SA-43 Hammerhead Fighter

@wulf111, are you using control points to trace the outline, or something else? The Control Point method is laborious. After spending 3 to 4 hours with their ( Cameo Silhouette) engineers, only to find out I had a defective machine, I was sent a new one, I cut one model, and never touched it again.
 
once I have the image file loaded into Silhouette Studio click on the "draw polygon" icon (picture 1). i then zoom in on the part i want to trace and click on the points i want to draw line (picture 2) one part is completely traced i zoom in even further (picture 3) and refine the points to exactly where i want them (picture 4). and i just repeat this for each part i want to cut.
 

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wulf111 said:
once I have the image file loaded into Silhouette Studio click on the "draw polygon" icon (picture 1). i then zoom in on the part i want to trace and click on the points i want to draw line (picture 2) one part is completely traced i zoom in even further (picture 3) and refine the points to exactly where i want them (picture 4). and i just repeat this for each part i want to cut.
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Just for an idea..what file are you using..for the unicorn hands? and where can I find it..I want to try something for additional tutorial on this..
 
You can do a complete model in minutes!!! You're a better man than me by far!! I know you can extract the boundary of the part and then enter that as a .DXF file, that was what I was going to do after I lost interest with the Cameo. These days, I usually use Rhino for machining things out of aluminum, or steel, etc. Not sure how complicated the models are you doing (as far as part count) that seems like an awful short time. Maybe I'll send you one of my models, and you can write the Cameo program for it!! I obviously suck at using it. I have programed 4 axis CNC machines that were easier! :)



STEALSTAR.jpg
 
Gandolf50 said:
Just for an idea..what file are you using..for the unicorn hands? and where can I find it..I want to try something for additional tutorial on this..
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i am using the 2x size Gundam Unicorn model from Paper-Replika.com. i extracted the PDF pages to separate image files with PDFill using the max (600 DPI) resolution. but any model saved as an image file will work.
 
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zathros said:
You can do a complete model in minutes!!! You're a better man than me by far!! I know you can extract the boundary of the part and then enter that as a .DXF file, that was what I was going to do after I lost interest with the Cameo. These days, I usually use Rhino for machining things out of aluminum, or steel, etc. Not sure how complicated the models are you doing (as far as part count) that seems like an awful short time. Maybe I'll send you one of my models, and you can write the Cameo program for it!! I obviously suck at using it. I have programed 4 axis CNC machines that were easier! :)
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depends on the model. i can usually do a page or so in 5 minutes i can usually go through a model in an hour or two depending on the number of parts per page. the SDF-1 Macross i did was 20 pages and over 400 parts took me about 4 days to trace all the cut lines. i sucked it at first but i kept at it till i got it down. zoom, select, and edit point are your friends. i would be willing to try just let me know my friend. :)
 
Ok folks, I think that this thread has gone off track. This thread was suppose to inspire some of our AMAZING designers to design a good version of the SA-43 Hammerhead Fighter and interest in the model from those (like me) who wish to build it.
 
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Rhaven Blaack said:
Ok folks, I think that this thread has gone off track. This thread was suppose to inspire some of our AMAZING designers to design a good version of the SA-43 Hammerhead Fighter and interest in the model from those (like me) who wish to build it.
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Yep...I fell prey to it my self..started answering..and ended up with a treads worth... so in answer to Cameo questions and discussions... GO HERE

http://www.zealot.com/threads/silhouette-cameo-tool-or-not.178454/#post-1013867 ;)
 
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Nice craft but too obscure for anyone to wish any time modeling, IMHO. Mostly due to the available mesh, which just trying to reduce to make a simple model would take copious amounts of time and effort. I imagine someone could bang out a Pepakura model, but with the complexity of the model, Pepakura, it seems to me, would flounder. (That could be taken as a challenge to the Pepakura experts, I've been proven wrong many times before!!) ;)
 
zathros said:
Nice craft but too obscure for anyone to wish any time modeling, IMHO. Mostly due to the available mesh, which just trying to reduce to make a simple model would take copious amounts of time and effort. I imagine someone could bang out a Pepakura model, but with the complexity of the model, Pepakura, it seems to me, would flounder. (That could be taken as a challenge to the Pepakura experts, I've been proven wrong many times before!!) ;)
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3d-studio-max has a warning that is in the readout when it comes to this mesh..."rats-nest" sums it up and I agree! Spent a few times playing and it is REALLY BAD!!! Fuselage, wings all have to basically be scraped and started from scratch.
 
It's a quagmire of good intent, sending you on the road to Hell. It reminds me of someone I know that calls himself a designer, not on this forum, and uses Rhino in the most convoluted, wrong way, yet bangs out zillions of models and complains that nobody buys them. Do not mention that person's name if you know it, just chuckle to yourself. I remodeled one of his works for someone to prove it to them, and also to admonish the ridiculous price he was paying to this poor chap, to get him to make a model he was going to sell ($100 dollars!!!), both were in the wrong. The model I ended up with looked nothing like I was given, and this person could not afford my services, not that I make them available for this hobby, but in the automotive world, it's &75 bucks, cash, first hour up front, and another $75 per hour after that, you do get the Rhino file after that.. That's cheap. If you then want that part made, drop off your first born at my doorstep. Of course, what I do for friends is priceless (mostly free, they supply the materials), I've saved many cars with holes that would have failed inspection with my welders, that's what you do for friends who don't have the means and need their car to get to their job, and that's the big difference.;)
 
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If you have a mesh that does not work but which does look good do it this way: Render all four views at high resolution. Use the renders to rebuild the model in your favourite 3D program and to texture it. Unfold and export as usual. Do not spend too much time on correcting the mesh, it won't get you anywhere. Make a new one which is designed with papercrafting in mind. That's what I would do. :)
 
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Problem is that while Pepakura does well with just 3 way views, it is also why there is difference in the detailed nature of models designed in CAD vs. Pepakura. You need much more information for a CAD model. When you look at a MESH that has been sloppily designed, it takes many many hours to remove that which is needed to make a basic paper model. Making a MESH from scratch requires information that a 3 way view cannot necessarily give you, for CAD anyways..
 
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I know. For that reason I put a copy of the "ill" model ( ;) ) into the modeling program for reference and "translate" its dimensions / measurements to the new "healed" mesh. So you'll have two meshes in the same window, one complicated for reference only, one simplified to work on. I don't know if it works in other 3D programs but it works in SketchUp. Anyways, there is always eye-balling. ;)
 
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"Eye-Balling", while I respect it much, is something I don't do much. That's not to say great models are done that way, but I like to work in a different way. Eyeballing is great for the Space Racer models, and fantasy craft. There's room for every kind of model. ;)
 
Heh Heh Heh. If anyone could produce a model of this, you'd be my candidate. I guess the model doesn't intrigue me much. I tend to be grounded in models of real things. Blender is an awesome program, I don't have the patience to learn something new. you've got it down!! ;)
 
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I need to clean up some stuff and create the interior of the drop-in cockpit but this one is do-able and has the landing-gear and I re-worked the rest of the mesh and it has been cleaned up to unfold. Going to take some careful work around the intake area and wing join but when is that ever NOT the case.. Who wants to unfold this beast? or at least help out?

SA43-10Hammerhead.jpg
 
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This looks really good! I like the fact that you are doing the drop-in cockpit and landing gear! I am willing to do the test build and evaluation.
 
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