Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP

[Punisher454]

I always look forward to seeing your updates. Really fantastic work.

[maudib]

Update 9-19-12. Hi all! Nice to here from everyone again. Been busy making a guitar last year, and now that it's done...

Another 10 fun-filled hours of work and another greeble/nurnie is done. I can see why not many people have attempted to model this beast! Every nurnie/greeble is a 3D model in its own right! And there are 1000's of them on the big-G.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/8442/enginenurnie91912d.jpg

After working on this Battlestar over many hours, I can see patterns where the model maker re-used the same plastic kit parts over and over. This makes 3D modelling enormously easier rather than trying to make meshes from scratch each time. I made 3 grill meshes just once at the beginning, and modify them in various ways and reuse them over and over, just like the physical modellers did on the studio scale model.

For example here is a pic of the top engine greeble/nurnie

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/3656/enginesidenurnie.jpg

And this is the bottom engine version:

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9382/enginebottomsidenurnie.jpg

The top version can be made by modifying the bottom version by cutting away the top and sticking a bunch of polys in the hole plus a few other shapes changed out here and there. And engine section looks fantastically detailed to the casual eye, but in reality, just a few number of parts reused and modified over and over.

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/2076/enginenurnie91912b.jpg

This piece is 206,000 polys, not bad by itself, but clone it 10times to cover both sides and it becomes 2,060,000 polys! The previous mesh was 194,000 polys, but cloned 26 times for both sides!

Just 4 big nurnies make up 40 percent of the engine section after cloning them many times. The poly count is unbelievable. This section is subject to close animation renders so that's where I put the polys. The top and bottom of the ship is rarely filmed close up, so I have to rethink my modelling strategy in those areas or this could easily end being a 40 million poly project.

[martok2112]

Yeah, your battlestar is going to be ....well....countless polys. :) (Oh, sure, the computer can count, but until then, all I can do is boggle at just how many polys your complete ship is going to be.

The entirety of my current rendition of a battlestar is just under 3 million faces. Now, I don't know what that is in polys, but I can tell you it will be the merest fraction (if that) of what you're putting together.. I eagerly anticipate your finished product. :)

Bi La Kaifa! :)

[Titon]

Lightwave will choke if you push 40 million poly's in a mesh. Not to mention animating it will be almost impossible. That Rico tank you just did should not be even be close to that high of a number. My entire engine section as it sit's now is 623,000 but is nearly 85% complete.

You have to be realistic about this beast in some aspects. Cut corners where you can get away with it. The poly's you put in the opening of the Rico tank for instance were not there on the original model. You do not need them there and i would take them out and follow the original. In cg you would have to push in really really close for anyone to notice there is a difference between the original model and the cg version.

What i would suggest is make concessions on the base mesh and if you want to get really close on a certain area build it seperately for close up shot's. Otherwise even opengl will give you problems.

Other than a few nit picks good work!
:)

[maudib]

@Titon...yes, good advice on all points! Will look at the needs for detail vs the time wasted on poly reduction efforts. However too much obsessive/compulsive behavior with poly counts and the model will never get done in my lifetime. Model it, be done with it and move on!

Here's an effort I put in today and wasted 6 hours just to save 100K polys.

Top is the original mesh at 205K. The bottom is the reduced poly mesh at 100864 polys. Looks 95 percent detailed from the original, but cost me a lot of time. In this case, since I will be cloning it 10 times to cover the engine sides, it was well worth it to save a million polys.

http://imageshack.us/a/img825/6576/205kto100864polys91912.jpg

[Titon]

Can't tell the difference. Nice job on the reduction.

I know it takes a lot of time correcting poly's and such but it will be worth it. Again the tank looks good but in all honesty it doesn't have to look that good. When you render you can compensate with anti-aliasing even if you have to push the number upwards it's still quicker than having to many poly's that it won't even load. On my Roco tanks the more visable detail is there but again if i want to get really close to it i will rebuild it and use it as a seperate mesh.

A good habit to get into is reduce poly's as you build. Bandglue is a good plugin to get into.

I see your pipes look really really smooth. When i build them i start out with a 6 or 8 sided poly and extrude it, delete the ends and sub patch them. When they are subpatched you can keep smooth shifting them to make your bends. Reduce the subpatch levels before you freeze the tube. That way you do not have to make a tube with 40 plus to get them to look absolutely smooth. I can tell those tube's are pretty high poly's?

:)

[maudib]

For complex bending pipes or pipes that have to fit a precise curve against a hull or surface, I create a complex curve using point-to-curve function. Then I create and place a disk at the start and end points using the smallest number of faces (24-48 is usually enough) I can get away with a minimum of texture smoothing. I then use the rail function and again use the min number of segments to achieve a smooth curve with min smoothing used.

