Ok it's been a long while since I last posted an update in the Interdictor, I've been quite busy over the last two months and have had to steal time away here and there when I could.
Molding the gravity well generator is still on hold but will happen soon, I've gotten my equipment back from my friend's place 2 states over and purchased the replacement hose I needed for the air compressor.
I can't seem to take pictures of the full model that aren't blurry, so sorry about that.
As for the pictures you may notice that I've altered the design a bit by removing the slots for the gravity well generators and removing the command tower for the bridge. The slots I decided to cover over as they were made when I had different plans on how to mount the gravity well generators which wouldn't work well with the awesome 3D printed one I now have.
The other reason for the changes is that I've decided to construct the model in such a way that once it's done if I choose to I could make a mold of all the components and cast copies in resin. This seemingly crazy idea stemmed from a misunderstanding on the part of some people when I said I would cast and sell replicas of the gravity well generators. Some people thought I meant that I would cast copies of the full cruiser, which I dismissed as being impractical.
Then ensued a very annoying case of the idea that I COULD cast copies of the cruiser refusing to go away. It was always there, haunting my dreams...
After doing some more research it turns out that this model would actually be rather simple to make a mold of once it's finished using a method called Vacuum Bag Molding, which is used to make very large replicas. I have all the equipment needed to do it, the only challenge is that I'd have to remove the command tower and make that into a separate piece as well as the bridge itself.
The really weird thing about this is that it also creates a relatively simple way to make both the upper and lower halves of the ship. Essentially I can finish the top half, mold it and cast a copy, and then chop up the copy to create the bottom half and make a second mold of it.
Another exciting thing about this is that it means I can turn the finished cruiser into a dual build with only a small amount of extra work. One version would have gravity well generators, the other would have weapons batteries mounted in those same spots. It will take some technical doing to work out the kinks but it wouldn't really require much additional work on my part at all to do it at this point.
So there you have it, I'm going to mold this sucker whole. My goal is still to have it ready to take to some cons for the summer.
That said, it is an artistic work of sculpture using what is entirely my own design and it does not infringe on Disney trademarks in any way.
Just to float the idea, if I were to create a patreon account to help finance this artistic project would anyone be interested in helping out?
I'll stop blathering, here are the rest of the photos.
I'm debating adding some additional small detail panels within the large flat panels at the front of the ship. I like the contrast between the sections but I also feel that it may be TOO much of a contrast.
I've started adding the card to the "trim" layer on the edges of the model. It's challenging to maintain such a thin straight line and to keep the surface smooth and flat as the poster board underneath it really wants to warp and bend. I think I've mentioned it before but the black areas on the sides are where I've used electrical tape to cover up the exposed foam core of the poster board. It both protects the foam from glue (which would melt it) and it smooths the surface out making it easier to creat smooth hard edges.
The detailing of the front half is done, I'm going to be covering up the weird curved area right in front of where the gravity well generators will be mounted but otherwise it's come together quite nicely.
It took a while but the added detail of these panels on the top was totally worth it. It's challenging to make the lines look straight when they are being laid on top of a curved surface, as I need to cut a curved line from the card as it lays flat.
The Tie Fighters are there to help put everything into scale. Again the Gravity Well Generator printed beautifully, Jeff James did an amazing job designing it. I did have to sand it down to get rid of the rough surface which is just a side effect of 3d printing.
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