HARDCORE MODELING! 80's Cartoon: STARBLAZERS

#16

The superstructure was by far the hardest thing to model, mainly because of the inconsistencies between the reference materials available. I really had to study my options and find a level of detail that would be faithful to the cartoon Argo. Except for a few minor details the model is pretty much ready for texturing, I still need to make some changes to the main gun batteries and anti-aircraft guns.

The Argo looks red and blue in the cartoon, but most toys and scale models of it show a weathered grey and red paint scheme. I have decided on a bluish-grey and red paint scheme, since the ship is reffered to as “the blue and red battleship” by one of the villains in the TV show.

Here are some WIP images, the colors are only temporary:

#17

Jeez, this is sweet work!
Are you aiming to fully texture it as well?

Cheers!

#18

Looks Great! It would be crazy to see a illustrated cut away shot of it.

#19

Looking very good Mario!

The tower part is a lot of work allright. It looks awesome!

#20

Thanks everyone, glad you are liking it so far. Texture mapping is not my strength, but I am definitely going to give it a shot. It would be nice to get it looking used and weathered, without overdoing it of course. I plan to add many details with the textures too.

#21

Wow Mario! Looks great!

Cool concept, its coming along nicely, I had never heard of this show till you mentioned it. Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Good luck!

#22

Thanks Keith, glad you like it. The show was very popular in the early 80’s. The animation was not so good, but the story, ship designs, and music made it a favorite cartoon. The movies were much better, and Disney was seriously thinking about doing a live action Star Blazers motion picture.

#23

wow cool thats alota detail. Are you gonna add some cool textures?:bounce:

#24

I am going to do my best on the textures, I am not so experienced in Photoshop. At this point I just have to give it my best shot. It’s going to take me a while.

#25

I never watched the show, but I have definately seen this guy around model shops and whatnot. Great job!! Looks ready to blow something up real good!

#26

Thanks, trying to get it textured on time. They haven’t shown Star Blazers on US TV in years, due to variety of excuses. It’s a shame, because despite the dated and clunky animation the plot was very interesting and the science fiction aspect of it very imaginative.

#27

Here are the six orthographic renderings of the Argo space battleship from Star Blazers, originally Space Cruiser Yamato in Japan. Since the last WIP’s I have done some minor modeling changes, especially to the main guns. Textures are done too. Beauty shot is next!

Front view:

Back view:

Right view:

Left view:

Top view:

Bottom view:

#28

Well done dude, modeling is very sharp. Congrats on finishing before the deadline!

#29

Thanks man, almost there. Still working on my lighting on the beauty shot. Space scenes are a bit tricky to light. Will post tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest.

#30

Looking very cool! Cant wait to see what your beauty shot will look like.

Cheers and Happy Easter!

#31

Nice work here, really looking forward to seeing your beauty shot.

Apparently there will be a new Yamato movie released in Japan this year, set 21 years after the origional series concluded.

#32

I hope it’s a good one, they keep doing sequels, it would be nice if they re-did the first one with updated CG animation.

Here are some wires:

Still working on that beauty render!

#33

Here’s the link to the turntable animation.

http://mysite.verizon.net/restoilt/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/argo_turntable_02.mov

#34

Here’s a small version of the Beauty Shot. At the front of the ship the Wave Motion Gun starts to charge up before the blinding discharge that is about to vaporize the enemy. The crew had to wear very dark shades to protect their eyes, very dramatic eh?

#35

Here are some renderings to show the ship from a variety of angles. This has been a lot of fun.