I don't like high degrees of smoothing as distortion occurs when rendering. I don't have to spend hours trying to fit a pipe to my location, the pipe fits perfectly in an instant, and I move on to the next mesh.

I am however having the devil of a time trying to fit these finished pieces to the engine framework! It doesn't fit. Either I have made a mistake in measuring the overall shape of the engine section, or my parts are off, or both. Ugh.

[maudib]

Update 9-20-12. Another huge greeble mesh added and cloned 8 times. Section is starting to fill out nicely. A couple of others greebles in the top front corner. Looks like a concrete road barrier.

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/8765/test92012.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/3664/test92012b.jpg

[Matador]

Awesome work man!

I'm currently working on the side gun turrets... I was hopping you may have some reference pics of this area or a link.

[maudib]

No gun turrets were ever described or placed on the TOS studio scale model. The TV show never made any attempt to explain where the guns were located. Sorry.

[martok2112]

Subakh ul kuhar, Muad'Dib? (How are things, Muad'Dib? :) )
Yeah, we never really got a sense of just where the guns were placed (just like there's no official word on ship length, and other aspects...at least for the classic Galactica), but I had a few ideas which I implemented on my battlestar.

The upper and lower guns we sometimes saw, I placed them in between the launch tube groups along the landing arms of the battlestar. Also, I think I placed a couple of turrets in those little notches on either side of the battlestar's head section. And also, decided to place some of them on the support pylons, and in pairs at the upper and lower/fore and aft of the landing arms. Placed a few on the forward and aft of the crossbar underneath the battlestar, the bar that connects the lower center (which I think has been pretty popularly designated as the pilot barracks). Even placed a couple on the bridge module itself, to prevent suicide attacks from Cylon Raiders that might try to go for the bridge.

And then of course, there are the big guns that I decided to run with. :)

[maudib]

Update 9-23-12

Another big greeble done and cloned 10 times, plus a few others. This one was time consuming since I had to make most of the detail from scratch. The good news is that I have more stuff in my library of parts to reuse again. The bad news is that the greeble is backwards! It's easy enough to flip in Lightwave. I'll do it later.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7355/92312e.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7250/92312c.jpg

[maudib]

update 9-26-12

Made another large greeble and cloned 2 versions of it to cover the sides and inside the groove of the engine section. Getting everything to fit was a nightmare, and I just can't reconcile the pieces I modeled with reference images of the original. It's close enough for me. This is the last major update for awhile again.
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/5973/test92612c.jpg

[mikala]

Wow just does not cover it!

[gmd3d]

I would like to throw in a wow there also

[Titon]

Good job on the update.

Getting the nurnies to fit is a nightmare. That's why it is taking so long for me to finish my Galactica. You dang near have to have the kit bash pieces on hand to measure in order to get everything to fit. Not to mention a lot of reference from guy's that have actually built this beast physically. Otherwise it just never looks right in cg.

Keep it up!

:)

[martok2112]

Yes, my jaw is irreparably dropped at the stunning detail you are putting on this maudib. I don't think I can even pronounce "WOW" without it sounding like "auuaaaaoooowwwwooouaaauueeehhhhhhh!" :D

It will be REALLY impressive to see if this monster (and I say that with all due affection for this model) can be animated. :)

[David Kerin]

Every update you have makes me realize how much I love the design of the battlestar. Beautiful work!!! I remember on September 18th, 1978, start of 5th grade class and I drew a big side view of the Galactica on the chalk board. I could have never imagined the creative tools that computers would bring us.

And I must say it puts my chalk board drawing to shame! :)

[maudib]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Renders at this point with full antialiasing at 1920x1080 HD resolution (17 passes in LW Layout, and radiosity turned on) takes 3 min and 3 sec. I spent the last 3 days poly trimming as Titon suggested and now practice reasonably high poly modelling on the big G. I used to just shrink down the little nurnies from the big versions to make details on a big mesh, but now I poly reduce it first for a small version. This has saved me over 4 million polys so far on the engine section alone! The total number is 9.8 million so far.

I anticipate at this rate in staying below my 20 million goal before completion. Like I said, only 1/2 the mesh needs to be loaded at a time for one-sided render passes, so only 10 million polys will need to be loaded and rendered in most cases.

Fitting the parts had me scratching my head for days! Did I make a mistake in measuring the basic hull? My main reference was noticing that 4 basic greebles make up most of the engine detail. So I started with the 1st one, and using that as a "ruler" for determining the basic shape and proportion of the engine section. The 1st greeble then had to fit on the next location without resizing, so the basic engine hull was resized until it fit the part.

