expect everybody to be as excited about it as Dave and I are, obviously.

But two of the delayed Shapeways orders I've been waiting on to know whether this is really a goer, with current tech and pricing, in the 1/350 scale, just piled up and arrived together. I cannot contain myself right now, so just indulge me and pretend this is Star Wars stuff or something for a minute, ok? :lol I just got home from work and opened two boxes. I can say pretty definitively that 1/350 really is a goer.

Not only that, but - forgive me - HOLY ****ING CRAP THIS STUFF SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE.

I have to go do daddy stuff for a while. Pics after that. I think one or two of you will be somewhat impressed. I know I am...this is freakin' impossible, what just arrived in those boxes.
 
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Dave, sorry, missed your last. Hmmm, solid, really? You can see the ends of the pipes that are let into it; I almost had the impression it had another smaller sphere inside it but that's likely a lighting effect. I do suspect there may be more pipes leading into it than the three I've identified so far.

Also, I realised I have two versions of one of the annotated drawings. The one I've been working off seems to be either a grayscale version of the same scan, or an actual photocopy of the original. For some reason on my work PC I have a better, colour one, which has the annotations in the actual blue ink. Much clearer. Anyway, yes, the reception area is that area right behind the dock. The travel tube station is on a curving corridor which leads around the perimeter of that large circle, to a point on the port side. I haven't spotted the 'funny' antenna, will take a look, doesn't surprise me as there were many kludges!

Still freaking out over these parts. Total kid at Christmas feeling. I knew these things would look spindlier in real life than they do in my renders, but not by this much. They're just supernatural, I hope my camera can capture them adequately. I feel the urgent need to throw paint on 'em! Mind = blown, thoroughly. Thank you Shapeways, and thank you profoundly, Dave. I still wasn't really a believer until now!
 
PS bummer about the broken observatory. It should be possible - persevere! You won't believe how thin the legs on my control modules are, and they were all just mangled together in a plastic bag. They're not exactly straight, but when I have something to glue them to it'll all come together. It can be done!
 
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First lot of pics. These are:

* the clear domes and framing sections for the "control modules" which mount underneath six of the main hull modules
* the main antennas for the captain's tower
* the old (13% oversize) version of the Power Centre alongside the new one (which has new shutter detail, and a lower cap)
* the Fuel Module A tanks

I am pretty happy with all of these, but they're not what had me wetting myself, haven't taken those pics yet. :)
 
Augh damn, flat battery. Backup camera...

These are:

* the Power Centre's module framing, this is the item which shows the project is viable. If anything was going to break, this was it. I had to make a few compromises and fit some sacrificial larger-size frames at the back, which will be cut out before construction. You can see that some things DID break; there are a few waving bits of bracing, and some persistent gaps in the mesh. Nothing serious, I could fix these if I was going to use them, but they were obsoleted when I reduced the height of the "railing" (which should help with some of the problems).

* the base of the Command Tower. This is another prototype which has already had a lot of changes since this one went into print. The final version will have a lot more bracing detail inside the open area, you can tell there's a lot more going on inside but exactly what, no reference tells us. I will invent something suitable that doesn't conflict with what is seen...

* the main part of the tower assembled onto the base, with the antennas fitted. There should be eight of these; again this part has already been obsoleted but I have no idea why I submitted this version with half the number of antenna locations it needed. That's what I get for CG modelling at unearthly hours. :lol

The top of the tower should be in the order arriving Monday, also a main module. Can't wait.

This stupidly expensive 2002 digicam absolutely sucks compared to my wife's 2012 $100 cheapie. Sorry about the crappy pics. Look at these parts though, aren't they ridiculous??! If I ever decide I want a metre-tall Eiffel Tower that mighta been the real thing hit by a shrinking ray, I'll know where to go...
 
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OMG Martyn -- those are amazing! You never can imagine what the parts are going to look like in person. You spend however many hours staring at them on the screen, and then you open the box and magic! I can't believe the detail on the brush antennas; the whole control tower looks stellar! And the framing on the power center at 1/350! Wow! It's really exciting -- I'm running out of adjectives!

Oh and yeah, get some paint on them asap -- you think they look good now, wait 'til you see them painted and weathered!
 
Thanks, Dave! It's true, you expect the renders to give you a rough handle on it but they just don't. The parts you've agonised over 'compromising' to meet the printable parameters just look briliant and it becomes difficult to even call to mind the fact that they're not perfectly to scale. Everything seems so much more delicate in the flesh! :D
 
Nwerke-
Man that is going to be one HUGE ship! Those parts are awesome!! How long do you guys think it'll take to get all of the parts? It's amazing the detail that you're putting in to those models. Excellent work, gentlemen!
 
Some more parts arrived Friday -- some of the upper center section pieces. The central section is really starting to take shape! My next order to arrive should be Fuel Module A revised, then the upper section that fits between the power center modules, and also one of the center sections for the underside.
 
daverep said:
Nwerke-
Man that is going to be one HUGE ship! Those parts are awesome!!
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yeah, it works out at about 6'9" in 1/350. I'm going to have to add on to my house. (Really, actually, seriously.) :)

How long do you guys think it'll take to get all of the parts?
Click to expand...

Quite a while. Shapeways have been including 'sorry we were late with this' cards in my recent orders, things have been shipping up to ten days later than expected. And I'm not quick on the CG modelling front - I suspect Dave will finish designing well before I do, I tend to go back and revise and re-revise quite a lot.

I don't want to lapse on this since it'll be months before I get back to it, if I do. On the other hand I do want to get back onto the big Falcon project too. If I keep up my current pace on this I guess I might have all the 3d print stuff uploaded by somewhere around July/August. I won't be ordering it all at once though, the total print cost for 1/350 will come in somewhere north of "ouch".

PrimitiveDave said:
Some more parts arrived Friday -- some of the upper center section pieces. The central section is really starting to take shape! My next order to arrive should be Fuel Module A revised, then the upper section that fits between the power center modules, and also one of the center sections for the underside.
Click to expand...

Have been waiting for this post...niiiiiiiiiice! Looks like you might have settled on the more yellow colour scheme? Also, have you considered joining these shorter sections into one? The transport tubes act as sprues so it'd be strong enough, and likely cheaper overall. Not that it really matters now I guess. :)

jedimaster said:
They look sweet Dave. I've said it before but these builds are gonna set a new benchmark for builders.
Click to expand...

Thanks Simon. Wait'll you see what's coming...the bow and stern sections, wow, I tell you...SO intricate.
 

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