Taiidan Scale Model Heavy Fighter

[TaiidanTomcat]

Don't know if this is a Heavy fighter or a light corvette! A lot of this was inspired by the Homeworld Art Spam threads, so thanks to everyone who contributed,(especially Norsehound!) I have in progress shots if anyone is interested, I will be happy to post them. Been working on this off and on for over 2 years and I still have a few pieces to add here and there so these aren't the final glamor shots. Its based off a GI-Joe toy BTW. Thanks for looking!

Comments/criticisms equally welcome. Also Mods, if this is in the wrong part of the forum feel free to move it. I placed it in the Studio because thats where PetarB put his wonderful 1/72 Taiidan Interceptor.

[Sparki]

Not sure my self, not a Taiidan expert, but jsut the fact that it is one is jsut awesome :>.

I like the battle scars on it.

[Norsehound]

That you could complete such an awesome looking model is accomplishment enough, but it's an interesting shape for a Taiidan craft and all the details fit right in with (well, what I) know of the aesthetics for the Taiidan.

Also bonus to the nose-art that fits with the theme but doesn't feel out-of-place!

If I can offer one critique anywhere (and I have to dig for it), it might be that the width of the cockpit is a little too wide... but that statement is trivial and unimportant next to the entirety of the model. Great work Tomcat! Find a way to enter it in a model show or something!

I wouldn't call it a heavy fighter... the proportion between the gun and the cockpit could suggest it's interceptor sized. As the builder though you have final say... but great looking ship! Glad I could be an influence for you to make such a fine looking craft

[PetarB]

That is very, very cool! I love those kill markings. And there's something very A-10 Warthogish about that gatling up front!
I agree, it looks more like a heavy fighter than a corvette, with the canopy the scale 'tell' here. Looking forwards to the final shots...

Edit: you know it's amazing to think of the art / thoughts / plans / etc that Homeworld still inspires. There are plenty of other games that have come out since that have sold more, and had a higher 'profile' but have disappeared into the dark like they never existed. But Homeworld, somehow, still is around, through the efforts of its fanbase. Why? Something to think about.

[Manic Thesis]

That's pretty cool!

It looks to me like a Taiidan interceptor with the mass driver on the nose as opposed to the side (no 'Rolling the Gun' on that thing), or a scout, though it seems too.... big... to be a scout.

@PetarB
I think that's because it's such a well-told game with a huge amount of potential left up to the player's imagination. Just my thoughts.

[Pook]

This is AWESOME!
Strikes me as a hybrid between the scout and interceptor.

[TaiidanTomcat]

@ Norse and Petar- You are spot on about the windows! Doh! I know scale for the HW ships is still in wide debate, I deliberately left missiles off because they give away scale but I had completely forgotten about the canopy windows which are huge "tells" Out of habit I made sure to mask all the way to the frames like any other model and it makes a big difference for HW ships! I had they idea that the pilots could be sitting side by side in a with another set of seats behind them (Not unlike an EA-6B Prowler) But I should have seperated the canopies with at least a single frame like a Turanic Raider Missile Corvette to show it better. Oh well, maybe they just have outstanding field of view! LOL Thank you both for the compliments and that critique is going to pay off in future builds.

@Sparki and Manic- Thanks!

And Pook, I tried to just go for an overall look, I knew If I tried to hard to make it fit into a certain job I would start obsessing over the details to make it look more like one than the other. So some kind of Hybrid Is exactly what I was going for!

Final Beauty shots:





On its very rudimentary gear (may go back later on and make better versions) Lower fins are folded.


Top


Front



Rear





3/4



LANTIRN style sensor (Made with color shifting confetti)



AH-64 Apache like sensors

This turned out better than I could have imagined. My Empire grows >

[PetarB]

Really cool. I like how you took a simple flat area on the back and by putting a bit of a 'glow' trompe l'oiel effect, you've brought us right back into the Homeworld universe. Very nice!
Next time you take pics though, just get a large piece of cardboard to put behind your subject, it will do wonders for the final photos - really puts the focus on the model.
Anyway, tres cool, and I really look forward to your empire growing even further....