For example, here is a section of the engine hull which I didn't notice until I tried to fit the 1st big greeble above it. I did not model in this angle initially, so the thickness of the side was too narrow to fit the next greeble without re-sizing it (which is a big no-no!)
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/306/jcgalactica2ndeffort.jpg

And here is the corrected mesh with all the part now fitting, much to my relief!
http://imageshack.us/a/img841/5343/test92612d.jpg

I then made the 2nd greeble, and put it next to the 1st and cloned the sequence 4 times, and that was how I arrived at the overall length of the engine section. I find that my method was so accurate, that no resizing of the midsection and front section was needed, and looking at the reference pics, the battlestar looks good to my "eye". I wouldn't dare measure it though! I'm just going to pretend that everything is good and NEVER do this again!

[Thunderstruck]

That is looking awesome....

Wished I could model, but am gradually picking it up.

curious though, 17 passes?

why so many on a still ?

never used LW seems like a lot.


Great job so far.

Regards,

Randal R.

[137th Gebirg]

Amazing job, as always, maudib! Once it's done, all you need to do is put in a few negative objects to hollow it out, chop it up into its major components, send it off to a 3D printer and...well...y'know...
:bounce:

[maudib]

Update 10-18-12

Top of engine section in progress. Reference pics are poor quality and difficult to see detail.

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9800/test101812c.jpg
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9437/test101812d.jpg

[martok2112]

I can only IMAGINE this model in a photorealistic render!

Keep it up, Maudib! :) :salute:

[Senmut]

Or, a full-sized orbiting ship! ;)

[martok2112]

Indeed. :)

[maudib]

11-3-12 Small update. Had some time to work on the G. Top of engine section starting to look like something familiar.

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/2622/test11312c.jpg

[martok2112]

Even with small updates, you continue to stun. :)

[starship]

Incredible work!
I´m anxiouslly waiting for the next update. :yikes:

[mjaynes2]

very nice work

[Matador]

What program are you using? Is it lightwave? I'm looking to change what I'm using... Mainly for cost reasons... I love your modeling and rendering...

[mikala]

Lightwave.

[Matador]

Could you share your render settings with me? I've been trying out lightwave and cannot seem to get the lighting and rendering to look anything like your stuff.

I'm really impressed with it.

I've checked out some tutorials, but they all seem to be missing stuff.

[maudib]

Yes, this mesh is modeled using LW. I think you made a good choice switching over to LW, it's a very good 3D software for the price. I spent over a thousand dollars on the software already, and don't feel like upgrading for awhile yet! I render in LW's native render engine, and used Butterfly net render for my now obsolete render farm.

I don't think this thread is the proper place to discuss CGI techniques in detail. Maybe there is a technique section elsewhere? These renders are very simple just to showcase the progress of the mesh. Basically, the lighting effect is achieved by using radiocity. The settings are found on LW Layout by clicking on the Render tab on top, then clicking on the global settings tab from the LHS menu. To create a light source, create a large basic mesh such as a box or sphere, set the luminosity of the inner surface to a high value (0-100 percent), place your model mesh inside the shape, set your camera so that the box or sphere is unseen in the renders, create other light sources as desired for highlighting purposes, and turn off the ambient default lighting.

This a sample of a scene using a cobra mesh I was designing for a kitcar forum using this basic technique. Not that great by other's standards, but got the job done.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2031/cobracoupe.jpg

[Matador]

That's awesome... Thanks for sharing that info. I am on a tight budget myself and I'm just trying to find a program to stick with for a while. I can't afford to keep buying plug-ins to get effects that seem to work right out of the box with Lightwave.

I guess I'll see how it goes. Thanks again.

[Matador]

Howdy,

In lightwave, do you use Sub-d modeling on your meshes? I've been tinkering with sub-d and using the Freeze option.

I've also been messing around with the "sub-patch weights" to help with sharper edges.

:salute:

[maudib]

Not on the big G...doesn't need it.

[gmd3d]

sud-d and freezing will kick up your polycount and depending on your PC. either modeler or your PC could choke....

The only ship that your would need to Sub-d would be the Prison Barge... for the 2 half submarines at the side... as I remember when Titon mentioned it to me when I tried to build it.

[TwoBrainedCylon]

Just incredible!!! Fantastic detailing on the ship.

All my best,

Russell

[ZAP]

hi to you all , first time here of course a big fan of Galactica tos

incredible work is sharing in this forum

merry Christmas to you all

[ZAP]

Hi is it possible for you to share the mesh file ? thanks in advance

[ZAP]

anyone ????????????

[Senmut]

Welcome, Zap. See ya in the OClub?

[ZAP]

hi Senmut , sorry for the question, but what is the OClub?

Welcome, Zap. See ya in the OClub?

[gmd3d]

Hi is it possible for you to share the mesh file ? thanks in advance
Its been a while since maudib posted but its far from its finish.

[Senmut]

hi Senmut , sorry for the question, but what is the OClub?

O=Officers.

The Officers Club.

" 'nuther round, please!"

[ZAP]

hi thanks for the explanation ... :rotf:


O=Officers.

