Having been tasked by the Volksfront with designing an HF for the Bundschuh that held both traditional elements from the Borderworlds line as well as vestigial Rheinlandish design I set to making them a fighter. My first concept was well recevied, but when I had a new concept pop into my head I ran with it.
This is the result of that design, completely redone and from an entirely different design style. The model is in its final stages after only a days work, little remains until I texture, hardpoint, and produce a hitbox for it. With the consent of the VF) and Eternal himself I'm posting the design.
the ship looks convincingly and good. - however, i d be interested in a side-view cause i suspect a proportion issue with the front and the rear of the ship.
the front is detailed while the rear appears just to be cut off. - that means, there isn t anything behind the cockpi anymore, no engine case, reactor or much structure - which then means that the whole ship is quite flat on the topside with only the canopy popping out of it like a bubble. due to the very short rear it also appears to be a bit too much placed in the rear of the ship ( bit like those air ralley ships - here is a link: http://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/lar...55691071-00.jpg )
as you can see - the white / red planes cockpit is basicly at the side rudder. - only this fightermodel doesn t have the rudder, which functions as a vertical counterweight for the massive front.
anyway - i particularly like the way the wings are attached to the body. it looks simple, strong and easy to maintain and replace. - the square vertical fins in the back ( or flaps or whatever ) are pretty good, too. - they give the whole model some sort of archaic look that sets it apart from the sleek and sophisticated BW line itself. ( its usually little details like that that are noticable imo )
sizewise - the ship doesn t look bigger than the dagger - and due to the wings being a lot thinner than the daggers wings ( actually they are wings, while the dagger is more a triangular body ) - it might be harder to build on it to achieve a heavy and a very heavy variant ... IF that needs to be done at some time.
It needs just a bit more tinkering , but all in all a great design !
Thank you , once again , Turkish!
EDIT - Jinx was first ...
' Wrote:sizewise - the ship doesn t look bigger than the dagger - and due to the wings being a lot thinner than the daggers wings ( actually they are wings, while the dagger is more a triangular body ) - it might be harder to build on it to achieve a heavy and a very heavy variant ... IF that needs to be done at some time.
All in all , I agree with your suggestions , Jinx. As I said , there is a bit more work to be done , but it looks good so far. One of the things that I was considering is adding two spoilers/stabilizers/thingies (what ever you wish to call them) on the bottom section of the ship , acting like counterparts for the large wings and adding SLIGHTLY more bulk to the ship , just enough to be a Heavy Fighter , the role it's meant to fulfill.
This is a design of the Heavy Fighter , not a LF. Just to let anyone know.
EDIT 2 - Yes , Turkish's idea about how the main wings are attached to the body is , indeed , brilliant! It is perfect in RP for quick repairs and for storing more ships in a smaller base.
maybe you can downsize the canopy a little and elongate is slightly - after all, freelancer ships ( even the tiny ones ) are really big - much bigger than many other sci-fi settings suggest fighters to be.
i do sometimes find it hard to imagine how large they ought to be. - and this ship is roughly the size as the cavalier or the very tiny patriot.
Reading this proves my point. This ship is designed in RP to attract attention to itself , offering a new design , "a new look over Rheinland" if you wish.
This means one thing only , the design is a success.