Bringing EG180's Intrepid to Life!

Dielinfinite · August 5th, 2012, 12:22 PM

Hi Guys!

As some of you might know, I like building Star Trek scale models. My current long-term project is building a fleet at 1/1400 scale. So far I've built the Enterprises B-E, the Equinox, Defiant, and Voyager.

Since the TOS and Enterprise A models are out of stock, I decided to skip ahead and look into the Enterprise Era ships. I have two 1/1400 NX-01 kits. One for the Enterprise, one for the Columbia. Then I started thinking about other Enterprise Era ships that I could build and my thoughts turned to probably my favorite Enterprise-era ship, the Intrepid. Unfortunately there isn't really an Intrepid model kit at the scale I wanted save for one, which was too inaccurate for my tastes, so I started looking into other options.

A while ago I stumbled upon 3D Printing/Rapid Prototyping where they can build an object from a 3D model. I've used it to make a small statuette for a friend before but the process could easily be adapted to make a scale model. I eventually stumbled on this site and Evil Genius' gorgeous Intrepid model and I started thinking that I could possibly use the 3D mesh and 3D print it at the scale I needed.

I asked Evil Genius if I could use his model and he agreed. Below is my progress on the model so far. Genius' original mesh was built in TruSpace and I'm best in 3DS Max so I had to export it as an OBJ and import it into MAX. The past two weeks (when I can spare the time between work) have been spent cleaning up the model as it seems there were a number of errors created in the conversion (you can see some of the problems and my fixes below). A lot of problems seem to have sprung up in the panel lines and problems with details being hidden below polygons. I've tried my best to preserve Genius' original model as I fix the errors but a few changes were made to ease the fixing process, mostly minor stuff like making the panel lines mostly the same depth.

After the fixes are finished I'm going to work on breaking the model apart in several pieces so that it can be assembled as a typical scale model would. I could technically print it all as a single piece and that would actually be easier but then it'd be too big to print up in their more detailed material and it'd be more difficult to paint certain parts and stuff. Plus I also enjoy the assembly of a scale model so there's that

I'll be using i.materialise.com to do the 3D printing. I'm going to try to print most of the model in their High Detail Resin material. The Boussard collectors and perhaps the blue portion of the nacelles will be printined in their Transparent Resin material. I might also be tempted to do parts like the deflector dishes in brass

Anyways, their online tool is always a bit finnicky but they've been incredibly helpful in the past in making sure I get the best results out of my model. Its still not 100% ready to go to the printer but I'm getting closer. I basically just have to get to the point where there are no errors in the OBJ export.

I'll prost up some more images once some more progress has been made.

gmd3d · August 5th, 2012, 12:32 PM

Super work on these.

I hear you about cleaning up conversions ...... time consuming but the results can be stunning

evil_genius_180 · August 5th, 2012, 01:11 PM

Yeah, conversion is a pain. That's why I started building my own stuff.

Looking good so far. Certainly better than what I'd have done if I converted it. (I'd have probably quit) Unfortunately, .cob and .max are two of the hardest formats to convert to/from. Plus, on top of that, trueSpace and Max don't seem to like each others' stuff.

BTW, nice collection of models.

gmd3d · August 5th, 2012, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evil_genius_180

BTW, nice collection of models.

forgot to say that....... er nice collection of models

Dielinfinite · August 5th, 2012, 01:31 PM

Thanks guys! I actually think I'm on the home stretch as far as fixing the conversion errors. Now its more about deciding how to break the mesh apart into pieces.

Curious thing about the scale models is that I got into the hobby to get away from my 3D modeling work at school. And now the hobby has brought me back to (kinda) modelling.

thepilot · August 15th, 2012, 02:35 AM

Nice work fixing those errors

uncledonmc · August 16th, 2012, 12:49 AM

That is an extremely impressive collection of scale models. My congratulations on such detailed work.

Dielinfinite · August 17th, 2012, 08:59 PM

Thanks for the compliments on the scale models!

As for the Intrepid, here's a small update. The conversion cleanup has been completed and the additional steps have been taken to make the model compatible with the 3D Printing service. I've also broken the model apart intos the separate pieces that will be 3D printed. Right now it looks like it will be printed in 8 pieces. The Saucer, Left and Right Nacelles, and nacelle piping will be printed in High Detail Resin. The left and right boussard collectors will be printed in clear resin, and the deflector dish will hopefully be printed in matte brass though I need to work with the printing service to see if its possible to 3D print something so small and fine. I'll eventually make a base so maybe 9 pieces.

Unfortunately, the process isn't cheap so I'll probably print this in phases, most likely beginning with my next paycheck. The model will eventually measure 3.9 inches wide, 5.14 inches long, and about an inch high.

gmd3d · August 18th, 2012, 01:52 AM

excellent work ...... its not easy to clean up some aspects of a conversion, but it looks like you have done it proud,

evil_genius_180 · August 18th, 2012, 08:53 AM

Yeah, it looks great. I hear you on 3D printing not being cheap. It's an expensive process. I haven't done it, but I've seen some prices.

gmd3d · August 18th, 2012, 09:10 AM

how expensive?

what is the cheapest and the most expensive you done ?

If you don´t mind my asking

Dielinfinite · August 18th, 2012, 11:16 AM

Its depends entirely on the material/process used to print your model, each of which has its own pros and cons.

I've only 3D printed once before and that was a 7-inch tall statuette for a friend's birthday. That wasn't too expensive because the material/process is cheaper. The cons for that material is that a) its a powder-based process so the surface of the model was somewhat grainy and b) the process limited the amount of fine detail on the model. The details were limited to about 1mm but the process also allowed me to include a texture and have the model printed in full color at a very reasonable price.

