Huzzah. All the modeling is done. Now to finish the writing, and create a few new illustrations from the models. Most of the writing is complete, but there’s still some to do, and a fair bit of editing. And I’m only at 148 pages!
Jan 282009
Jan 242009
You be the judge…
Jan 232009
Maybe…
Jan 232009
Nearly done modeling the Orions. Today I got the 20-meter NASA vehicle modeled, and futzed around a fair deal with colors and such. One last Orion to model, and I’ll be finished with this part of the effort.
Jan 222009
In issue V2N3 of APR – which is a ways away yet – will be Part 1 of two parts on the Bell D-188 VTOL fighter (commonly and incorrectly referred to as the “XF-109”).
Here’s some art showing the preceeding designs… the Bell D-139 with “Vertiburners” for VTOL thrust, and the initial D-188 which replaced the Vertiburners with conventional lift jets.
Jan 202009
Declaring victory on the Orion Battleship model. There is a vast amount more that could be done… but at this stage, there’s nothing more I’m *gonna* do with this model.
Jan 192009
So. The next issue of APR has an article on the Large Orions. Prominently included in this is the “Orion Battleship” concept, armed with 5-inch naval guns and 500 20-megaton offensive nukes.
In all the years I’ve written APR, I’ve never delved into fiction. But I thought it’d be a neat little lark to include a half-page or so “scenario” depicting the Orion battleships in action. Note: half-page or so. So I started scribbling last night. At 5 AM I packed it in with six pages written, and only just now getting to the good stuff.
Back in my college days, I was a prolific writer of really quite aweful sci-fi stories. Cranked out probably a novel or two’s worth of utter rubbish. Since graduation in ’95, my fiction writing dropped to approximately nil. So I’m rusty; I’ll have to do some massive trimming. I still think the half-page little story’s a good idea.
One thing that’ll have to be lost in the edit: details of just what the hell’s actually going on. The Orion battleship was meant to fight World War III, and was equipped with the ability to lay waste to the entire Soviet Union. A vehicle like this would not be used for trivial problem; it would not be used over Grenada, or Panama, or Afghanistan or Iraq. It would only be used to fight global thermonuclear war, with hundreds of millions if not billions killed outright. It’s just a little difficult spinning that background into a lighthearted yarn.
Jan 172009
Work on the Orion article continues, with more modeling. The modeling I’m fairly good at, the rendering… meh. To do it right would require a whole lot of texture map work, and I just don’t have the time for that. So… the Orions will look a bit bland, I guess.
I need to model the 20-meter Orion yet, as well as the Advanced Interplanetary Ship, and make some refinements to the Regular Interplanetary Ship.
Jan 162009
Jan 152009
And at least 3 more designs need to be added to the little zoo here. Sigh…
There is not only modeling to be done, but some tinkering for rendering purposes. The tip of the Orion’s pointy nose seems to vanish.