The Officers Club.

" 'nuther round, please!"

[ZAP]

hi Taranis , thanks for the feedback , i only need the basic mesh if possible :cry:, does anyone have this mesh that can share ?


Its been a while since maudib posted but its far from its finish.

[tracyhaynes]

:thumbsup:
ZAP i have to agree. I've been looking for a very good mesh of Galactica and a nice mesh of the Galactica Shuttle ( both TOS ) This Maudib project is the sweetest I've seen yet. I for one would be grateful should it ever be available for download! :-)

[tracyhaynes]

Just stunning. wow....

[gmd3d]

It would depend on the format your looking for..

there are some Galactica models, most to be found here..
David Kerin, Steve Wilson . these where great in there day
given the information available

This model as built would be a gut buster for any but the highest performance
PC I think as it very highly detailed as you have seen..

There is another one by Folkrm but that is not publicity available

[ZAP]

hi , i am looking for the basic shape only , not the greebles parts , and could be in any 3d file format

thanks in advance
It would depend on the format your looking for..

there are some Galactica models, most to be found here..
David Kerin, Steve Wilson . these where great in there day
given the information available

This model as built would be a gut buster for any but the highest performance
PC I think as it very highly detailed as you have seen..

There is another one by Folkrm but that is not publicity available

[Matador]

hi , i am looking for the basic shape only , not the greebles parts , and could be in any 3d file format

thanks in advance

Zap, I would check the download section of this site. It has a few Galactica meshes that you could download.:cool:

[ZAP]

hi Matador , thanks for the feedback , already download , the problem is that those 3d meshes are personal views , and personal perspectives , they are incredible and very talented work , but i am looking for a 3d mesh more close to the studio scale model , like i think is in this thread and like the work from Folkrm

Zap, I would check the download section of this site. It has a few Galactica meshes that you could download.:cool:

[gmd3d]

Alas nether mesh is publicly available

[Matador]

The Galactica base mesh is pretty simple to create... If you have your own 3d program... You can download blueprints of the basic body, then create the mesh, and then build on to it from there.

:cool:

[Titon]

The Galactica base mesh is pretty simple to create... If you have your own 3d program... You can download blueprints of the basic body, then create the mesh, and then build on to it from there.

:cool:

Sorry to say this but the Galactica is one of the hardest meshes to ever create. Simply looking at a blueprint is not going to get you a studio scale cgi replica. Believe me it has taken years but it can be done with ton's and ton's of research.

;)

[137th Gebirg]

Agreed, I never made the CG model, myself, but I'm as intimately familiar with the design in 2 dimensions as any who has made the attempt in 3 dimensions and I can safely say, with all the greebles and super-detailing they put on the thing, "simple" is never a word that should be ascribed to any Galactica model, in CG or reality. And judging by the miniscule amount of meshes that I would consider being even close to accurate and true to the original, the base geometry of the ship, sans detailing, also seems less-than-simple.

Based on what I've seen, Titon and maudib are the only ones who have gotten it right, straight up. There is another one, by someone named folkrm on another site which comes close, but is still a bit off in several respects. Other than that...nadda...all due respect to the efforts of those other folks.

Which quite honestly astonishes me, considering how many super-accurate studio-scale models there are out there which are true to the original. One would think that, in CG, it would be easier to flex and adjust something on the fly, rather than the static nature of resin, styrene and glue. And yet... http://www.trekbbs.com/images/smilies//shrug.gif

[Matador]

I was referring to the Gator body style. Modeling all the other detail, I agree is not an easy task.

I have spent over a year building my version and she still isn't done. But yes, modeling the ship is not easy other than building the basic body shape.

I used blueprints to get the basic body shape. All the other greebles I got using references from both old and new series.

I figured, that was what zap was referring to.

[maudib]

Wow... people still posting on this VERY OLD thread. Good to see TOS BSG still alive! It's been awhile since my last post, but this is a long-term project as I've said from the beginning. A bit rusty with Lightwave :salute:

New 1-19-14 Update today!

Continuing to add greebles to the engine section top. About 6 big greebles to finish before moving on to the exhaust port section next.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1399x786q90/845/b1v6.jpg

The big square hole in the center greeble has got me baffled. Someone broke off a mystery piece from the studio scale original! What the heck :yikes:
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/481x736q90/703/hh6b.jpg

I see different versions of pieces in people's version of the original studio scale model, but can someone tell me if the original parts broken off has been saved? I can model in the missing greebles once I know what it looks like.

Long ways to go, but at least the 2 ends are coming along nicely. Cheers!
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1399x786q90/19/jx45.jpg

[Matador]

As always... very impressive.... Amazing work in the detail.:salute:

[gmd3d]

sweet.... how big a monster is this in polys

[martok2112]

mauddib, that is going to be a monstrous ship when you're done with her.