For the model will be built with a different, liquid process that provides a smooth surface and detail as small as .2mm. As you can imagine this is quite a bit more expensive. The saucer section, which is 4 inches wide will cost about $110. Then there's more exotic materials like brass, steel, titanium, silver, and gold which obviously cost more but each handle detail differently. While they do offer various finishing options for all these materials, only their cheapest allows you to have it printed in full color according to a texture.

evil_genius_180 · August 18th, 2012, 06:27 PM

Interesting. Thanks for the information.

Dielinfinite · August 18th, 2012, 07:08 PM

Oh I thought I had mentioned it but I guess I didn't. The full color 7-inch statue cost $40, which I think is a very good price if you just want to print something up.

gmd3d · August 19th, 2012, 06:02 AM

Very interesting ...... if you mentioned it before I missed it

I´d like to get a 3d model made someday......

evil_genius_180 · August 19th, 2012, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dielinfinite

Oh I thought I had mentioned it but I guess I didn't. The full color 7-inch statue cost $40, which I think is a very good price if you just want to print something up.

Thanks for that. That's great information to have.

$40 isn't bad and it gets me thinking....

BlackXANA28 · August 19th, 2012, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dielinfinite

Thanks for the compliments on the scale models!

As for the Intrepid, here's a small update. The conversion cleanup has been completed and the additional steps have been taken to make the model compatible with the 3D Printing service. I've also broken the model apart intos the separate pieces that will be 3D printed. Right now it looks like it will be printed in 8 pieces. The Saucer, Left and Right Nacelles, and nacelle piping will be printed in High Detail Resin. The left and right boussard collectors will be printed in clear resin, and the deflector dish will hopefully be printed in matte brass though I need to work with the printing service to see if its possible to 3D print something so small and fine. I'll eventually make a base so maybe 9 pieces.

Unfortunately, the process isn't cheap so I'll probably print this in phases, most likely beginning with my next paycheck. The model will eventually measure 3.9 inches wide, 5.14 inches long, and about an inch high.

WOW! Such detail and so much work put into this. Such a starship is almost worthy enough to be a part of Star Trek.

evil_genius_180 · August 19th, 2012, 11:01 AM

"Such a starship" is part of Star Trek. It's appeared in at least two episodes. I used orthographic renders of the actual CGI model from the show as references when I built it.

Dielinfinite · August 28th, 2012, 09:54 PM

So I've gotten the 3D meshes out to the printers and they're working on getting the best results from the printer, which includes scaling the ship. Fortunately, since there is no established length for the ship there is some wiggle room as to how big I want to make it.

Ditl.org estimates the length at 187m which would make it 133.57mm at 1/1400 scale. I had originally fudged the length to just over 130 mm so that the largest piece could be printed in their High Detail Resin material. So I'm thinking I could scale it to anywhere between 130mm and 136mm.

oh well, we'll see how things work out.

evil_genius_180 · August 28th, 2012, 10:12 PM

Actually, there is an established scale for this ship: The NX-01. Probably to save time, the saucer for this ship is a kitbash of the NX. The saucer is the same but cut and the windows, docking ports, etc. establish a clear scale. But, that's not to say you have to be precise with it.

Dielinfinite · August 28th, 2012, 10:47 PM

I do realize the Intrepid was "kitbashed" from the NX-01 but I'm always wary of using kitbashed elements to establish scale.

For example the Nebula class uses the Galaxy Class saucer in its design but the DS9 Technical Manual lists its beam as 318.11 meters whereas the Galaxy class is listed as having a beam of 463.73 meters.

Granted, I think the scale difference is much less dramatic between the NX and the NV than it is between the Nebula and the Galaxy classes.

As it is the current scale I have it at has the Intrepid's saucer slightly wider than the NX-01, though the ship is still shorter overall.

evil_genius_180 · August 29th, 2012, 08:14 AM

Well, the Nebula may have the same basic style of saucer, but some of the details are different. Windows, for one thing. There are less of them and they're "bigger" on the Nebula's saucer, indicating that it is a smaller ship. The Intrepid or "half saucer" is literally that, half of the Enterprise's saucer. The windows are the same, as are the docking ports, torpedo tubes and phase cannon ports. But, that's just my interpretation of things. There are certainly others who see it differently. Really, without seeing the models right next to each other, which never happened on screen, we can't be sure. But, here are the dimensions I came up with for the ship:

Length: 177.44 m
Width: 136.16 m
Height: 34.96 m

Dielinfinite · August 30th, 2012, 09:09 PM

I think I'm gonna err on the larger end of the spectrum just cuz I'd like a bigger model :P

I'm currently looking at few different printers to try to get the most detail into the final model as possible. Unfortunately I don't expect the prices to get any friendlier >_<

excalibers_echo · September 9th, 2012, 04:23 AM

Great to see how the ideas all start and come together...

Starship · September 13th, 2012, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evil_genius_180

Yeah, conversion is a pain. That's why I started building my own stuff.

Looking good so far. Certainly better than what I'd have done if I converted it. (I'd have probably quit) Unfortunately, .cob and .max are two of the hardest formats to convert to/from. Plus, on top of that, trueSpace and Max don't seem to like each others' stuff.

BTW, nice collection of models.

And your stuff does to be well constructed.

About cob to max translation, I don´t have big headtaches doing it with your meshes. Before you ask: no, I still don´t finished the conversions of your meshes, but what I got with Deep Exploration don´t need of big corrections. Of course that material settings and textures will demand some work, but looks like the geometry won´t.
I have converted A LOT of models from lwo, blend, cob, dxf and even skp along the years, and what I can say is the geometry of the converted mesh depends a lot of the original. It means that the skills of the modeller does to look all that difference.

About lights and textures, there isn´t a perfect conversion. This is where you´ll spend a lot of time doing adjustments.
As I said Chris, your stuff does to be well constructed.