31000 Urbies is an average of 3 for every single backer. So now I'm curious what the single largest order of Urbies was because clearly there's more than a few into all Urbies all the time.
I may have four or five on my docket.
I think.
Look, this was months ago, and honestly how inebriated I was at checkout had nothing to do with it.
H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited October 2020
Detailed interior with working doors and/or removable upper surface, I would guess.
Edit: hah, ninja'ed by the dropship pilot himself.
I really wish I could've gotten the reward level that came with a model kit for a Fortress dropship, but that was too big of a price jump for me. But man, the Fortress is like my favorite Battletech egg. It carries a combined-arms battalion, with a built-in Long Tom artillery piece to give them fire support. How fucking cool is that?
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
I mean, not to make commitments or anything, but I have a laser cutter, a new 3D printer, a 30% baked design for a Mech-scale Leopard, and an itch in the back of my brain that gets more insistent every day. I even went looking at dropship models again today.
So, like, I'll let you know if the Oosiks Aeronautics Foundry starts spinning up, or somesuch.
I mean, not to make commitments or anything, but I have a laser cutter, a new 3D printer, a 30% baked design for a Mech-scale Leopard, and an itch in the back of my brain that gets more insistent every day. I even went looking at dropship models again today.
So, like, I'll let you know if the Oosiks Aeronautics Foundry starts spinning up, or somesuch.
Better to fund a fellow Oosik than an internet rando! Hit me up when the foundry is up!
In or around the Clan Invasion era most of the Great Houses had 70-90 Mech Regiments or there about. Capellans and Davions being a bit of an exception with 40ish and 100+ish respectively.
Now for a fun comparison, the SLDF had around 200,000 Mechs. Give or take a few thousand.
Operation SERPENT was one of the largest military operations conducted by the Inner Sphere since the fall of the original Star League. In total, the task force consisted of 55,000 personnel; over a thousand BattleMechs, Aerospace Fighters and Combat Vehicles; ninety-eight DropShips; and twenty-seven JumpShips and WarShips.
So like +31x the size of Operation SERPENT
Also fun fact during Operation BULLDOG the Inner Sphere Omnis (3058s basically) all got -R variants that were clan refits.
The Jenner Owens got a -R that's an MRM-10 and 3xcERMLs
The Cicada Strider got a -R that's 2x each of cSRM-6s and cMPLs.
The Blackjack Blackjack got a -R that a cGauss Rifle, cLpL, and 3xcMPLs (I would have gone 2x each cLB-10Xs and cERMLs personally; or 2x each cLPLs, cMPLs, and cERMLs with more DHS)
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
CGL's current artists' allergy to curved surfaces baffles me. I'm glad we're getting at least a few rides with proper curves, but so many are getting box-ified.
+2
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited October 2020
TL;DR I make a long rambling post about Space Ships.
God damnit, @Fuselage. I said what I said, and then my brain wouldn't shut up to let me fall asleep proper for a few nights. My brain has spent some significant portion of the dark hours keeping me awake, thinking about Leopards instead. You all are going to have to suffer through this with me on this journey, as my brain melts into paste and I vomit its goo-thoughts onto this here internet. And then redesign and manufacture a spaceship.
Let's talk about the problem, then let's talk about aesthetics.
Problem Statement: I intend to design and manufacture, for tabletop-game play, a modernized Mech-scale rendition of the Leopard aerodyne dropship. This design, at least as an option, must have working (e.g. openable) bay doors and a minimally-detailed interior.
Spoilers for length and LOLHUGE pictures.
This is a Leopard
(1):
Affectionately called the "School Bus", it is the old Ral Partha/Armorcast/Iron Wind Metals mech-scale sculpt. It is venerable, and does the job, but is stupid looking as sin. Aesthetic Notes: Bulbous. Rounded. Kinda short, length wise? Good, obvious bay doors (even the rear). Bad (virtually no) aerodynamic package for its size. Undersized-looking thrusters. Remarkably realistic re-entry surfaces. Smooth skin with minimal panel lines or greebling.
