Drop Ship (now with added pew pew)

[Brandlin]

It means I should stop making posts from my phone.

The way you have broken up the components for printing you could add details to the cockpit (wtf phone, cocktail?) Naturally the windows would need to be carved out an some clear plastic inserted. I'm not sure how you plan to produce the final product so this might not be the case in the end?

Ahhhh

This has been hollowed and split in order to try and reduce the cost of printing. I was then going to assemble the master and have it resin cast as a single piece.

Yes it could be made as a modelled cockpit ... BUT

1. its quite large - the circle on the back is a 30mm iris access way between the cockpit and the main hull. its NOT a 'flip up lid' type cockpit ala an x-wing or a battlestar viper fighter.
2. WHilst it would be nice to do as a model, as a war gaming piece that doesnt add much
3. getting seated figures for an interior is like getting luxury rocking horse poo. Just the regular kind is hard enough to find, without them actually being any good or matching any other troops oyu might have.

It MAY be sensible to have the final product cast in three sections aslo - in which case the buyer might want to model this as and open cockpit - good luck to them in that case.

:-)

[former user]

It MAY be sensible to have the final product cast in three sections aslo - in which case the buyer might want to model this as and open cockpit - good luck to them in that case

clear resin is also cheaper....

[Inso]

clear resin is also cheaper....

But also very difficult to cast without airbubbles (so I've heard).

[Brandlin]

clear resin is also cheaper....

No. Kg by KG clear resin is cheaper. BUT you cant as easily add cheap filler to provide mass and bulk, and as Inso says because of the problems casting bubble free, the scrap rate is higher.

Also if I cast the shell from clear resin, then i need to provide interior detail. and that means MORE resin, pushing the price up. And honestly - who is going to use the cockpit interior of a resin gaming piece thats too small to stand figures up and move them around in.

[former user]

there is a misunderstanding here:

it is easier to paint over clear resin (apart from the windows)
than cut out holes and glue them in

and these whole suggestions are not about thwarting Your concept, but about making it more interesting for others to buy, thus cheaper for You to produce

[YPU]

I think Brandlin has a point though, the big question is how many people are willing to actually pay that much for something that is pretty rare on war-gaming models. All that being said as long as its a separate piece it could always be done later if there is a lot of interest right?

[von Lucky]

It's all theoretical if a clear resin cockpit will equal more sales.

Brandlin makes excellent points - we're just here to keep him going with the cocktail and hull.

("Did I say you could stop rendering? Keep going!" Whip, crack!)

[Brandlin]

Yeah,a kit with the cockpit and landing gear would be great for people with empty Listerine bottles.

Sorry Froggy i missed your posy earlier

you know thats not a half bad suggestion... I honestly hadn't thought of that! would go well with the whole household rubbish angle I had with my pringle tube buildings.

only issue with the listerine bottle thing is that the prototype i made is much deeper than a standard bottle... hmmm let me think...

[Froggy the Great]

We are nothing if not creative.  I'm sure it won't be an insurmountable difficulty.

[Brandlin]

We are nothing if not creative.  I'm sure it won't be an insurmountable difficulty.

On the original prototype I made i Extended the hull depth to be around twice the thickness of the standard 500ml (from memory) bottle.

Although I notice that in the UK now, Listerine are selling a 1l bottle.

I have to remodel the hull for size and other reasons and have a few ideas to simplify it's skeleton. Whilst doing so over the next couple of weeks I shall see If I can't also modify it to work on a 1l Listerine bottle itself. The only two issues I can see right off the bat are

1. Getting the cockpit to fit on the bottle neck.
2. Mounting the rear engine pods flush to the hull (would currently require the bottle to be cut and elements glued inside)

For the avoidance of doubt, this version of the drop ship would not have a lowering rear ramp/door and an accessible interior.... i think....




STOP GIVING ME NEW IDEAS...!

[YPU]

STOP GIVING ME NEW IDEAS...!

NEVER! 

[Ajsalium]

Although I notice that in the UK now, Listerine are selling a 1l bottle.

Surely, since GW released their rules for massive battles in WH40K with lots of drop-pods and what-nots, Listerine has realized there's a market for big cargo ships.

[Brandlin]

If its laser cut I cant help you if its printed and cast then what about you just making a threaded 'bolt' in the cockpit rear that the bottle screws exactly much like the cap its replacing. If its cast in resin dont forget shrinkage!

Nice idea but the screw thread is deep - so its going to tear a mold getting it out.
Also trying to align the thread so that once on the cockpit isnt at some odd angle will be hard.

[YPU]

Nice idea but the screw thread is deep - so its going to tear a mold getting it out.
Also trying to align the thread so that once on the cockpit isnt at some odd angle will be hard.

Yea, thread is something I would stay far away from. If you end up going this way then simply a smooth neck that covers the thread should do? Less contact points but some 2 component epoxy should do the trick. 

[FramFramson]

If someone was crazy enough, they might be able to just cut the lid and jug neck off of a wide-necked plastic jug and then then glue the male and female threads in place in the cockpit ring and the body (while the threads are tight, so that you can glue the cockpit level).

That would be the one easy way you could add a screw-on cockpit. The trick would be finding a jug neck of the right size to fit.