Greetings

[Psyscape]

I also mentioned that I play around with 3DCG. That has been a "hobby" for several years. Mostly because it's one of the few ways I can make things that I want to make, which simply aren't available in any other medium. I suppose I could learn to sew and make clothing and stuff for Action Man and Barbie, but somehow that just doesn't sit well with me, not to mention I doubt I could thread a needle these days.

Anyway, a few examples of what I get up to with 3D software.

 

[Psyscape]

And all of that finally brings me to Papercraft. If it hadn't been for my daughter's science project during the school's "Space Week" I probably would still be in complete ignorance of this side of modelling. There are no stores in my area which sell anything beyond decotage and card making kits, so I had no real idea that there was anything like this around.

I was aware of card models. I have an ancient Romulan warbird (still in it's book) and a Space Station (SpaceLab I think) lurking around the house, but that it was so extensive and that there was so much available I didn't realise.

It was hunting for a decent model of the shuttle that I found the AMX Paper Space site and downloaded a Challenger and payload that I really came to appreciate what was available, as well as the detail and care people put into creation of these things. That they're also free is quite mindblowing. So, a Shuttle, Saturn 1B, two Mars Rovers (Curiosity and Spirit) and some planets from a German site later, I was hooked.

Since making those, I found some models that answer one of my interests and I've built three of the Front Mission mechs from Square Enix, although I do find myself wishing they'd release more. But I'm sure there's enough to keep me happy for the time being.

FM4 BlizzaiL

FM4 Zenith

FM5 Numsekar

And that's it.
Sorry I don't have more photos to share, but I've never really been one for taking pictures of everything I do. Not to mention it can take me a while to finish builds due to my goldfish mentality.

Currently I'm busy putting together some Pat-Labor models I found for my daughter (big fan of the Anime). She's very, very excited at having her own model of Alphonse so I should get some peace and quiet for, oh, a few hours once she's got it along with the command cars and maintenance facility.

Hehe, the wife was quite happy that I'd found such a "cheap" extension to my modelling hobby. I don't think she fully appreciates the cost this is going to be in card and printer ink.

Heck, it's not like I need skin, is it?

 

[Zathros]

Oh wow!! What software packages do you use? You work is excellent. I am only slightly proficient in Rhino4.0 3D. Any info you would ever wish to offer would be highly appreciated!

 

[Psyscape]

I presume that the previous posts with the build images of the bismark and titanic etc have all gone the way of the dodo?

Blast. Now they're out of order. No matter. More postings on the way.

I'll answer your question shortly Zathros.

 

[Psyscape]

Unfortunately things are somewhat out of sequence now, but I guess it doesn't really matter.

I've added some build images of the Bismark model to the earlier post so that doesn't render out too weird.

I've long had an interest in RC models, and was presented with an excellent opportunity to get into Nitro via another Partworks release which gave me a rather cool Monster Truck that has become a rather favoured toy. We've had an enourmous amount of fun messing about with the thing and it is easily one of the better investments I've made in terms of "enjoyment".

The total build was about two months which included ironing out some fuel feed problems that caused the toy to stall, and a couple issues with the steering. Once that was all fixed it ran sweet as a nut, although the neighbours might not agree. Noisy engines on these things.

Because I couldn't resist, I also started to collect a Subaru. This is much quieter being an electric RC build, but also, is much faster. While I haven't even attempted joining in the RC races that occur in a nearby town once every couple of months, my son and I have had considerable amounts of fun throwing this thing around in a large car park. There is nothing quite like being able to drive like a total muppet without having to worry about insurance premiums or other road users.

Current build for RC is a Nitro BMW. I'm waiting on a couple servos to arrive before I can continue with this build. The gold coloured casing in the image has since been replaced with a clear one which hopefully will be easier to re-colour and have transparent windows.

 

[Psyscape]

I mentioned the Titanic a couple times, and it is easily the most satisfying of the models I've built to date. I thoroughly enjoyed putting the model together and the end result was very pleasing.

I don't have any "in progress" photos of this model unfortunately as I'm not in the habit of taking photographs during a build - except when asked by friends so they can see what I'm doing. I'll try to change that habit as I realise that there are people interested in the various stages of builds. Anyway, a few shots of the completed Titanic.

No, I didn't build a scale model of the iceberg, I don't think the wife would let me have that much ice in the house, and keeping it refrigerated would be problematical.

If I could somehow find a way of justifying it to my wife, I'd love to build this one again.

 

[Psyscape]

Other models I've mentioned I also don't have photographs of, except a couple shots of "in progress".

The Bounty and Victory were purchased by somebody so I don't have those models anymore and can't take finished shots of them. I will be making them again though as they were rather nice when finished.

Bounty initial model, about half way through build. (ignore the plastic kits, they are irrelevant).

A shot of the basic frame/formers for the 1/100 Victory. I'd got as far as mounting the cannon holders at this point. The model was extremely nice when finished, although the lack of decking and proper cannon mounts on the lower areas was disappointing and discouraged having gun ports open. Overall I'd give this model 6/10 for quality as some of the parts seemed to be "skipped" over when making the parts. The buyer was extremely happy with it though, so I shall not complain over much.