This is a Leopard
(2):
Presumably based off of this art in part, or vice versa, not sure which:
This is the map-scale miniature from Ral Partha/Iron Wind Metals. I would argue it's almost believable, but also still kinda derpy looking. I like believability. I dislike derpy-ness. Aesthetic Notes: Still rounded, but with a much more boxy look. Good, obvious bay doors. Questionable-to-bad aero package. Big enough thrusters? Mostly realistic re-entry surfaces. Smooth skin with minimal panel lines or greebling.
Just for funsies, someone made a papercraft version of this Leopard. It's just out there in the wild, free for you to take and make yourself. I honestly like it quite a bit, even not having built it. More importantly, it helps wrap some brain cells around some geometry to consider.
This is NOT a Leopard
(3):
This, as you all know, is OV-099, better known as NASA's Space Shuttle. It is eminently believable, unless you are a conspiracy nutjob or flat-earther, because it actually flies in space and gets in and out of atmo and stuff like that. It, however properly it operates, is also kinda derpy looking though. I loves me some Space Shuttle, but I have to admit it really doesn't scream "Sexy Science Fiction Spaceship". It does, however, actually work. So put a pin in it. Aesthetic Notes: Rounded edges like no tomorrow, because sharp edges are baaaad. Good but subtle bay doors. Workable aero package. Big thrusters right where they should be. Completely realistic re-entry surfaces. Skin smooth as a baby's bare ass.
These are a pair of reimagined Leopards
(4, 5):
These are the Gepard Mk. 1 (right) and the Gepard Mk. 2 (left) from Hardware Studios, a re-imagining of the venerable Leopard. Honestly, they look really good! Just the right amount of updating and sci-fi-tech-iness I think one would want, while also maintaining the profile of the original Leopard designs. They do, however, suffer from sharp-edge-itis: Those bottom surfaces are gonna catch just a little bit extra hell for heat from all that greebling.
FWIW, if I had more money than time and tools, these are probably my first stop for a purchase. At $64/$94 respectively, there's a lot of bang for your buck there. You still have to do finishing work and painting on them (all of these sorts on the market will need that, so not a downside IMO), but they're very striking when done up right. Seriously, go look at Hardware's website, it's filthy with hot sci-fi machines.
Aesthetic Notes: Sharp edges everywhere, because 3D printers can't give us everything. Bay doors like Whoa. Minimally believable aero package. Big chonky space for thrusters. Semi-realistic re-entry surfaces, except for all those corners and edges on the greebling. Speaking of, panel lines and greebling for daaaaaaays; borderline too much IMO.
So what's the takeaways from these designs that I think are important?
A unified re-entry surface, that actually looks like it could survive re-entry. The wings being integrated into the belly, and thus contiguously covered by the same surface, is both realistic and much less complicated for my manufacturing purposes.
Bay doors that, while obvious, are nice and flush with the surface of the craft. This shouldn't make things harder for me, but who knows?
An aero package and thrusters that, y'know, might actually conceivably convince a lay-person that the craft might actually fly. I'm willing to give on this point, since we're solidly in "Flying Bricks With Superpowered Fusion Engines" territory, but still. Concessions in both directions. This'll impact the rough shape and size of the thing.
Reasonably smooth skin, with minimal greebling. This is mostly personal choice, and it's me doing this, so I'm choosing minimal greebling. Deeeaaaaal wiiiiith iiiiiiit.
This is another different take. It is probably a Leopard
(6):
It's definitely closer to the School Bus in aesthetic look, but even just the bit of geometric-cleaning-up makes it look leaps and bounds better. Aesthetic Notes: A boxy body with a sexy top curvature, nodding to the original School Bus design. Obvious doors....wait, where's the doors? Basically no aero package; this one's a full-on brick. Undersized thrusters. A mostly-unified re-entry surface (e.g. flat belly), which by now you know I like.
Oddly, this design is mostly aligned with this canon art....that I cannot for the life of me gets used anywhere, ever, except TRO 3057:
This is yet another take. It is definitely a Leopard
(7):
I kinda love this one? If you're going School Bus, just fucking embrace it. But it's still a school bus, and we've probably seen enough examples of this, haven't we? Aesthetic Notes: See above, cause it's basically the same as all of that up there.
BUT WHAT ELSE COULD WE STEAL IDEAS FROM? WHO ELSE HAS TROD THIS UNHOLY PATH TO MADNESS?
