computer models of ships from the Honorverse.

Are they ships modelled for CAD available? One wonders if 3D printing might be possible to make up a set of the ships? Perhaps one could purchase the design's then print our own models?

My niece just received a 3D printer less than a month ago. I would love to print a few ships.

Lord Skimper wrote:Are they ships modelled for CAD available? One wonders if 3D printing might be possible to make up a set of the ships? Perhaps one could purchase the design's then print our own models?

I know MaxxQ is working on a 3D model of the CA HMS Fearless; he's posted a few renderings and even a very cool short fly-by video.

But by and large, no I don't believe the Honorverse ships are 3D modeled.


Well there are Evergreen probably has some 3D models of various versions, or approaches to, the movie ships; but those don't really match the book descriptions (for reasons that have been well hashed over in that sub-forum).

cthia wrote:My niece just received a 3D printer less than a month ago. I would love to print a few ships.

I'd also like to have an old-fashioned plastic model kit of a superdreadnght. Right on my desk.

Jonathan_S wrote:

Lord Skimper wrote:Are they ships modelled for CAD available? One wonders if 3D printing might be possible to make up a set of the ships? Perhaps one could purchase the design's then print our own models?

I know MaxxQ is working on a 3D model of the CA HMS Fearless; he's posted a few renderings and even a very cool short fly-by video.

But by and large, no I don't believe the Honorverse ships are 3D modeled.


Well there are Evergreen probably has some 3D models of various versions, or approaches to, the movie ships; but those don't really match the book descriptions (for reasons that have been well hashed over in that sub-forum).

Oooo...kay. Let's see what I can say about this.

First off, it *can* be done, and in fact, *has* been done. I have two pieces of chocolate (one milk chocolate, the other is white chocolate) in my refrigerator. Both were made from a mold of an SD that was 3D printed (they're about 3-4 inches long). These were available from the Green Room during HonorCon.

That said, I have also been thinking about doing something like this, but it would mean I would have to completely rebuild my 3D models. There are restrictions to the 3D meshes that are used as the basis for 3D printing and the biggest one is that it has to be a single piece, or "object" as Blender calls it. My Fearless model has roughly 500 individual objects, not including lamps and empties (Blender term for an object that doesn't exist in the final render - generally used as targets for other objects to align with or snap to). Including all that, it's just under 2000 seperate objects.

Most of those could be eliminated if one were talking about making a small model like those used for tabletop gaming. Even on that basis, I would need to rebuild the Fearless to make things like the PDLCs, CM tubes, weapons hatch covers, the conning tower, the Rolly Things™, and other parts an actual part of the hull. Right now, those are all separate objects, "clipped" into the hull. It's not easy to do what would need to be done and still have the finished mesh look right or good. For a tabletop model, one would almost *have* to do it this way because the detail parts would be too small to attach seperately.

OTOH, if you made something larger, that would be the size equivalent of a typical plastic model you can buy at a hobby shop, then you can basically create a 3D mesh that is pretty much just like a plastic model kit. It would still mean I would have to completely rebuild my meshes, but getting it to look good would be easier when building the mesh. I would have to redesign the model in parts that would fit together well after printing.

The other downside to printing a model is that unless you get into seriously high polycounts, your printed model is *not* going to be all that smooth. Despite what you see in final renders, there are *no* curved surfaces in 3D modeling. Any curve you see, no matter how smooth it looks, is actually made up of flat segments. There are two ways to make it appear smooth on a final render: 1)Use a high number of segments so that it appears smooth, especially for distant renders, or 2)Use a command built into the software to "cheat". Using the Smooth command in Blender "cheats" the flat segments to look like smooth curves in renders, but you can't use that command when printing a 3D model on a printer.

Now, with all that said, one *could* get a 3D modeling program, create your own "model" and print it (or send the mesh file to Shapeways and have them print it for you, if you can't afford a printer yourself). Blender is free (and open-source - with Win, Mac, and Linux versions) and already has native .stl support (file type needed for 3D printing), and there are plenty of tutorials around the web to learn to use it (caution - Blender is different from other 3D software and has quite a steep learning curve, especially if you're already used to using 3D Studio Max or Maya).

Doing that for yourself is fine. However, if you want to make a mesh and *sell* the printed models, you'd have to go through David Weber and his legal department for that. Cough up licensing fees, royalties, and all that stuff. As far as I know, the only people who have done that are the ones who make the metal pieces for the SITS games.

cthia wrote:I'd also like to have an old-fashioned plastic model kit of a superdreadnght. Right on my desk.

The most common question you would get is "Why do you have a double ended dildo on your desk?"

crewdude48 wrote:

cthia wrote:I'd also like to have an old-fashioned plastic model kit of a superdreadnght. Right on my desk.

The most common question you would get is "Why do you have a double ended dildo on your desk?"

There are still some models from the Ad Astra SITS game in Pweter floating around. The last I saw, there were still a few on Amazon.

Theemile wrote:There are still some models from the Ad Astra SITS game in Pweter floating around. The last I saw, there were still a few on Amazon.

As far as I know they still have them in the warehouse. Only a few retailers carried the full line.

crewdude48 wrote:

cthia wrote:I'd also like to have an old-fashioned plastic model kit of a superdreadnght. Right on my desk.

The most common question you would get is "Why do you have a double ended dildo on your desk?"

Now I really want one. Two even.
Talk about an ice breaker!
Thanks dude.
Now...where's my frickin' car?!!!

Likewise! I sense a marketing opportunity for Mr Weber - branching out into themed adult toys!

j/k

I'd love a decent sized model of Nike or CA Fearless. If anyone ever gets to do this, count me in!

Graham