WIP: VTOL model for HL2 mod Badge of Blood

Hiya! I think this is my first time posting here, so be gentle.

No, I don't mean that. Rip me a new one if i need it. Everyone needs honest crits if they want to get better.

Here is a VTOL I'm designing for a HL2 "realism-in-space" mod called Badge of Blood, which is about a war for independence fought between the colonies of Mars and the major economic powers of Earth.... Let me know what you think...

[Blocked Image: http://www.badgeofblood.com/previewpics/Kr312_1.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://www.badgeofblood.com/previewpics/Kr312_2.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://www.badgeofblood.com/previewpics/Kr312_3.jpg]

I still need to model the landing gear and some of the internals. Right now it clocks in at about 3800 triangles before any optimizing... there is still a seam down the center which I can get rid of, and some complexity in the tail boom that can be simplified. When finished, this model will probably clock in at about 3500 triangles... which is fairly on par with most other HL2 vehicles floating around... heck, I've even even some weapons with similar facecounts!

I'll try and get some cockpit shots and wirframes posted after I do some optimizing.

Oh, and this is done in XSI 4.0

Thanks for the crits guys!

Fullauto: Hmmm... perhaps maybe some wingtips on the side? angle downward somewhat? I'll try that out and what it gets me... heh

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cool, i like the design, its like an osprey but more futuristic while still practical, cool model too, i like the cockpit

Excellent! Because that was excatly what i was going for, heh!

Bic-B@ll & OL: Actually, the engines don't swivel at all. It's hard to see in these pics, but there is actually a nozzle on the bottom of the engine, too, centered on the VTOL's center of gravity. In fact, MOST of the thrust will be angled downwards, with just enough out the back to produce thrust for fast forward flight.

Here's the reasoning behind the design, taken from discussions on the Badge of Blood boards:

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Kr-312a "Vagrant" Utility VTOLMartian Defense Forces

The Vagrant design was originally targeted at the civilian market as the Krauss Aviation "Clydesdale", which excelled in search & rescue, medivac, general utility, and corporate private transport. During the Martian military build up precluding the declaration of independence, hundreds of these VTOLs were adapted to military service. The Vagrant is almost as ubiquitous in the Badge of Blood setting as the UH-1 Huey and Mi-17 are around the world today.

Are there engines in the main fuselage, as well as the wingtip pods? Those intakes on the cheeks look like they're for something.

Yes, there are generators in the main fusalage for producing electricity.

That electricity is used to run the superconducting magnets in the Plasma Engines on the wingtips.

As I'm sure you're aware, the air is so thin on mars that airbreathing engines just won't work... The only real propulsion system that would work are rockets... but solid fueled rockets are tricksy because they are, for the most part, binary in nature: ON or OFF. Liquid Fueled rockets are extremely volitile, and not terribly safe for everyday use. And rotors won't work because the air pressure at ground level on mars is equiv. to 100,000 ft on Earth. Wings and rotors produce poo poo lift. So what now?

Well, according to NASA's JPL, Plasma Engines work like throttle-able rockets, ionizing and aggitating hydrogen into a plasma state and shooting it out the rear (or in this case, also directed down). For this to work, though, you need to produce an assload of power for the super conductive magnets, which need to contain the plasma or the engine itself will melt.

So those ducts help bring the frigid Martian air in to cool the reactors that produce the electricity for the Plasma Engines.

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Ok, I see what you mean.... I'll kick that around a bit and see what I can come up with.

Thanks!