This is a redesigned Leopard
(8):
Fault them for many things, but don't fault them for this: PGI's rendition of the Leopard is de-facto hotness. I love this redesign. In theory. In practice, this beast is wild with little detail that my first attempt at this project already ran aground on. The geometry, even simplified, is hella complex: angles everywhere, non-contiguous surfaces, bits and bobs forever.
Not to say that people much more industrious than myself haven't made this model work. As Fuselage found, there's at least one industrialist (at the Leg Destroyed Reverse Disabled Blog) out there that actually made a full-on kit for the thing, working doors and all. Look at this fucking beast:
I'll not lie: This is the inspiration for me even wanting to do this project. Even if I get 30% to what this is, I'll still feel like I got somewhere, because WOW. In my mind, this is the benchmark for a non-traditional update to the Leopard.
*takes a breath, then a big drink of whiskey* Aesthetic Notes: Chunky and somewhat believable; definitely modern in its sci-fi art aesthetics. Only slightly rounded, but in ways that I know are absolutely problematic. I think like 50% longer than the School Bus model, just going on proportions. AMAZING bay doors (except the rear, I think that's static). An aerodynamic package that's almost believable. Big Chonky Thrusters. Re-entry surfaces that are 80% of the way to believable, but then broken up and greebled all to hell. Panel lines and greebling that is subtle and good in places, gnarly in others (the bottom of the nose drives me bonkers).
This is a different take, but vaguely similar to the PGI redesigned Leopard
(9):
I like this model so much, and yet I can find remarkably little info on it. It's just out there in the wilds of the internet, taunting me. Just a couple of work-in-progress shots by the artist, and little to no other commentary. Aesthetic Notes: Reduced complexity in the geometry, WHICH I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE. Boxy body, eminently workable, but squared off with hard corners AF. Good, unobtrusive bay doors. An aero package similar to the PGI design but simplified. Big Chonky thrusters. Re-entry surfaces similar to the PGI design, with the same problems. Very minimal panel lines or greebling, which I'm 100% in favor of.
Whew.
After all of this, here is where I'm at, starting from first principles:
I'm willing to accept, in-universe, that an "aerodyne" design can look and be shaped like a literal brick and still somehow be atmospherically-capable of flight. It turns my stomache a bit, but here we are.
I would prefer that any design I build actually have a semblance of an ability to re-enter atmo and not be burned into oblivion in the process. Therefore, reentry-side surfaces will be detailed with heat shielding and minimally adorned.
Similarly, the aero package (wings etc.) should make intuitive sense if not be mathematically correct, if you squint and screw your eyes up hard enough.
I would like the final design to roughly match the canon dimensions of the Leopard, but I already know from prior experience this is going to cause problems.
My design needs to be geometrically less complex than PGI's design to work with my tools and skill set. Contrarily, I can do better than a box with thrusters and wings*. A happy medium, one might say.
I'm absolutely not above stealing design elements from other designs. Good art is hard work, great art is theft. Or something.
The design will need to work with my desired materials: 3mm thick mdf board and acrylic for large structural geometry, SLA resin for smaller high-detail parts. And I'm not above using traditional modeling methods (Milliput or wood filler and a good sanding block) to get certain seams in the geometry right.
And just for reference, I'm putting in a picture of my last attempt; this is me, putting my heart on the table. This is as far as I got, but in my defense I was trying to learn FreeCAD while not sleeping for the feverish months after my daughter was born. Literally, I was replacing sleep with CAD drawing. I...do not recommend this lifestyle. It is not sustainable! Also, my skills and tools have only gotten better, so ideally I won't get frustrated and give up and go to sleep for three years again on this project.
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited October 2020
(Updated the post with a different 1st pic)
Well, so I guess that's why I'm posting all this, I'm curious what other people think. What aspects of which designs to y'all think are "essential" to the Leopard design, versus which are simply aesthetic choices? Which school, Bus vs. PGI, makes more "sense"? Or that you like better (as if I didn't know already)?
