Mock-Up Models

December 6, 2015 KenMcConnell

Sometimes I have an idea for a starfighter model but it’s not completely fleshed out on paper and I don’t know if the actual design will work. Or I may be working from a twenty year old semi-orthographic drawing, as was the case for the K’nat fighter.

If you really start looking at this drawing you realize that it’s not even remotely accurate enough to actually build this fighter. So either I re-draw it or I make it and start changing things as I go. Sometimes the later route will let you find new aspects to the design that you can’t see with a drawing. Like a 3D artist with the ability to rotate his art around and look at it, building the model in posterboard let’s me see it from all angles.

This is what I came up with using posterboard. It looks a bit like a sparrow to me. Very bird-like anyway. There are some things I like about it and some things I don’t. I will mess around with it more before finalizing the design.

Here is the mock-up under it’s predecessor, the Terrox fighter. They are similar in size and even in some design cues. This is on purpose. Ships should look like they have evolved, same as airplanes from the same manufacturer.

Modeling Update – Terrox Fighter

November 18, 2015 KenMcConnell

This is my latest modeling creation – a Votainion Terrox starfighter from the Starstrikers Era of the Star Saga. This is one of several primary, or front line enemy starfighters the Alliance faces during the mid-war time period. This model is built from PVC tubes and plastic and is detailed with greeblies from kit models. There are two mount points, bottom and rear and no lighting. The scale is my standard – 1/32.

The above photo is what the model looks like at this point in time. The basic shape is finished and now I’m moving on to detailing. After the details are applied, painting begins, followed by weathering.

Novella Pre-Release Coverage

October 8, 2015 KenMcConnell

I’ve been doing some pre-release advertising for my new novella, Devon’s Blade. Mostly this consists of using images of my starfighter models and posting them to Twitter and Google+. I’m trying hard not to be annoying and using the imagery to ignite interest in the story. It must be working in some small way because I’m averaging a sale a day in pre-orders. All of those orders will register as sales on 31 October 2015 when it goes live.

I did a post on Google+ where I encouraged folks to Photoshop my models into interesting images, but so far nobody has taken me up on that. Perhaps I need to focus on PS forums. Go where the artists are.

In the mean time, I’ll keep doing my own “Gimping” of the models because it amuses me to no end. Below are some of my latest creations. A link for the pre-order page is in the column on your right.

https://flic.kr/p/yz2gty

https://flic.kr/p/yz8d1Q

https://flic.kr/p/zxjddx

https://flic.kr/p/yC8CwW

Alliance Spieron Starfighter

August 16, 2015 KenMcConnell

The primary starfighter of the Alliance in the middle trilogy or Starstrikers Era is the Spieron. It’s fast and sleek and well loved by pilots. I built this model in 1/48 scale out of poster board. But it’s due for a plastic update in 1/32 for the K’nat Trap novella cover. So I expect to be building it this winter.

The finalized plastic version will probably look like a mix between these drawings and the cardboard version. I’m excited to build this one in plastic with real mounts and possibly lights. You’ll be hearing more about this model’s progress this winter as I build it and the new Triak fighter.

Votainion Terrox Starfighter

August 16, 2015November 21, 2015 KenMcConnell

The primary Votainion starfighter in the Starstrikers Era is the Terrox. This twin engine, twin canon design is fast and deadly. A direct ancestor of the Twin Tube design from the early war years, the Terrox is a war tested tried and true design well loved by those who fly it.

This is the only decent drawing I have of it. I expect to build this in 1/32 scale at some point for the book covers in the middle trilogy of the Star Saga. The final design will no doubt look slightly different.

This old drawing shows the three main lines of Votainion starfighter designs. The KIV line eventually dies and the Terrox and Reemer lines carry on into the second trilogy. I’ll have to update this graphic when I finalize on the Terrox. The Reemer is final, though I have not built it in plastic 1/32 scale. There are always more ideas for models than time allows me to build. You can see the KIV line dies out after a great run in the first trilogy.

Votainion K’nat Starfighter

August 13, 2015August 17, 2015 KenMcConnell

The next novella I’ll write is called K’nat Trap and it takes place between Starstrikers and XiniX. It’s about a Starstriker mission, led by Kiloe, to secure a new Votainion starfighter that has the NexGen stardrive.

There are currently only two drawings of this fighter in the Star Saga vault. They are shown below. These fighters are mentioned briefly in Starstrikers but were not described in any detail.

Tiny ships, like black winged gnats, wound in and around the mother ship picking off escape modules with deadly accuracy. After further reducing the ruins, the gnats returned to the safe belly of the dark beast. Perhaps relieved at having been given the chance to exercise their agility.

It didn’t have a name, other than the annoying but harmless gnat insect reference. At this time, I’m pretty sure the K’nat designation is either an Alliance code word or a Votainion nick name. I still have to figure out the proper lineage of the fighter. It is an evolutionary iteration of the basic Votainion starfighters of the Second Generation or Starstrikers Era.

Looking at these pretty old drawings I did of it you can see the basic shape is not quite correct. I’ll have to do some more drawings and perhaps build a cardboard version to finalize the design. Eventually, I’ll be building a 1/32 scale plastic model for use on the novella’s cover. It will be quite a challenge to paint it black and photograph it well enough to actually be seen.