As to that image with the missing piece, from what I can tell, it looks like you ought to just mirror image from the intact side, and you'll have the whole piece. :)

[maudib]

There are various re-creations of the original studio model showing a new greeble added to the spot where the missing original piece (if any) was located.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/576x188q90/853/lep7.jpg

My problem is, if the original piece was not saved when the model was took out of storage and sold with the model, then how do we know if ANY version is 100% accurate at all? If this is the case, then I agree with Martok2112 and just ignore the area and leave it alone and move on.

Poly count? Don't know. Still targeting 20 million polys as the final size, last count was 9.2 million.

[gmd3d]

I would love to see the basic shape you created without all the detail in profile, TOP , SIDE, BOTTOM, FRONT, BACK.. sometime in the future..

[Senmut]

Looks vulnerable. Wouldn't the Cylons target such spots during an attack?

[maudib]

I don't know why you would want such views Taranis, but here they are. Not orthographic projections though, just same renders without the greebles. The hull plating is permanent on the front, can't be separated from the basic hull shape.

This was the most reliable top view schematic I could find ( I think it was from the Starship Modelers website). The black line is my mesh superimposed over the plan to check my accuracy.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1262x553q90/191/bol8.jpg

These are my renders of the basic shape

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1483x834q90/690/e5ov.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1483x834q90/713/s4kw.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1483x834q90/853/cnzl.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1483x834q90/853/qozz.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1483x834q90/534/5fc2.jpg

[gmd3d]

thanks these are great.. and very helpful for when I have a go at building my own version in the future. :)

[maudib]

update 1-21-14

Modeled these big rocket engine bells. The grills on the front are not on the original. Complex shape took all afternoon, but was fun doing it.
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1483x697q90/600/ba8k.jpg

[tracyhaynes]

maudib, this is stunning, and I am just one of several
3d modeling yahoos who wait with baited breath for you to complete this
lovely! Hats off to you:blush:

[gmd3d]

afternoon. it would take me a week or more

[ZAP]

hi Maudib finally :) i was hoping to see you here , since i was the one who started to ask for help here in this thread

your work is amazing , is it possible for you to share the basic mesh , only the structure without the greebles ?

if you cannot share ( that is understood ) can you make some cross sections and 3 longitudinal profiles along the dock arms and in the middle of the ship ?

thanks in advance

[maudib]

Update 2-1-14

Started on the main engine exhaust section.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1619x911q90/208/bd42.jpg

No good pics of the inside walls of the exhaust ports. All of the details are lost in shadow, or blurry. I'm just going to have to do some creative guessing (actually a lot of guessing on this model). To the south...quick march!

[maudib]

update 2-2-14

Made the endcap piece today. Took a good guess at all the bits and added some I thought would look nice.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1152x648q90/208/lm89.jpg

[gmd3d]

again stunning detailing

[Matador]

Nice guess work... Looks like it belongs there to me! Nicely done.

This is a section I plan on tackling next myself... :cool:

[maudib]

Update 2-5-14

Almost done with this area. Just the center cap (where the pipe hole cover used to be that supports the model for camera work) area left to complete.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1471x790q90/713/6eay.jpg

Yes. Most of it is simplified. The amount of rubbish the original has glued on to it is unbelievable. Some of it is embarrassingly ridiculous. Good luck Matador, maybe you have more tolerance for pointless junk glued on to your model than I do!

[Senmut]

Wow!
When can I get one?????

[Matador]

Good luck Matador, maybe you have more tolerance for pointless junk glued on to your model than I do!

Awesome job on placement of the Greebles... You really know how to place things. I envy that. I have a love/hate relation doing it, but it must be done in order to get that right look.

I put a lot of thought into where I'm going to put things... I'm always finding spots that I feel "needs something". Like James Camron says "everthing must have a purpose". So it's all strategic... It doesn't really just flow out.

That is the most time consuming part for me. Honestly I use a lot of your design as reference... Without coping yours directly... I try to give my Galacitica a bit of originality. That is why my Galactica is soooo different.

But I will be honest... I'm probably going to use your idea for the inside of the engines... Your work is amazing. I love to look at your Galactica and admire the art work that it is.

My deal is I want to start filming right away, but in the back of my head, I feel I would just be cheating.

I'm just glad I switched to Lightwave... The modeling tools have really helped me get a bit more creative.
:cool:

[Punisher454]

Do you plan to add the celestial dome? It feels a bit ridiculous to say anything about MORE details, but I just couldn't help myself.
Seriously, when I saw what you had done with the bow of the ship I thought to myself, this is so incredibly detailed he may just burn out before he gets half way done. The engine section just blows me away. its great to see you making great progress on this.
This is the single most incredible 3d model I have ever seen, period.

