cylonchaney

This is it. The final version that is posted to thingiverse.

It would be a similar change in tone to this.

The Viper is published to thingiverse. I'll probably start working on the Buck Rogers starfighter again next. That one was getting close to printable as well. Aside from my final version, I've printed 6 Vipers at various stages of the design. Anybody want one?

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6057423

Added link to Viper MK I

I have a laser printer myself. It's been a real pain to find compatible white sticker paper. Luke has some that worked pretty well for me. I just picked up a new Avery product at the office supply store so we'll see how that goes. I also often use the Avery clear label sheet. They make one that's basically just one big sticker. The thing I like about clear is that you don't have to try to colour match. Often I can get away with a clear label and painting the bits of the back with white before applying.

Whoah. Whoah. Spoilers!

Those look awesome!

8 revisions later, I'm almost at a release version. On left the initial version. On the right, the absolute latest. I

Chum-buttheadsmate-awum-buttheadsmate-a.

He drinks a Whiskey drink, he drinks a Vodka drink He drinks a Lager drink, he drinks a Cider drink He sings the songs that remind him of the good times He sings the songs that remind him of the better times (Oh Danny Boy, Danny Boy, Danny Boy) I get knocked down, but I will pun again You are never gonna keep me down

As we saw with the raider previously, it's important for the vehicle to actually fit the pilot / driver it's intended for. So, how do I shrink down that canopy while still making sure a jacketed mate can fit through the entry, all while not wasting a ton of plastic? With CAD tools and 3d printing, we can print just what we need for testing purposes. This is how we gain back some millimeters on canopy length without locking the pilot out. And now we have prototype 2.

That looks cool! Does it separate or just a prop for the costume which is also cool by the way! Thanks.

LOL https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3917036 If I remember correctly it needs to be scaled down to about 60% to fit minimates. Also, it's solid. The wheels don't move. Can't steer it etc. Just a statue. But it works for posing mates. I also made flames that come off the back wheel but I don't think I've shared that.

I've gotten a bit further along and am working on another revision now. But I did some finish work on the prototype and took a couple of photos beside a more realistic model. The other model is still someone's interpretation and not show accurate but it's a pretty good representation. I had some extra stickers left from when I made the big one and cut them down to fit mine. This gives you an idea of how much I squished it down. These are both basically minimate scale as you can see from the pilots. I did end up working on a shorter canopy that I'm quite pleased with but that will be in the next revision. Someone commented on my choice of modelling tool. I like that I can say the Viper is currently 1667 lines of code. LOL

Now I've seen everything. bhm accidentally not making a pun! 🤣

Wart are you guys on about now? Without jumping to conclusions, I'll take a leap of faith and say Zach will be a prince if he can get a frog Thor minimate released before I croak.

My latest iteration of the canopy is a success. I'm not going to post a photo as it looks pretty much the same as above. There is a ball shape at the back and a ball shaped recess at the top of the headrest. It now closes with a satisfying snap. That snap has been the highlight of my weekend. LOL For those unfamiliar, this is the Colonial Viper from the 70's Battlestar Galactica, deformed into a minimate style vehicle. These are the good guys. My first vehicle, the Cylon Raider was the bad guys ship.

I'm getting to a point where I'm pretty happy with the Viper but some engineering challenges arise. I'd like to make the canopy shorter which would also make the nose appear longer. The problem is that the canopy hinge is basically two tall blocks that slot into the fuselage. This design makes it fairly easy to assemble and have a friction hold at the hinge. However, If I move the front end of the canopy back those hinge blocks will be sitting in air. I can kill two birds with one stone by adding a console with room underneath for the pilots legs. Shorten the hinge blocks to not poke through the bottom of the console and we're back in business with an even slicker design. However, I'm still working on the current canopy and suspect I may just leave it as is. I think it fits in very well stylistically with the factory Mark V and my Raider.

So there's the first Viper prototype. I will be changing quite a few things before releasing it. But I'm pretty happy with it as the first go. Now that it's printed, I see that I should be able to make the canopy smaller which will be an improvement I think. I'm considering narrowing the body and engines and maybe make the engines a bit longer. As is though, I think it fits really well with the factory Viper MK V. That's about it really. There are a ton of smaller tweaks that probably no one but me will notice. Together they will give it a more polished look I hope.

They could be customized into the two Klingon women from one of my favorite scenes ever when Riker serves on the Klingon ship. Klingon: They are curious how you would endure. Riker: One or both? Everyone laughs. Riker begins to break down a wall. Great stuff.

Lord knows it's time for Dr. Who mates. Maybe they'd regenerate some interest in the minimate line.

Starting to prototype ...

I hated that Xindi season. Super-cool give away but I was an anti-fan of the character.