LC10 sketch

I've spent rather too long trying to get the base form right for this old bird. She's no beauty but then the speed benefits of a stutterwarp drive gives the LC10 some huge advantages over reaction-drive driven alternatives.

I'll try and turn this into a detailed model, providing a I don't get derailed.

Ron Cobb: Science Fiction Design Hero

Remember Total Recall and the 5-second sequence of the shuttle making a VTOL landing? I loved that ship and yet nobody references, draws or builds it. Seems like a great design for a 2300AD starship...

I made an exhaustive and fruitless search of the interwebs for production stills or sketches of the Mars Shuttle that featured in the 1990 version of Total Recall. I loved the design - it seems something of a noble ancestor to the ship that featured in Prometheus.

This morning I dusted off my DVD copy and did a sweep of the extras - captured this great piece of Ron Cobb production art showing a non-VTOL version of the shuttle with passengers disembarking.

 

Screencapture - 3/4 view

 Screen capture: mostly front-on

An hour of pulling and turbosmoothing vertices to get the rough shape:

If I'm happy with the results I'll post the finished model.

Aliceport Orbital

Just a test render for Beowulf's orbital space port.

Beowulf: a closer look. Kudos to Colin Dunn, 2300AD's writer/line manager for supplying me with his detailed fractal-based world map. I used a high resolution satellite photo of Australia to provide a more realistic set of land features. However, some community members felt that it looked a little too barren. I think I'll do a follow-up with some added coastal vegetation.

Beowulf -- a new planetary modelling scheme

I'm still struggling with realistic HD planet models, or more specifically their materials. Hugely complex interplay of light and atmospherics. Lots of little understood effects being applied thanks to some decent online tutorials.

I don't seem to be able to make my clouds full bodied and also subtle, cloud layers see to be either ghostly or ghastly over-the-top.

Onward and upward!

In case you missed it: KAMROV K29 Fast Boat

Designed on a whim back in March this year, the K29 was just an idle experiment in designing a very fast ship using the Mongoose edition ship building rules. It can be done, especially if you're not needing to deck out for extended trips.

More of the Albion Battlecruiser

Arrangement - along with the initial sketch, scribbled in my work note book during the daily progress meeting.
Deck plans will be done once I've completed some Traveller 5 "Herald" work.

Full disclosure: The Bison really is a shameless ripoff of the Valkyrie SSTO-TAV-37 B-class Shuttle Craft from the film "Avatar". The Bison is slightly more 'wingy' and the thrusters don't need to tilt.

Albion-class Battlecruiser

Britain's new warship, HMS Albion was shown in public for the first time today. Called "Richelieu on a budget" by some critics, it appears to indicate a possible shift away from the "Under the wing" policy where Britain has for many years deferred to the French Imperial Navy for capital ships...

Even a journey of 7.7 lightyears must begin with a single step

You know, I really didn't need yet another blog. I've already got a handful of sites that have long been crying for updates. However, I've had an itch for a while, a niggling urge to hammer keyboard and splatter pixels on the subject of 2300A.D. which I consider to be my coming of age role playing game. I'll be writing background material, scenarios, drawing maps and designing and illustrating starships. Watch this space!