Marvin

[Titon]

The celestial dome actually was added to the neck of the ship on the studio filming model. Kind of funny especially when it was supposed to be above the engine section.

;)

[maudib]

I didn't know that about Turboquid. I see people making highly detailed and expensive resin "kits" and selling them, so I just assumed it was okay as long as you don't claim your product to be an authentic BSG item.

I thought of the celestial dome while modeling the top of the thruster section. Like Titon said, exactly where it goes is unknown. I can added it in without much bother once I know where it goes!

This model is full of such silly contradictions, that I end up just making up a good guess at a part and just have fun building this 3D behemoth and not stress out about being "canon" BSG. I might even do an optional Matador's version with an open-front landing bay pod.

My present "ridiculous" situation is that my only source for reference pics is the Kuhn photo sets. But no one bothered to take a photo of the greebles on the plate that covers the huge hole in the engine exhaust face!

http://www.modelermagic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/kg-tos_battlestar-studio_model_reference-299.jpg

Now I have to guess again. Makes the modeling go much slower than it should.

[Titon]

I thought of the celestial dome while modeling the top of the thruster section. Like Titon said, exactly where it goes is unknown

Watch the very end of Hand of God where the camera moves in from the outside of the Galactica and the dome is open. That is the neck of the Galactica on her right side....

The dome was supposed to be above the engine section...no biggie...

[maudib]

Well then I will add the celestial dome to its proper place. I believe Apollo said they were directly above the main thrusters. I'll work something up, but will keep it as a separate add-on part option. No good heaping on polys for something like that.

[Punisher454]

I've always thought it was supposed to be above the main engines someplace.

[gmd3d]

I remember that Apollo said the over the years there where a few of these celestial dome around the ship.. anyone else remember that?

[Titon]

I've always thought it was supposed to be above the main engines someplace.

It was. We were not supposed to notice that.

;)

[maudib]

Update 2-14-14

Try as I might for 8 hours today, I didn't finish the center of the exhaust section. One more day should do it, and then time to move on.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1395x784q90/560/pcvx.jpg

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1395x784q90/62/celj.jpg

I managed to find ONE good reference photo of the cover plate greebles. This is what I based this version on.

[mikala]

Crazy pretty polys there maudib

[Matador]

Nice work man. I totally want to scrap my idea of laser cannons on the back and just go with your version instead. Much cleaner.

You really know where to put greebles and give them a natural functionality to them.

This is something I struggle with. :cool:

[gmd3d]

Nice work man. I totally want to scrap my idea of laser cannons on the back and just go with your version instead. Much cleaner.

You really know where to put greebles and give them a natural functionality to them.

This is something I struggle with. :cool:

you are not alone :salute:

[maudib]

I agree also. But I am just following the reference pics as a guide. What I can't see, I take a good guess and make up something. In this area, I finally found a pic of the engine area with the pipe support hole cover on, so I used it as a guide

This pic was posted by Demoriel of his incredible professional work on two battlestars.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/atomik7/Picture011.jpg

I use a few rules when deciding on what to model and what is rubbish.

1. I don't do rivets! Ugh. Victorian era technology!
2. I don't do exposed girders. More Victorian think.
3. It's much easier for a CGI artist to create something De novo than a physical modeler. They are limited by the kit parts they can bash together. In the case of the last pic, I used the train wheels as a start, and made something circular and round in shape, changed the details to an exhaust vent and added more detail. I recycled 2 greebles already made just like the physical modelers do, recombined them into a new configuration and saved many hours of work. Since this is the exhaust section, more vents look logical.

4. Keep the large greebles fairly faithful to the original, but ignore or modify the tiny gibberish since I have the design ability on a computer that physical modelers do not have.

5. Trade off surface detail for poly reduction. My target limit for this giant mesh is 20 million polys, so I have more room to play with than lower poly design and put more detail into exposed areas. In this area, I have chosen to put in the honeycomb grid in the exhaust. Since no one will care about looking for an authentic honeycomb grid, I did not round it excessively and saved hundreds of thousands of polys. For rendering, I will remove it and put a flat plate (2 polys) and set it to 100% luminosity as a glowing exhaust, like in the picture. In fact, I would remove just about all the greebles as well since the glare from the exhaust gas would obscure everything anyway. That would save about 2 millions polys in the renders.

6. Throw in minute detail in key visible areas to give a sense of the large scale of the design. This is why the physical modelers paste on all the plastic squares on the G's hulls. It gives your eyes something tiny to scale and focus on while you look at the overall design. It makes you think the ship is huge. You don't need to saturate every square millimeter with tiny greebles ( looks like surface dermatitis to me) to achieve the effect, just enough to do the job at eye trickery.

The end result is that if you look at my version, it appears at a distance to be a detailed, accurate TOS battlestar, but if you scrutinize it closely, the small parts vary from the original, or are absent. To faithfully recreate the G part for part would take 100 million polys by my guess.