As for the design I had started, I'm not wedded to it. It wasn't anywhere near complete, and I think it would take almost as much work to re-learn what I had done than to just start from scratch. I especially got stymied by the nose cone; I decided to split a bunch of differences in its shape (it's neither PGI or traditional Bus shaped) to make the geometry workable, but then the whole thing got bogged down and I noped out.
Well, so I guess that's why I'm posting all this, I'm curious what other people think. What aspects of which designs to y'all think are "essential" to the Leopard design, versus which are simply aesthetic choices? Which school, Bus vs. PGI, makes more "sense"? Or that you like better (as if I didn't know already)?
As for the design I had started, I'm not wedded to it. It wasn't anywhere near complete, and I think it would take almost as much work to re-learn what I had done than to just start from scratch. I especially got stymied by the nose cone; I decided to split a bunch of differences in its shape (it's neither PGI or traditional Bus shaped) to make the geometry workable, but then the whole thing got bogged down and I noped out.
Ah yikes, that first image is... wow... ok. It looks like if someone took the Space Shuttle and made it bigger to fit mechs, but forgot to add more wing area to help it maneuver. Actually now that I think about it the only reason the Space Shuttle had wings was to help it glide down to land, so not sure if those would be needed in reality.
What always throws me off when I think about having a mech-sized dropship for tabletop is that the comparative scale simply doesn't work. A Leopard is supposed to be 66m x 52m in size, which in hexmap terms would only cover roughly a 2x2 hex area. Which I think is a workable size for gameplay from a playable mini or terrain feature standpoint. Yet if you want the ship sized for minis to fit inside, it needs to be more like 12 hexes long at least, effectively taking up half a map sheet, which to me doesn't really work for using it in play. Well, unless your playable area is just massive and you've scaled everything up to match. Then I would just be jealous.
As for the design aspect, I was never fond of the practical use you'd get from the heavily sloped doors of most Leopard designs. That's a whole lot of useless interior space to be wasting on a transport craft. The MWO version with it's more vertical sides is much better in that respect.
SiliconStew on
Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
+4
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
@SiliconStew As for scale, I'd be using this 'Mech scale ship for hexless/Alpha Strike games, since I've mostly true-scaled/Mech-scaled my terrain. It wouldn't be out of place there, since I have a couple buildings with a roughly 20" square footprint.
The thing about the minis and the mapsheets to remember is they're at different scales; 'Mech minis range from 1:300 to larger than 1:285 (I've heard people say 1:220 even in some cases), while the mapsheets are about 1:1000 or so.
I also prefer to play on a 6'x4' space, regardless of maps or no map; I like big battlefields and I cannot lie.
My only notes are wings and engines should be at or above fuselage level, because otherwise 'mechs jumping out becomes more able to cause damage. So I like the up-wings of the PGI model. Could give it the space shuttle's ass (which is like 5-7 thrusters iirc)
Oh no, did sending you that beautiful blog post send you down a dark path?! I'd like to note for posterity that the need to make dropships was always in you, it was just activated like a dormant cell. 😊
As for wings, I think tall wings would serve the players better on the tabletop. As previously mentioned, it is a decent sized footprint regardless of table size (my gaming table is 5x8, and filling it with terrain for games or D&D is as awesome looking as it is impractical) and lifting the wings up means you get some extra hexes around the Leopard's footprint for battlemechs to walk around.
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
I saw that one when they posted it up. $100 honestly seems like a steal for that size of ship with that level of detail.
Funny enough, the Aurora-class ship is on my list of ships to build because the geometry is actually less complex than the Leopard's, at least according to my eyeballing.
+1
H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited October 2020
The aurora class looks like a Gundam space vehicle, or something from a series with antigravity devices like Star Wars or Mass Effect. Doesn't really seem to have any means of making a controlled 'drop', neither wings like most aerodynes, nor downward thrusters like the spheroid models.
I mean, it does look cool. Just seems like they made 'a transport spaceship', rather than 'a Battletech dropship'.
Did you get a shipping notification first or anything? HYPE.
Also, we need some way to contain ourselves while we excitedly post things like what we got out of the random boxes. I guess there's not enough of us that just letting people do it is a problem?
Posts
I may have four or five on my docket.
I think.
Look, this was months ago, and honestly how inebriated I was at checkout had nothing to do with it.
Really, just doors that open.