 

[Psyscape]

The current wood model I'm working on is a Cutty Sark in 1/80th. The larger Billings model I had of the Sark was destroyed in a house move and I've yet to replace it and start again. I am somewhat tempted to simply use the plans I have available and make my own hull formers and base parts from scratch rather than spend the money on another expensive model. Especially where I have so much to hand that could be used on it.

Current Sark model build. Formers and decking done. The superstructure on the deck is "placed" not fixed. and I've made a start on the planking. This is a double plank hull model, which means I'm going to have a deal of fun with some very thin, very fragile pieces of wood when skinning over the underlying planking.

The other two models I'm working on concurrently with the sark are the Hood from Amati

And the Yamato from Model Space

Still getting the formers and basic structure constructed on those.

 

[Psyscape]

Oh wow!! What software packages do you use? You work is excellent. I am only slightly proficient in Rhino4.0 3D. Any info you would ever wish to offer would be highly appreciated!

Offering information is such a generic thing, I tend to answer questions if I can, but I don't often step out and just blindly start waffling. In the past I used to do that and got into trouble. In the early days of forum software the systems weren't very robust and I frequently crashed sites with rather lengthy postings. Nowadays I try to be a bit more concise. Yes forums are more robust and can handle larger posts, but... I find people are a lot less patient as a result and don't really like reading through long rambling dissertations.

I stopped using Rhino when version 4 was released, I hated the way it destroyed mesh when converting exports to obj format - especially curves and bevelled edges. I dare say McNeel and co have fixed all that by now but 3 was about the end of it for me. Damn nice software though, for all my gripes. It was the only one I could actually get along with years ago. Mainly because it worked the way I think. I used to sketch a lot so creating splines and working with nurbs didn't feel all that different to working with a pencil, paper and colouring in the gaps.

These days I use Modo for modelling, I find it creates a much cleaner mesh than most others that I've tried, and while the interface can be a bit daunting (with most options buried under menus) it works very well for me and doesn't get all snitchy when I'm beating it with a big stick. Rendering and animation is all done in Daz Studio from Digital Art Zone, the base software is free though limited in capabilities. Although, if I recall correctly they're currently giving away Studio, Bryce (terrain modeller) and Hexagon (poly modeller) for free for a limited time. It might be worth grabbing them while they're free. Hexagon is an excellent (if twitchy) poly modeller if you can get your head around it. But hey, free can't be bad.

The CG stuff I posted is just a small selection from what I've made over the last few years. The only problem I find is that while I can pretty much create what I want, I can't actually physically play with it - or at least, couldn't. Now, I might see about making things a bit more physical, assuming I can get my brain in gear to create things that will unfold cleanly.

 

[lehcyfer]

Great stuff. I like your 3D models very much.
I also do some Warhammer stuff - have Orks and Ultramarines, have built some paper vehicles for them.

All in all looks like another inveterate modeler have discovered paper hobby
You are in good company here

 

[Psyscape]

LOL, good description.

Discovered and addicted. Soooo much fun. *sigh* I think I'm going to need a second lifetime to get done all the things I want to do, perhaps a third.

I just noticed the Warhammer thread by Armorman, my son is going to go completely nuts when he sees what's available. I may have to cage him. Although he's more a fan of Orks than Marines, it's not such a huge thing to customise things for Ork use - salvaged or captured.

I'm still utterly mind wiped by how much variety in models is available through Papercraft - commercial and free. It's quite staggering. So much fun, even the wife is getting into it, and that's not something I expected. In the past she's always enjoyed watching a build come together but she's never really shown any interest in actually building things. The space week introduction I suspect has addicted her as well. Ahhh... soon a house filled with card, plastic, wood and metal. Will there be space for us?

 

[Zathros]

Rendering and animation is all done in Daz Studio from Digital Art Zone, the base software is free though limited in capabilities. Although, if I recall correctly they're currently giving away Studio, Bryce (terrain modeller) and Hexagon (poly modeller) for free for a limited time. It might be worth grabbing them while they're free. Hexagon is an excellent (if twitchy) poly modeller if you can get your head around it. But hey, free can't be bad.

Sorry for truncating your post. I started with Rhino 2.0 skipped 3.0, then got Rhino 4.0 (Having 2.0 enabled a substantial discount). I tried Autocad but it is so unintuitive for me. I was a machinist, I programmed 4 axis CNC machines, and also did Tool and Dye. Rendering is something I have trouble with, as with graphics. I make some nice recumbent trikes though and am far better making "real" things than drawing them. I Thank You for the links to the software. The nice thing is they come with serial numbers so that means you can reinstall them in the even of corruption or hard drive failure. Great way to come into a forum!

 

[Psyscape]

No need to apologise for truncating the post, I'm not a fan of quoting entire posts to answer, but rather relevant sections that the answer is focused on. Somewhat necessary on really busy forums, but less so on more laid back sites which don't have a rapid turn over on posts. I see so many elsewhere that have full quoted replies just to add a three word rejoinder. Most irritating.