I always keep these things in mind while working away on the big G. Just my two cents:thumbsup:

[gmd3d]

I agree also. But I am just following the reference pics as a guide. What I can't see, I take a good guess and make up something. In this area, I finally found a pic of the engine area with the pipe support hole cover on, so I used it as a guide

This pic was posted by Demoriel of his incredible professional work on two battlestars.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/atomik7/Picture011.jpg

I use a few rules when deciding on what to model and what is rubbish.

1. I don't do rivets! Ugh. Victorian era technology!
2. I don't do exposed girders. More Victorian think.
3. It's much easier for a CGI artist to create something De novo than a physical modeler. They are limited by the kit parts they can bash together. In the case of the last pic, I used the train wheels as a start, and made something circular and round in shape, changed the details to an exhaust vent and added more detail. I recycled 2 greebles already made just like the physical modelers do, recombined them into a new configuration and saved many hours of work. Since this is the exhaust section, more vents look logical.

4. Keep the large greebles fairly faithful to the original, but ignore or modify the tiny gibberish since I have the design ability on a computer that physical modelers do not have.

5. Trade off surface detail for poly reduction. My target limit for this giant mesh is 20 million polys, so I have more room to play with than lower poly design and put more detail into exposed areas. In this area, I have chosen to put in the honeycomb grid in the exhaust. Since no one will care about looking for an authentic honeycomb grid, I did not round it excessively and saved hundreds of thousands of polys. For rendering, I will remove it and put a flat plate (2 polys) and set it to 100% luminosity as a glowing exhaust, like in the picture. In fact, I would remove just about all the greebles as well since the glare from the exhaust gas would obscure everything anyway. That would save about 2 millions polys in the renders.

6. Throw in minute detail in key visible areas to give a sense of the large scale of the design. This is why the physical modelers paste on all the plastic squares on the G's hulls. It gives your eyes something tiny to scale and focus on while you look at the overall design. It makes you think the ship is huge. You don't need to saturate every square millimeter with tiny greebles ( looks like surface dermatitis to me) to achieve the effect, just enough to do the job at eye trickery.

The end result is that if you look at my version, it appears at a distance to be a detailed, accurate TOS battlestar, but if you scrutinize it closely, the small parts vary from the original, or are absent. To faithfully recreate the G part for part would take 100 million polys by my guess.

I always keep these things in mind while working away on the big G. Just my two cents:thumbsup:

I think that is the way to go.. I look forward to more and more and well you guessed MORE :)

[maudib]

update 2-15-14

Done! With the exhaust section that is :D

See, lot's of exhaust vents make the place look busy without adding a lot of polys. No trusses and girders or rivets.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1585x892q90/38/3y8d.jpg

Lining up for landing approach to the starboard bay.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1585x892q90/36/i6jm.jpg

[gmd3d]

massive :)

[Tenement]

The most amazing Galactica I've ever seen but you're going to need a computer with the processing power of V'Ger to animate it. Can't wait to see this lady complete.

[Matador]

Thanks for the tip Maudib. Always good to get helpful advise.

"The sleeper must awaken"

[martok2112]

Simply eye popping with the attention to detail. :)

[gmd3d]

HEY Steve you need to pop they eye back in.. could cause an accident

[martok2112]

I knoww I knoooooowwwww... but darnit, every time I see a new work by the likes of maud'dib, or matador, or yourself, and many other talented artists here at the fleets, my eyes just pop out. And then I gotta crawl all over the floor, looking for them to put them back in. And I can't just fix them in place with duct tape or eyepatches, because then I wouldn't be able to see the models at all.

Sigh.... 'tis a small price to pay for the enjoyment of observing far more talented folk. :)


Now....when I sing high notes at the Famous Door... er... let's not go there, shall we? :D

[gmd3d]

I knoww I knoooooowwwww... but darnit, every time I see a new work by the likes of maud'dib, or matador, or yourself, and many other talented artists here at the fleets, my eyes just pop out. And then I gotta crawl all over the floor, looking for them to put them back in. And I can't just fix them in place with duct tape or eyepatches, because then I wouldn't be able to see the models at all.

Sigh.... 'tis a small price to pay for the enjoyment of observing far more talented folk. :)


Now....when I sing high notes at the Famous Door... er... let's not go there, shall we? :D


I am humbly grateful to be added to the list of talented artists,, but you have left another out.. yourself.. :salute:

[martok2112]

I am honored, Ger, thank you. I am in good company. But believe me, my work is very amateurish compared to what you all have done. :) (My eyes are in no danger of popping out at my own works :D ).