Ninja Edit: I should've just linked this. http://reversedisabled.blogspot.com/2014/11/leopard-dropship-progress.html
Edit: hah, ninja'ed by the dropship pilot himself.
I really wish I could've gotten the reward level that came with a model kit for a Fortress dropship, but that was too big of a price jump for me. But man, the Fortress is like my favorite Battletech egg. It carries a combined-arms battalion, with a built-in Long Tom artillery piece to give them fire support. How fucking cool is that?
So, like, I'll let you know if the Oosiks Aeronautics Foundry starts spinning up, or somesuch.
Better to fund a fellow Oosik than an internet rando! Hit me up when the foundry is up!
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Task_Force_Serpent#Composition
So like +31x the size of Operation SERPENT
Also fun fact during Operation BULLDOG the Inner Sphere Omnis (3058s basically) all got -R variants that were clan refits.
The Jenner Owens got a -R that's an MRM-10 and 3xcERMLs
The Cicada Strider got a -R that's 2x each of cSRM-6s and cMPLs.
The Blackjack Blackjack got a -R that a cGauss Rifle, cLpL, and 3xcMPLs (I would have gone 2x each cLB-10Xs and cERMLs personally; or 2x each cLPLs, cMPLs, and cERMLs with more DHS)
3025/3050
3058 (omni)/mini:
God damnit, @Fuselage. I said what I said, and then my brain wouldn't shut up to let me fall asleep proper for a few nights. My brain has spent some significant portion of the dark hours keeping me awake, thinking about Leopards instead. You all are going to have to suffer through this with me on this journey, as my brain melts into paste and I vomit its goo-thoughts onto this here internet. And then redesign and manufacture a spaceship.
Let's talk about the problem, then let's talk about aesthetics.
Problem Statement: I intend to design and manufacture, for tabletop-game play, a modernized Mech-scale rendition of the Leopard aerodyne dropship. This design, at least as an option, must have working (e.g. openable) bay doors and a minimally-detailed interior.
Spoilers for length and LOLHUGE pictures.
(1):
Affectionately called the "School Bus", it is the old Ral Partha/Armorcast/Iron Wind Metals mech-scale sculpt. It is venerable, and does the job, but is stupid looking as sin.
Aesthetic Notes: Bulbous. Rounded. Kinda short, length wise? Good, obvious bay doors (even the rear). Bad (virtually no) aerodynamic package for its size. Undersized-looking thrusters. Remarkably realistic re-entry surfaces. Smooth skin with minimal panel lines or greebling.
This is a Leopard
(2):
Presumably based off of this art in part, or vice versa, not sure which:
This is the map-scale miniature from Ral Partha/Iron Wind Metals. I would argue it's almost believable, but also still kinda derpy looking. I like believability. I dislike derpy-ness.
Aesthetic Notes: Still rounded, but with a much more boxy look. Good, obvious bay doors. Questionable-to-bad aero package. Big enough thrusters? Mostly realistic re-entry surfaces. Smooth skin with minimal panel lines or greebling.
Just for funsies, someone made a papercraft version of this Leopard. It's just out there in the wild, free for you to take and make yourself. I honestly like it quite a bit, even not having built it. More importantly, it helps wrap some brain cells around some geometry to consider.
This is NOT a Leopard
(3):
This, as you all know, is OV-099, better known as NASA's Space Shuttle. It is eminently believable, unless you are a conspiracy nutjob or flat-earther, because it actually flies in space and gets in and out of atmo and stuff like that. It, however properly it operates, is also kinda derpy looking though. I loves me some Space Shuttle, but I have to admit it really doesn't scream "Sexy Science Fiction Spaceship". It does, however, actually work. So put a pin in it.
Aesthetic Notes: Rounded edges like no tomorrow, because sharp edges are baaaad. Good but subtle bay doors. Workable aero package. Big thrusters right where they should be. Completely realistic re-entry surfaces. Skin smooth as a baby's bare ass.
These are a pair of reimagined Leopards
(4, 5):
These are the Gepard Mk. 1 (right) and the Gepard Mk. 2 (left) from Hardware Studios, a re-imagining of the venerable Leopard. Honestly, they look really good! Just the right amount of updating and sci-fi-tech-iness I think one would want, while also maintaining the profile of the original Leopard designs. They do, however, suffer from sharp-edge-itis: Those bottom surfaces are gonna catch just a little bit extra hell for heat from all that greebling.
