VC-33 Mom's kitchen Model Kit

[Mokman]

I like how it's coming along so far. Nice to see my original production sketch is of some use, even if some details may vary from other sources. I expect your first prototype will be quite impressive.

[tundrayeti]

Thanks for the compliments guys. Here's another update. The wingspan was just a bit short and I was not entirely happy with the wings anyway, so i redid them. Still have details to add, but i'm happy with the overall shape. I also lowered the engines and wings. I'm compromising between the views here so they aren't flush with the top of the fuselage, but they aren't too high up either. I also moved the further from the fuselage, just a bit to line up a bit more with the front view.

I'm keeping the vents slightly tilted, because I think they look better that way. Haven't really gotten any objections to sizes, etc so I'm keeping the rear vents as is, as well as the engines. moving on to the tail stabilizers, and then panel lining.

Enjoy!

[ahiachris]

No complains at the vents. The lengths of the wings are good. Let's try to make the wing tips align with the bottom of the fuslage.

[jardann]

I just caught up to this thread and I've gotta say things are looking pretty sweet in here!

I think the tops of the engine nacelles need to be a bit more rounded. They should have a bit of a humped look to them. All of the corners on the nacelles need to be rounded a bit. They are still too square. They definitely look much better lowered "into" the wings a bit. They don't really stand off of the wings on mounts or anything. The rear exhausts/vents on the nacelles look very good now.

I also think you will need to round off the fuselage top at the wing/fuselage joint. It needs to conform more the the rest of the fuselage shape. It shouldn't be so square across the top. It is kind of like a flat piece of clay that is draped over the fuselage to form a ridge at the front and then blended at the back. I hope that description helps you.

The intake (pod..bump?) on the top of the fuselage right behind the cockpit will probably need to be enlarged too, but I'm probably getting ahead of your process a little bit. Wow! That passenger cabin must be a really noisy place. Especially during VTOL!

You're really progressing along great on this project! As always, my little quibbles are just posted to hopefully help you in the process. Hopefully I will be able to pick one of these up when they get to the kit stage.

[tundrayeti]

Thanks for all of your input everyone. I'm taking a small break from this to finish up the military vehicle set. Gotta get those suckers mailed! But just to address some of the concerns posted:

The engines are one of those function, vs look kinda things. I'm pretty happy with them for now, and any redesign of those elements will be a HUGE undertaking. rounding them more will involve totally redesigning how all the vent parts fit together for VTOL mode etc. I'm not opposed to revisiting this, but I would like to have this thing ready by WonderFest in the US. I'll finish the rest up first and then address this part.

I totally agree with the rest and I am currently redoing the top intake and the wing/fuselage connector. As always, I really encourage suggestions and what you all would like to see. I should be done shipping the vehicle kits by next week, so there will be another update soon. I have added the landing gear, etc. so there is definitely a lot of stuff that will be seen on the next update. Keep in mind that the majority of the stuff on the model is for viewing purposes only and I then work on details of each "part". The engines will be set a little lower and conformed a little more to the wings. That's the only benefit to traveling so much is that I can take the 3d computer model with me and work on it.

Oh yeah and thanks for all your votes everyone, this will be offered in BOTH 1/100 and 1/72 initially. I am looking at around $150 for the 1/72 version. I will have a more definite price once the model in completely done, but that looks to be the ballpark price for this kit.

Edited February 15, 2012 by tundrayeti

[tundrayeti]

Well since I'm finishing up the Vehicle kits and getting them sent off it was time to show the mom's kitchen some love....(okay that sounded bad ) anyway I am still working on the horrid middle hump. Can't seem to get that bad boy right but I'm getting closer. I am addressing the rest after i get some more of the details modeled. So without further delay, here is the latest update. LANDING GEAR!!!. I have started on the gear and the bays for them. I have also started the tedious process of panel lining the wings. I will get to the fuselage later, I've started it but I am keeping the original so as not to put too much one here at once. The doors for the landing gear bay are not quite there yet, i just rotated them 90 degrees so everyone can get the idea. That will be fixed in the next week or 2. So bring on the comments!

[electric indigo]

Given the structural similarities, you should be able to borrow the gear from the VC-22. I also think the rear wheels should point outward more for stability.

