Meloncov's Sci-Fi Illustrations

[Meloncov]

Wonderful, as always. It's amazing to see how much it evolved simply by adding texturing.

Thanks. I did add some hull details beyond the texture (the engines on the maneuvering fin and the upper decks) but I do love that texture. It either fails spectacularly or adds a whole lot to the image.

 

[Meloncov]

A close up, with the gunports opened.

 

[Hussar]

Schweet

 

[Hand of Evil]

Fantastic models - still say you could be saling them, even un-textured!

 

[Meloncov]

Fantastic models - still say you could be saling them, even un-textured!

I suppose I might try it if I encountered a place that allowed for selling models with no capital investment.


I'm still working on the same model. I've had to rebuild it almost from scratch in order to add all the gun ports and interior details, so at the moment there isn't much to show.

 

[Pbartender]

These are great models.

Are you still taking requests?

 

[Meloncov]

Are you still taking requests?

Feel free to propose something. I can't garuntee when/if I'll do it, but I'll listen.

 

[Pbartender]

Feel free to propose something. I can't garuntee when/if I'll do it, but I'll listen.

Fair enough...

I just have to figure out how to describe it -- it's a bit of an odd one...

EDIT: Got it...

The idea for this ship originated during a discussion on the Crafty messageboards about the primary propulsion system for spaceships in their upcoming suppliment, Farthest Star.

In a nutshell, the propulsion system consists of cigar-shaped pods mounted on the leading edge of the ship. The pods generate a cone of pseudo-gravity that pulls the ship along behind it. Later in the thread, I got to explaining how, using this propulsion system, you could design a ship that can steer itself using tidal forces. It was this concept that gave me the idea of the "Umbrella Boat".

An umbrella boat is a small ship designed primarily for interplanetary travel. It is normally used by hobbyists as a pleasure craft, or by the military as a low-profile scout and reconnaisance craft.

To envision the ship, imagine an umbrella. Remove the fabric from the umbrella ribs. Now, add one of the ciger-shaped propulsion pylons to the front of the ship (the "top" of the umbrella). Next, remove the handle of the umbrella and replace it with a pod that serves as the cockpit. Finally, stretch cable-like rigging between the cockpit and the ribs.

The ribs themselves, are capable of being "stepped" and folded away alongside the ship, in need be, during docking maneuvers.

Here's a very, very rough sketch of the basic layout (not to scale).

The ship steers by the using the rigging cables to swing the cockpit and the enitre tail-boom out of line with the pylon and it's projected gravity field. The resulting tidal forces swing the ship around in a circle. The overall effect is reminiscent of piloting a sailing ship.

If you have any questions concerning details or elaborations, let me know.

 

[Meloncov]

I could do that, though I have to finish up the gunboat and the elemental battle wagon first. It could be a few months.



How big would this thing be? Preferably broken down into cabin/cockpit size, gravitational arm size, shaft size ect.

 

[Pbartender]

I could do that, though I have to finish up the gunboat and the elemental battle wagon first. It could be a few months.

No problem.

How big would this thing be? Preferably broken down into cabin/cockpit size, gravitational arm size, shaft size ect.

There is feasibly a great deal of variation possible, depending on the intended use, but I imagine the base "recreational/racing" model like so:

The pseudo-gravitational pylon would be roughly cigar shaped -- 20 feet long with an 8 foot diameter.

The cockpit pod would probably be of similar shape and dimensions as the grav pylon (20' long by 8' dia.), giving enough space for a pilot and possibly one to three passengers.

The shaft and the ribs would basically have the same shape, configuration and proportions as a giant 100-foot long umbrella.

Altogether the ship would have a total length of approximately 140 feet, and a "wingspan" of about the same.