FWIW, if I had more money than time and tools, these are probably my first stop for a purchase. At $64/$94 respectively, there's a lot of bang for your buck there. You still have to do finishing work and painting on them (all of these sorts on the market will need that, so not a downside IMO), but they're very striking when done up right. Seriously, go look at Hardware's website, it's filthy with hot sci-fi machines.
Aesthetic Notes: Sharp edges everywhere, because 3D printers can't give us everything. Bay doors like Whoa. Minimally believable aero package. Big chonky space for thrusters. Semi-realistic re-entry surfaces, except for all those corners and edges on the greebling. Speaking of, panel lines and greebling for daaaaaaays; borderline too much IMO.
So what's the takeaways from these designs that I think are important?
This is another different take. It is probably a Leopard
(6):
It's definitely closer to the School Bus in aesthetic look, but even just the bit of geometric-cleaning-up makes it look leaps and bounds better.
Aesthetic Notes: A boxy body with a sexy top curvature, nodding to the original School Bus design. Obvious doors....wait, where's the doors? Basically no aero package; this one's a full-on brick. Undersized thrusters. A mostly-unified re-entry surface (e.g. flat belly), which by now you know I like.
Oddly, this design is mostly aligned with this canon art....that I cannot for the life of me gets used anywhere, ever, except TRO 3057:
This is yet another take. It is definitely a Leopard
(7):
I kinda love this one? If you're going School Bus, just fucking embrace it. But it's still a school bus, and we've probably seen enough examples of this, haven't we?
Aesthetic Notes: See above, cause it's basically the same as all of that up there.
BUT WHAT ELSE COULD WE STEAL IDEAS FROM? WHO ELSE HAS TROD THIS UNHOLY PATH TO MADNESS?
This is a redesigned Leopard
(8):
Fault them for many things, but don't fault them for this: PGI's rendition of the Leopard is de-facto hotness. I love this redesign. In theory. In practice, this beast is wild with little detail that my first attempt at this project already ran aground on. The geometry, even simplified, is hella complex: angles everywhere, non-contiguous surfaces, bits and bobs forever.
Not to say that people much more industrious than myself haven't made this model work. As Fuselage found, there's at least one industrialist (at the Leg Destroyed Reverse Disabled Blog) out there that actually made a full-on kit for the thing, working doors and all. Look at this fucking beast:
I'll not lie: This is the inspiration for me even wanting to do this project. Even if I get 30% to what this is, I'll still feel like I got somewhere, because WOW. In my mind, this is the benchmark for a non-traditional update to the Leopard.
*takes a breath, then a big drink of whiskey*
Aesthetic Notes: Chunky and somewhat believable; definitely modern in its sci-fi art aesthetics. Only slightly rounded, but in ways that I know are absolutely problematic. I think like 50% longer than the School Bus model, just going on proportions. AMAZING bay doors (except the rear, I think that's static). An aerodynamic package that's almost believable. Big Chonky Thrusters. Re-entry surfaces that are 80% of the way to believable, but then broken up and greebled all to hell. Panel lines and greebling that is subtle and good in places, gnarly in others (the bottom of the nose drives me bonkers).
This is a different take, but vaguely similar to the PGI redesigned Leopard
(9):
I like this model so much, and yet I can find remarkably little info on it. It's just out there in the wilds of the internet, taunting me. Just a couple of work-in-progress shots by the artist, and little to no other commentary.
Aesthetic Notes: Reduced complexity in the geometry, WHICH I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE. Boxy body, eminently workable, but squared off with hard corners AF. Good, unobtrusive bay doors. An aero package similar to the PGI design but simplified. Big Chonky thrusters. Re-entry surfaces similar to the PGI design, with the same problems. Very minimal panel lines or greebling, which I'm 100% in favor of.
Whew.