[MechTech]

Your rendering looks great! I spent two months building mine in 1/200 so I feel your pain Only two inputs for you. I read through the other posts so hopefully I'm not doubling up. I'd make the intake fans so they are snug to the inside of the intake "box" area. They look a little small in my humble opinion. And a minor detail on the top intake near the nose. I'd inlarge it slightly (already mentioned) and don't forget the undercut under it. Not only is it drawn in the artwork, but real intakes have to have seperation from the fuselage surface to prevent boundary layer buffeting (the prototype P-51 sufferd from this). Usually something like a triangle to split the layer sits under it.

Man, I wish I could draw up like you are! That blasted anime magic sucks! You sculpt it, and then find that something doesn't fit. At least on a PC, you just hit "delete" versus throwing hours into the trash can Keep up the great work! - MT

[tundrayeti]

Thanks for all your comments guys i really do appreciate them. I am slowly getting to a lot of those minor details. The top intake is just a placeholder for now, I will get to it eventually. Thanks for your insight on the intake fans MT, i was debating if I was going to keep them or not, but I guess I will I kinda like how they look. (I actually got that inspiration from the build you mentioned. your top views helped a lot thanks!)

As for the landing gear, I agree that they should be outwards a little more, but the lineart has some pretty nice details on these, and it's just easier to model them in 3d from "scratch" I actually did study the osprey to get some inspiration and ideas though Thanks for the suggestions Indigo! The only problem is that the rear gear are kind of obscured on the side view. I am thinking that because of that big swing bar they might angle to the side a bit. I will have to look into this more. Another update coming soon!

Edited February 27, 2012 by tundrayeti

[tundrayeti]

More progress made, Fixed the top intake. also started panel lining the fuselage. Added the door as well. Hopefully I will send this thing off to get printed in less than 2 weeks. So make your comments now! i also made the intake fans a little bigger. Still have to fix the hump and the rear stabilizers, as well as get the engines and wings squared away but that should be done by the end of the week.

Thanks

[electric indigo]

Looking at the nose, I think the profile isn't supposed to be a continuos curve, there should be a subtle step at the front of the canopy windows. This isn't very visible in the profile line art, but in the cell sketch you posted on the previous page. Also, in the top 3/4 view of the line art, if you continue the division line between the front windows, you don't end up at the tip of the nose, so there must be a step in the curvature.

[MechTech]

Sorry, it's not high tech 3D, but it's 3D After months of looking at this thing and even going over many animation sequences, this is what I came up with a few years ago (1/200th scale):

I don't believe there is a step in there. There is a line to seperate the radome cowling, but I believe that's all (in my humble opinion. - MT

[tundrayeti]

Yes that's what I was thinking as well. I was a bit confused as to what you were referring to. Thanks for the pics MT, that's awesome stuff! Looking at your work let's me know i'm on the right track. There is a method to my madness. I plan on having the canopy sections as a seperate peice that I will cast in clear. I will be doing a cockpit interior.

[electric indigo]

I marked the profile by drawing a section of the median plane into the available lineart. The division between the canopy windows gives a nice center line. But if you'd follow the angle of that line at the from of the windows, you'd miss the nose of the plane. So there has to be a (slight) change of angle in the profile at this point.

[Reïvaj]

IMHO I think electric indigo is right and the plane looks a little better that way.

[tundrayeti]

Okay I do see your point. But I did the fuselage mesh based on the side profile on the lineart. This is going to be one of those interpretation of lineart things. On another note, we are talking about scrapping months of work and delaying this thing for awhile till I can rework the spline cage. My goal was to have this thing ready to go in a few months. I will leave it up to you guys. Believe me I would hate to scrap all that work but ultimately it's up to you all the ones who will be buying this kit. So speak now, in the meantime I will work on some of the other details. Should have an update in a day or so.

[Grayson72]

Unfortunately I like the nose the way Electric Indigo has noted it, it looks like a much more realistic aircraft that way. Couldn't you create a simple nose cone and stick it on the front of the aircraft to save you time (no idea if this is feasible).

