The Space Station V model I mastered for Fantastic Plastic is about to be released in the next month or two. I am working on a set of instructions for it, all computer rendered in the form of 2-D line drawings taken from the 3D CAD model. This is the first model I – or Fantastic Plastic – have done that has photoetched parts, in this case all the frames and longerons needed to make the “unfinished rim.” I have a suspicion that the model will look substantially awesome when completed. The pages shown below are to be printed out on 11X17 pages; this allows for full-size orthographic views, handy for getting the rims right.

The model was created in Rhino, the 2D drawing created via the “make2d” Rhino command. Distressingly, the model is at, and often beyond, the memory capability of my computer… I cannot render the space station *and* an Orion III spaceplane at the same time, for instance (“out of memory” error). Just for giggles I’d love to continue tinkering with the model, to create a more detailed version with internal details for cutaway views and the like, but that would cause my current computer to just plain roll over and die. For those knowledgable about such things, is this a matter purely of hardware, such that a new more powerful c0mputer might be able to breeze through it, or is this a software issue that would not be aided by a new computer? I have no firm plans on procuring a new computer due to fiscal concerns, but if I were to do so (anyone wanna fund a new computer? There’d be some Space Station V diagrams in it for ya…), what should I look for?