mighty gorgon

Here I "added" a F/A-18F gear to the VF-11. Looks fine to you? Regds, Gorgon

Started working on the airbrakes (open) and on the undercarriage. I do not have a "credible" reference on the exact size of front and reart wheels. Macross planes tend to have very small wheels when compared with actual warplanes. For this image I added wheels the approximate size of an F-18 undercarriage. They look big for a Macross, but reasonable from a current airplane. As of today, my plan is to use a F-18 style rear landing gear (no clear idea for the front), as it retracts backwards (well mostly), and sits very low (as in the VF-11). The F-18E/F has even the serrated edges!

You know.... depending how much detail you put on it. I guess that using gear doors, simple (cylindrical) legs and cylindrical wheels it should not take much more than some extra 200/300 polys. Which is a reasonable limit for a FS model? I think some of the other 3000 can be trimmed down a little (the extra 200/300 maybe). (FS = Flight Sim? CFS) Regds, Gorgon (edited: image of the "low poly" mesh added)

Well, it is the other way around. I have a mesh "frozen" before the detailing that I guess can be used for an FS, at around 3000 polys (no landing gear!). Regds, Gorgon

Myersjessee, which base model did you use for the landing gear? Was it 100% scratch? Thnx, Gorgon

Ok, now the bulk of the mesh is defined. At 44000 elements it is about time to start detailing! This guy is going to have landing gear, so I expect something close to 100.000 elements... Let's see... Regds, Gorgon

Very nice... I'll have downloaded it as additional reference for my VF-11

So do I!!!!!!

...and finally a render with the VF-11 approaching Edwards AFB

exhaust here. tried to reproduce a still fom Mac+

Spent many hours of the weekend with the mesh, mostly detailing the legs. Actually, opening the mesh to accomodate the exhausts and arms. Not too much to show, but here are some renders anyway... (edit: always green surfaces are surfaces not yet completed)

it transforms from harmless to deadly when you give it some ammo GOOD!!!!

No much work lately... actually I'm spending most of the (little) time modelling fiddling with some weird nodes. This is when I start hating LW, CD models, and... say... 63% of humanity... Take a look at this detail. I've redone the detail shown, some 3 or 4 times and I CANNOT GET IT RIGHT!!!!!!!!! Ok, calm down now... Maybe is time to move to cockpit detail or some skin... Regds, Gorgon

EOM

Mine: Lat: -34.5544 (South) Long: -58.4839 (West) (corrected after checking @ www.maporama.com) Regds, Gorgon

time to quit plastic modelling... (a very depressed) Gorgon

The following images, apart from showing the inatkes, also answer your question. Regds, G

I second that!!! Hi folks, I've been rather busy lately. I always thought I would make the '11 in some kind of Flanker scheme (Su-30 MKI), but the Sundowner looks great!!! As for the model, I just did some "minor" work on the VF-11. Opened the intakes and drilled the hinges of the legs. Plus the canopy framing. I attach 2 images. Green indicates "old" surfaces (still in NURBS). Gray are the new surface. As you will see, the number of surface elements is starting to grow (19.000 something polys) Regds, Gorgon (the busy) p.d.: I am planning to work on the '11 for a good part of this afternoon...

Best nickname ever!!!!

Yes I do... but as you say, you must keep on retrying...

The URL of the movie is this one: http://www.brazd.ru/video/c0003/v000320.avi. I had to try it a couple of times until I got the download... WARNING, it is a 42 Mb clip of an amateur movie at an airshow... I guess in Russia. Check also the following movie: http://www.brazd.ru/video/c0002/v000295.avi (30 Mb), it is a Su-30MKI at MAKS 2003. I guess is the movie from which they got the photo you posted at the beginning of this thread. Regds, G. (and now...where is my Su-30????)

I am at the office right now... this evening, when I go back home I'll send you the direct link. Regds, G. (whan to build that awful Berkut kit RIGTH NOW!)

I assembled this "film strip" from an amateur movie there. The smoke is indicating the direction of movement. For some seconds, the '35 is flying upwards with the belly UPWARDS. Anyone knows the name of this maneuver??? David pointed out the importance of extra power for these maneuvers, but I think that control (canards?) is also important here... Regds, Gorgon

Oh!!!..... Ahh!!!!... Now, Really GREAT MOVIES of a GREAT PLANE. David, may I point you to www.bradtz.ru (the site is 100% in russian)? they have several movies for each flanker variant... some even 30/40 Mb (for the 35/37 there are 20 clips). I am not sure of the quality however. The site went down when I got my broadband connection, but it is up again (but a bit unstable)... There is one particular movie in which a '37 goes up and does what looks like a "vertical kulbit"... Wow!!! Link for Shukoi here, others (mig, etc) should be 'round there. Cheers, folks, gotta see those movies again! Regds, Gorgon.

and here are a couple of "plastic" renders