Either way though it looks like the front canopy on your model is too close to the front end of your plane. MechTechs example looks like he has the right distance between canopy and the end of the nosecose, even without the step.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Grayson72

[Berttt]

I take it that the outline of the windscreen on the mesh represents the blacked out window surround? If so then it looks about right from the profile posted on page one.

Berttt

[tundrayeti]

Nope guess that was an oversight. Oh well guess I'll try to see what I can come up with tonight and post the results. I should be able to have a rough fuselage in a couple hours

[MechTech]

He he, I was just looking through the Perfect Memory lineart and see both stepped and unstepped noses Why didn't the artists figure that a bunch of Otaki's would be looking at their dumb drawings trying to build what they drew!? I say flip a coin for it (Waving hands in the air slowly) "anime magic" - MT

[tundrayeti]

I smell another poll. Personally I like the nose the way MechTech and I have it. I still have to fix the windows, but Here is a rough fuselage with the infamous "step" I personally don't really like it. But the nice thing is I can always keep the old one and make it for myself. Anyway Post your thoughts quickly, I would like to resolve this one as soon as possible. Of course the coin toss could always work.....

[ahiachris]

Both designs are acceptable by me. Since you're planning of incoporating a cockpit to the kit. Why not designing the canopy as a separate piece and then you can give us two options on getting both canopies. Of course the price might go up. But anyway, I'm already satisfied.

[Grayson72]

I don't think its the canopy that's determines the step

[electric indigo]

The shape is a bit difficult to judge on those renders without the cockpit windows. Structurally, I think the canopy separation should work like on this kit of the Osprey.

[tundrayeti]

It is a very rough fuselage. I will be adding the canopy tonight. I think ahiachris should get a gold star. That idea if 2 different canopies is stellar! I will continue as is, just go get this ready for wonder fest and if time permits, do the alternate canopy. So thanks for all you suggestions and ideas. Let's see where it goes.

[Spitfire_BR]

I smell another poll. Personally I like the nose the way MechTech and I have it. I still have to fix the windows, but Here is a rough fuselage with the infamous "step" I personally don't really like it. But the nice thing is I can always keep the old one and make it for myself. Anyway Post your thoughts quickly, I would like to resolve this one as soon as possible. Of course the coin toss could always work.....

It's only my tired eyes or this nose looks identical to B-52 ???

[neptunesurvey]

I like the nose that both you and MechTech have done. On the 1/200 from MT it just looks right.

[specr0101]

1/72 for display convience

[MechTech]

Spitfire has an idea. Get the old 1/72nd scale B-52 and "modify it" a little The lines do look similar now that he mentions it. - MT

[tundrayeti]

well I'm all about choice, so i will offer the 2 options. Option 1 will be as it is. Options 2 will be with the "step" or b-52 version. I should ba able to pull it off so that it's just the nose section. Well due to an unforseen screw up by a banquet hall, i will be unable to attend Wonderfest this year. I will still try to finish this by then, but I will be taking my time to get it right. I will also be trying to finish up a couple other projects I have going on. So be sure to let me know what option you would like when time comes to order this baby. If you want both, I can arrange that as well.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

[Spitfire_BR]

So let's start a new poll ! My vote goes to Option 1, MechtTech's and TrundraYeti's noses forever !!!!

[Viceland]

This nitpicking could go on forever, seeking perfectionism in these 3D interpretations of anime magic line art is not a noble quest.

Put your foot down. It's fine job just like it is, go forward with it.

[Reïvaj]

This nitpicking could go on forever, seeking perfectionism in these 3D interpretations of anime magic line art is not a noble quest.

Put your foot down. It's fine job just like it is, go forward with it.

I’d agree with you hadn’t Tundrayet asked for “suggestions”, “feedback”, “comments” and “ideas” in almost all his posts

[Viceland]

I’d agree with you hadn’t Tundrayet asked for “suggestions”, “feedback”, “comments” and “ideas” in almost all his posts

lol, yes I know, I'm telling him to cut it out and do his thing!

[tundrayeti]

Oh trust me I am doing my thing, but everyone likes to have options. I will be proceeding with the nose, as is but I will offer the alternative as a second option. Granted not all folks will agree with everything, but I like people to have a little say in the process. Sometimes you do have to draw a line. I will have an update soon guys. Haven't had a lot of time to work on this.