Model this: 3D Connexion Space explorer

jeff hammond

ok, here's my stopping point.. i might draw it in rhino eventually for practice but i'm already burned out on the SU version

feel free to use the mesh to take it further though i'm not sure it's at the best point for that..

the attached skp looks like this

i used tig's Extrude Edges By Rail.. the hardest part for that was getting the curves to have an equal number of segments (which isn't necessary for the plugin.. it's just that the poly count can go through the roof if it isn't done like that.)

navigator_JH.skp

ely862me

Here is my try..got lazy at the finish and i didn t pay much attention to the keys ..
Tools used...hmm:line,move,scale,ffd,joint push&pull,sds..
Take care!

Elisei

remcon.skp

jeff hammond

awesome job ely!

that's a big time SDS ad right there

[edit] seriously impressive.. i didn't think anyone was going to get that close.
a few years worth of modeling cars in SU really pays off huh..

Solidseal

@ely862me said:

Thanks!
Sorry i didn t kept the model without subdividing ..Maybe other time!

Elisei

Elisei .. I have seen your vids @ tube making that supercar (posted there also )
I was just wondering. What kinda system do you have ?

ely862me

It s not that good.. trust me..
Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual Core 2.80 Ghz
1 Gb ram
nVidia 8600Gt 1 Gb video card

Why are u asking!?

Elisei

stefanq

Bravo Ely!

ely862me

Thanks!
Sorry i didn t kept the model without subdividing ..Maybe other time!

Elisei

@unknownuser said:

a few years worth of modeling cars in SU really pays off huh..

yes sir,it does

Rich O Brien

Jaysus this is tough....... after Ely's excellent model i'm somewhat embarrassed by this attempt

Space Explorer I.jpg

Space Explorer II.jpg

Think I need a different approach

alpro

Great job Ely and Adam!!, niether one of you guys mentioned how much time you got into it, just curious cause I started but after about an hour and half with nothing acceptable, I said thats enough. Again all I can say is hats off to you guys.

Mike

kwistenbiebel

Thanks Solo for starting this thread. It turns out to be the most interesting modeling thread in a long time here on SCF.
Especially because the subject is a bit out of the boundaries of Sketchup's strenghts.

I like the latest efforts of Pete, Ely and Adam.
The most difficult trick would be to get a clean mesh, which is difficult for a polygon modeler to achieve.
Especially when using a render engine to visualize stuff like that, a clean geometry is crucial.

It would be interesting to see a MOI3D user post a version using Nurbs so we can compare and learn.
Lately I am interested to see if a Sketchup + MOI workflow would be a good approach to cover the whole modeling spectrum.

I vote for NURBS FOR SKETCHUP!

avariant

I'm having a hard time creating a beveled edge that doesn't completely destroy the model...
I don't have progression screen shots, but I started with a rectangle and used intersect to shape it. I used intersect to create an outline for the buttons too, so they follow the body contour (but made it a lot more work!)

I know the scale and body shape is off... I just eyeballed it.

Solidseal

@ely862me said:

It s not that good.. trust me..
Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual Core 2.80 Ghz
1 Gb ram
nVidia 8600Gt 1 Gb video card

Why are u asking!?

Elisei

wel because when I create a sphere with 2 circles with 100s my pc has serious problems also when I take your model and I copy/move the upper layer of the connexion explorer it needs like 20 seconds to think cuz of the high polys I guess.
but I think your models are high polys also but it goes way smoother .. or are they low poly ? ( dont know all about polygons though)

Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual Core 2.80 Ghz
2 Gb ram
Ati Radeon HD4870 1 Gb video card

ely862me

Thx guys!
Adam -very nice
Alpro-i don t know exactly how much time--let say about 2 hours.
Solidseal -watch this thread http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=2467

Happy sketching!

Elisei

EarthMover

Finally feeling like I have something respectable. Pretty much the same method as my first attempt, but used more FFD, Fredo Taper & Bend and Dieder's Projections to get the job done. Still need some work on the buttons and I could probably do it again with less segments in my initial bezier splines to make it manageable, plus the "nose" on mine is a bit flat. Unfortunately, I have a corruption in the file and when I try to save it, it crashes sketchup. Decided to do a couple Twilight renders since I may not be able to save the file and I know it's too heavy to use for a render challenge. I'll update the post with new renders when they finish.

Space Navigator Render3 copy.jpg

Space Navigator Render1.jpg

EarthMover

Mike, I spent about 4 hours on mine. (twice) If I built it again, I could probably do it in less than an hour, now that I'm over the head scratching.

I think the most difficult thing about this challenge is that we are dealing with a model that is a combination of hard surface and organic shape. I like Pete's approach to model the main skin. Here's some ideas on how to incorporate some hard surface to Pete's SDS skin to make the base.

Trace out the base with Bezier classic tool and push pull it through the grouped skin

Run intersect with model and delete extra geometry

Select the bottom most edges and use the Extrude Lines along Vector tool that comes in the newest projection tools, or use the stand alone Extrude edges plugin. The projection tool one is better because it will leave selected the new set of lower edges. Extrude down on the Z axis.

Use the scale tool to scale the new edges inward from center. This will create the slight bevel for the transition from the top and base. You can use ThomThom's select quad face loop to select all the inner lines of the new extrusion and soften them, without softening the separating line, as this is needed for texturing.

![To make the rest of the base, draw a rectangle under the model and use the Line Projection tool to project the bottom set of edges downward onto the rectangle. Choose "yes" for make new faces.](/uploads/imported_attachments/nICO_Clipboard10SDS.jpg "To make the rest of the base, draw a rectangle under the model and use the Line Projection tool to project the bottom set of edges downward onto the rectangle. Choose "yes" for make new faces.")

Delete the rest of the rectangle and select the bottom face and edges and scale them inward from center and the base is complete.

solo

Adam, I have a new skin, this time I used my actual real world 3D Explorer to get the proportions better, I'd say the shape is pretty close to the real thing now.
The size is not as I model oversised.

top skin.jpg

Model

sepo

great tread

EarthMover

Expanding on my previous method for the base, I felt it didn't have enough curve to it as does the real thing. I used Pete's newest skin and used some extrusions and projections to get the curves needed to run TIG's sweep along rails plugin. I think this is the most effective way I've tried so far and it went really fast. Hope it's helpful to some. Model attached.

Here I extruded outer edges down on Z and scaled inward by .99. Then used the Drape tool to drape those edges down onto a plane. I used Selection memory plugin to save the initial edges, then selected the draped and extruded edges and moved out a copy.

I measured across and found the mid point of the lines and then used a plane as a guide to delete half of the edges.

I used a small extruded plane to draw out a profile for the base

After making sure my segments matched for both rails, I ran TIG's sweep along rails plugin to create the mesh for the base, then duplicated it and flipped half to match them up as a whole. I then moved the based and lined it up with the previous mesh.

I also made a small profile (component) and used follow me to round the edge between the top and base.

explorer skin-1.skp

dermotcoll

@sepo said:

great tread

Why are we talking about tyres Sepo

Guys these are just brilliant - have been keeping an eye on the output - it would take me a week just to get the shape of the main body done. Well done to all

EarthMover

Here's a pretty clean (although heavy) model if anyone wants to play around with it. If someone wants to remake the buttons with TOS that would be great.

Explorer Model SFC.jpg Explorer Model SFC.45.jpg
Explorer Model SFC.46.jpg Explorer Model SFC.44.jpg Explorer Model SFC.skp