Mak " GIRAFFE " -- ECM Camel

[urumomo]

A couple quick pics of the hangar truck build in progress --

For towing and servicing :




direct drive motor for each wheel ( wheel is rotor )

short rectangular bay houses batteries and larger section will house mechanics to raise the diamond-deck platform ( essentially a hydraulic tripod scissor -- operable , of course 8) )

Need to build the two , wheeled platforms that the Giraffe's feet will sit on .




Walk (Giraffe) into airlock - stepping onto dollies .
Pressurize airlock to hanger pressure .
Open airlock .
Tow'd to parking spot to be serviced by bridge crane and ground crew .....



I plan on building the bridge-crane's service head and trolly and fading the rest away via clear acrylic structural support .
The service head will contain the rig for removing and replacing the MoonScreen


Ciao

 

[the Baron]

I haven't stopped by since before Christmas, and I love seeing your progress, Mo! Your formula for the moonscreen is excellent! I was wondering about doing something similar, though I do want to be able to see into the cockpit. I may head in another direction, with heads-up displays "floating" in air in front of the pilot's face (at this point, thin pieces of acetate/clear plastic, maybe with decals?). I picture Jubal Early's ship and its cockpit in the last episode of "Firefly" as my example.

Regarding using Future, I'll add that I let mine cure for 24 hours, or at least overnight. It's possible to go back to work too soon, on a piece you've coated with it, and damage the finish.

 

[urumomo]

Floating HUD ? !

Very ambitious ;D

I'm on round 6 - 7 or something in the evolution of the cockpit monitor ... hopefully this will be the final permutation :
I learned a whole lot about Future's 'DNA' ...

The strange thing is that it " drys in about 20 minutes .." according to the label . And it's made to be WALKED on ;D

I'll try and present a terse synopsis of the different application methods and colorants that went into this monitor when I finally get it right :


I just noticed that some of my pics aren't showing

Photobucket page says " under maintenance , back to normal soon ... " or similar

Cheers

 

[urumomo]

All rite --

I decided to dirty this up . It's been staring at me too long .

This is just a small amount of that black and white , water mixable , oil color .
I'm going to add some umber next . either burnt or not ...

I found a cool little page on the colors of moon dirt - http://www.aulis.com/mooncolour.htm
I've been doing a lot of investigating of the moon 8)



Here she is for the moment .. . it looks way , way more dirty - up close , in person , than it does in the pix ???









You think I should dull - down the canopy ??





I started these towing pads months and months ago -- along with the hangar tractor .

They'll have tube attachment points on either end for hook-up to the tow-bar and tractor .
They have the pivoting casters at each end , so they're bi-directional . They rock-over to whichever the weighted , front end be . :

 

[Grendels]

Looking good, I was wondering if you finished this.

 

[urumomo]

Hey , John - Thanks ;D

I don't like the scissor lift I have ,, I'm going to do it over using rectangular tubing - either aluminum or brass .
hopefully in Al to minimize the mass .

I think that is the only thing external that is not complete .

I'm sick of it staring at me .


So What Do Ya'll Think ??

Is it going the right direction ?
Anything need to be addressed ?
Should I take the shine out of the Moon-Screen ?


I'm about to add some more of the water - mixable oils .
Orange and raw umber .

 

[BeebleBrox]

Very nice

Is it risky to try to take the shine out if moon screen?

 

[urumomo]

No .
It can just be sprayed with flat- coat or dusted with pastel .

Too shiny ?

In the vignette ,, the canopy will be attached to the over-head handling gear .

 

[BeebleBrox]

It does not really blend with the rest, but dont know if I think that is good or bad.
Did not think about it before you asked.

 

[Hagoth]

I think I would leave the shine (it is a special screen after all) but put some dirt spots on it to make it match the rest better.

Just looking at the windshield on my car as an example. Pretty shinny compared to the rest of it but there is still a lot of dirt spots on it from the latest rain and bugs.

 

[urumomo]

Howdy , Hagoth

I'll go that route ---- just let the grime fall where it wants on it .


I added to it with a wash of raw umber and then the orange - plus some pastels rained down in a dusting while it's still wet (ish) ( most of the powder will get knocked down after it dries . I'm just going to keep layering until it looks funky enough )











& I need to ' burn-up ' the engine bell and thruster nozzles :

 

[urumomo]

Last year :






Today : ( I broke 2 hand-wheels off up-top ( again : ) so I'll leave them off till the end ...)








What-dyA Think ?

The thing is super dark up close in person . It looks way lighter in these pics .

More color ?

Too late ?

Give it up ?

Berate it while wearing clown make-up ( alternately , sub it out to professional clowns )


Very open to input

 

[urumomo]

Here's the original set-up for the scissors -


The drive motor sits in the housing against the cockpit
It drives a chain in the vertical support housing ,, with the screw-drive projecting at the bottom beneath the scissors . with the ECM package sitting atop .

The pilot can sit down in a hole / crater and raise the electronics up - ~5 meters






But -- I feel it's too long . I'm replacing it with a different scissor with shorter , hollow arms .


So

This one will be converted to a weapon system . They can easily swap it out in the hangar .

I'll put it in the vignette ,, probably on a handling skid ...






WHAPP !!!!



BODY BLOW !!!






. .. and that power-pod on the cockpit's cheek can point all around . .. ;D






EVERYBODY GONNA BE MOON--FU FIGHTING !!!

 

[jake]

That is superb! Your paint and weathering are what I strive to emulate!

 

[urumomo]

Wow ;D ,,Thanks , Jake .

That's quite the compliment .

I think it still needs some details -- some scratches and chips , not a whole lot .
And more color in the engine bell and thrusters .

I need to give this round of oils another 4 -5 days to cure out first .

 

[Grendels]

Moon Fu fighting! Love it.

 

[urumomo]

;D ;D Heh Heh



Some pix with her configured for departure :









FIVE FOUR THREE TWO MAIN ENGINE START - ASCENT COMPUTER GREEN AND LOCKED




OH Yeah ! , the straps for the tank



Nothing like looking at a gas cylinder 'resting' in a vertical rack to jar the memory :

-- will do