After all of this, here is where I'm at, starting from first principles:
And just for reference, I'm putting in a picture of my last attempt; this is me, putting my heart on the table. This is as far as I got, but in my defense I was trying to learn FreeCAD while not sleeping for the feverish months after my daughter was born. Literally, I was replacing sleep with CAD drawing. I...do not recommend this lifestyle. It is not sustainable! Also, my skills and tools have only gotten better, so ideally I won't get frustrated and give up and go to sleep for three years again on this project.
*
Are you thinking of redesigning one or just modifying some existing designs including yours?
Steam: betsuni7
Well, so I guess that's why I'm posting all this, I'm curious what other people think. What aspects of which designs to y'all think are "essential" to the Leopard design, versus which are simply aesthetic choices? Which school, Bus vs. PGI, makes more "sense"? Or that you like better (as if I didn't know already)?
As for the design I had started, I'm not wedded to it. It wasn't anywhere near complete, and I think it would take almost as much work to re-learn what I had done than to just start from scratch. I especially got stymied by the nose cone; I decided to split a bunch of differences in its shape (it's neither PGI or traditional Bus shaped) to make the geometry workable, but then the whole thing got bogged down and I noped out.
Ah yikes, that first image is... wow... ok. It looks like if someone took the Space Shuttle and made it bigger to fit mechs, but forgot to add more wing area to help it maneuver. Actually now that I think about it the only reason the Space Shuttle had wings was to help it glide down to land, so not sure if those would be needed in reality.
I was thinking maybe you could look at Gundam and some of their designs.
https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/Zanzibar-class <- looks like where they got the Leopard idea
https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/Assault_Carrier
Also there is the Macross VB-6 König Monster which is also similar to the Leopard idea.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/macross/images/f/f5/Vb-6-konig-shuttle.gif/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20190510064710
Just more ideas for designs you can borrow from.
Steam: betsuni7
As for the design aspect, I was never fond of the practical use you'd get from the heavily sloped doors of most Leopard designs. That's a whole lot of useless interior space to be wasting on a transport craft. The MWO version with it's more vertical sides is much better in that respect.
@SiliconStew As for scale, I'd be using this 'Mech scale ship for hexless/Alpha Strike games, since I've mostly true-scaled/Mech-scaled my terrain. It wouldn't be out of place there, since I have a couple buildings with a roughly 20" square footprint.
The thing about the minis and the mapsheets to remember is they're at different scales; 'Mech minis range from 1:300 to larger than 1:285 (I've heard people say 1:220 even in some cases), while the mapsheets are about 1:1000 or so.
I also prefer to play on a 6'x4' space, regardless of maps or no map; I like big battlefields and I cannot lie.
Belly Wings (a la Space Bus) or Tail Wings (a la PGI design)?
I vote tail wings.
Steam: betsuni7
As for wings, I think tall wings would serve the players better on the tabletop. As previously mentioned, it is a decent sized footprint regardless of table size (my gaming table is 5x8, and filling it with terrain for games or D&D is as awesome looking as it is impractical) and lifting the wings up means you get some extra hexes around the Leopard's footprint for battlemechs to walk around.
so this is a thing...
https://steelwarriorstudios.com/collections/new-releases/products/hextech-borealis-dropship
Funny enough, the Aurora-class ship is on my list of ships to build because the geometry is actually less complex than the Leopard's, at least according to my eyeballing.
I mean, it does look cool. Just seems like they made 'a transport spaceship', rather than 'a Battletech dropship'.
It was a mistake to show me this. Thank you.
Edit: Now I just need to think of color scheme for this. I'd feel silly to have three Oosik dropships.
When my waves get in I'm splitting my forces between Clan Ghost Bear, Rasalhague/Dominion, and Oosiks.
Why not Talisker Planetary Brewing Co. Security?
And if you need a not-official logo for the Talisker Planetary Brewing Co., I might just have one....
Eye that brewery building on the left...
I really need to write up the battle report from this fight.
Steam: betsuni7
Also, calling @DaMoonRulz we have a Dragon sighting!
If they had fingers they’d be snapping them in unison.
Playing over the loudspeaker 24/7
BEHOLD THE GLORY!
this is just box 1 of 2. i can barely contain myself.
*Arc of the Covenent Face Melt.gif*
Also, we need some way to contain ourselves while we excitedly post things like what we got out of the random boxes. I guess there's not enough of us that just letting people do it is a problem?