As for the software, yes, they come with serial numbers. Also, in the main, free updates. At least the Studio I have has been updated several times and the update is free. It seems that only major version changes are charged for and usually heavily discounted. Quite a generous company overall. Hexagon I bought some time back for $1.99 in a sale they were having and have had free updates since. I don't quite understand how that works, but I'm not complaining as I find it extremely useful for creating morphs.

I purchased Rhino 2 and then 3 heavily discounted on a student deal. Amusingly it was cheaper at the time for me to buy a copy of 3 from Barcelona than from the UK... It's good software and within it's own boundaries it is excellent at what it does. I just became very disillusioned with any conversion to polymesh from the nurbs base, not to mention the massive triangulation on curved edges. It meant that I spent as much time cleaning up the mesh as building it. Other than that I have no complaints about 2 or 3.

For pure polygon (quad) modelling, it's hard to beat a dedicated poly modeller though, and one can achieve much cleaner base mesh which doesn't crash UV-Mapping software. With the added bonus that you can add or remove polygons precisely where you want. I've yet to see how that translates to unfolding mesh, but I suspect it will make life much easier.

Don't hesitate to drop me a line if you have any questions, if I can help with anything I will, but my knowledge is not particularly extensive, so some things may well be beyond me.

 

[Zathros]

There's a big difference for a program that is used as a graphics base as opposed to an engineering base. I primarily used Rhino to make recumbent trikes, bikes, my barn, custom parts for some automobiles and motorcycles. The ability to get accurate dimensions, and the ease at which designing can be had, and some of the other features that make Rhino great for engineering, has made it worthwhile for me. I find it most useful for paper models and as it exports in many formats, that has made it adequate. As you are light years ahead of anything I do, I don't think I have that many years left on the clock, I will have to take you at your word for it, and I have no reason to doubt you (especially just by looking at some of your work!). Since personally, I have no use for Mesh's at this point of my life, it's not a problem, I have noticed that it is easy (now that I figured it out finally) to get the edges I need from meshes to form parts. Getting those meshes to a point to where they can unroll has been been made much easier with Rhino "Squish" option. On the other hand, I have seen many great modelers on these forums who do the same with just a ruler and compass! Don't be too surprised if I take you up on your offer of help.

 

[Psyscape]

There is less difference than you might think. Rhino is particularly excellent for engineering and is far cheaper than Autocad. However, Lightwave, 3DSMax, Modo and other software also can be used for engineering projects as they - like Rhino - utilise real world dimensions and can be particularly accurate in creation. Admittedly Rhino and Autocad still hold the crown for this kind of milimetric accuracy but the gap is not as much as it was a couple years ago.

Having said that, it is also fair to say that such software are more likely used for conceptual visualisation than producing engineering drawings. I used to particularly like Rhino's ability to annotate designs with dimension markers and measurements. Something that was very, very, very useful with architectural drawings. I used to use it to make plans for scale scenery and buildings, and I've used it to make hull formers and layers for models using real world plans.

It doesn't surprise me that there are people who can create models such as those here and on other sites with a pencil, ruler and skill. There are always those who excel at such things and have a natural gift. An admirable gift indeed. Mind, I admire anybody who has a natural talent at something, they are always an inspiration to those (like myself) who struggle and fight to get things done. Something to aspire towards.

 

[Zathros]

Rhino really helped me when I built my Barn. It's not very big, 16' feet x 24' feet, with 2 floors, 8 ' foot ceilings, highly steeped gambrel roof and 26 feet high to the peak. It is rated 1000 lbs. a square foot on the second floor. I was able to plan the materials so accurately, I had to by 2 x 4's just for scrap pieces. Being able to produce such nice drawings impressed the zoning officials (not easy in Connecticut) and I was given approval within a week, which townsfolk said was impossible, and irked quite a few people who had to jump through some hoops and hurdles. It may bee that since I was building the building by myself, they gave me some slack. They inspected the pilings, and I did not see them again till it was finished, and they gave me a certificate of occupancy.The town actually told me the Barn enhanced the neighborhood's appearance. I had to paint it the classic New England dark Red, it just seemed proper. These programs can really help you visualize and plan without making costly mistakes.

I have 3DS Max but I do not find it intuitive and it seems to take so long to do simple things, being the old fart I am, with minutes left, I find myself wanting to get the job done!

One nice thing about Rhino is that you can make pages in actual scale, 1" =1" so it is possible to make quite large prints from a small printer, and tape them together. This is great for small boat building. I want to make a Bolger style sailing Sharpie for my son and I. Rhino allows for calculating displacement, which is something I will have to learn. In reality, I will more than likely take an established design and wing it!

 

[Psyscape]

I don't find 3DSMax intiutive either. That's why I started with Rhino, it "clicked" for me. Same for Modo, it just seemed to work, where things like Lightwave, Max, Maya etc. All sat there and laughed at me. I couldn't make head nor tail of them.

Afraid almost all of my construction work is on a small scale. I simply don't have the skills to make anything large or, "life size" for want of a better phrase. I just know that any boat I build will sink, any barn or shed will simply fall over. I can put up shelves that stay where I put them though, so I can't complain overly much.