[Merlin]

maudib, can you post some images of your entire model, I would like to see the whole thing ... : )

[maudib]

Not much to see from a distance. I discourage looking too closely at the general layout since I change things often while working on a particular area. The middle section is subject to drastic revisions as I have not even bothered to look at these area yet. I often find that my initial work from years ago needs adjusting. Only after all the greebles are on is a particular area deemed finalized. But here you go. :thumbsup:
http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5999&stc=1&d=1392679525

[Matador]

Maudib... How big is your CG model... Since Lightwave works on "real-world" light physics... I want to make sure I'm scaling my lights correctly.

My Galactica Model is very small... I did it this way because when I was using 3ds Max... I couldn't model anything too large cause it would cause the program to crash, or at least that was my experience with max.

If I was to scale my Galactica to "real-world" size... I think it would be something like 3218 meters or 2 miles... something to that.

Currently my model is about 5 meters or 196.85 inches.

Regards,
Matador.

[maudib]

Matador, my G mesh is 5280ft (1 mile) long. So you could say that I am building a battlestar full-size part by part like Evan almighty building his ark. When I get to the landing bay pods, the G will be resized to 10,560 ft (2 miles). I still work with such small dimensions even at the overall scale of 1 mile ( I round parts with a radius as small as 5mm on some hull plates and greebles), I sometimes have to enlarge a particular mesh 100 times in size just to be able to work with it, then return the finished mesh to it's original size and paste it on the main mesh.

Starting on the bottom panel of the engine section
6001

[gmd3d]

Awesome work, stunning

I used the Nautical mile for Folkrm's model, instead of the Terrestrial mile

[Matador]

Thanks for the tip Maudib...

When you attach your greebles to the main mesh, do you use "align" or "rotate to object tool?

I've been doing it manually and was hoping for something to speed it up. A new feature in 11.6 is the "Place Mesh" tool.

All my Greebles are on another layer... The downside with Place Mesh, is that you have your greeble in the background... The click on the target object or mesh in the fourground. Wa-la, there it is. But, it puts the greeble on the same layer.

:cool:

[Punisher454]

I use the Nautical mile as well. The statute mile makes the launching bays a little cramped. the distance between the launching bay to the end of the launch tube is short enough, then if you assume that that is a viper elevator behind the roll-up door behind the vipers, you just run out of room. 6080' is workable for me, the landing bay opening seems to scale to the shuttle just right at that length, and the vipers fit the launch tube diameter acceptably at that scale as well.

I sure do wish I had more free time right now, the pure awesomeness of this Battlestar model inspires me to want to work on some of my BSG models so bad right now.

cant wait to see whats next.

[maudib]

Matador, I manually position each greeble with the main hull frame in layer 1 while the greebles are built in successive layers. I maintain separate layers and copy each layer to a separate reference file for safe keeping. The greebles are never actually applied to the main hull framework, except during rendering in LW Layout where each layer of greebles contained in separate files are added to a reference null object so all the greebles in each file maintain their original alignment and orientation with other. When I move the null object during rendering, all the separate greebles remain slaved to the null object and move with it.

Taranis, I didnt think about the nautical mile. Oops! When I break dimensions down into inches and feet, I assume that I will be using the US Survey Mile. I forget that the rest of the world uses other systems of measurement. maybe I should convert my G to metric system? Sorry about that.

Punisher454, I agree about the scaling issues. I decided long ago that Larson didn't much care about engineering accuracy as opposed to simply producing a TV show. So I just model away.

[gmd3d]

Taranis, I didnt think about the nautical mile. Oops! When I break dimensions down into inches and feet, I assume that I will be using the US Survey Mile. I forget that the rest of the world uses other systems of measurement. maybe I should convert my G to metric system? Sorry about that.
.

Hey :D lots of people have done the same, cough:duck: er like me when I started trying to work out what works. it was only when I had Folkrms mesh I was able to scale the models, Galactica, Vipers, Shuttles, etc to see how things would line up.

I think the most important aspect for establishing scale is the Viper and Viper tube!! and settle on the scale of the Viper..

The studio Viper scale was 28.5ft as far as the link below discusses at some length, I don't know what the scale of the miniature is so I used
the high end scale of 30ft I think.

But I believe that the Miniature scales should be used and not the studio mockup.. but thats just me.

The full scale mock-up of the Viper was 28.5 feet long, however this mock-up is proportionally shorter than the filming miniature. I currently don't have any information as to the difference but in the visual effects shots, the Viper should normally be considered to be longer. For these measurements I will be using the 28.5 foot length however.


Here is some added information,, just to really mess with your head:rotf:

First some information as to where these camps come from:

2000 ft - This measurement comes from an article from Starlog, August 1978, by Richard Meyers who supposedly got the number from the production staff. The British BSG Annual in 1979 also has this figure contained in the article. This size is also stated on the Revell/Monagram model kit. I don't have access to these articles (but I do have the model kit) in order to give an exact quote but I will trust the sources I got this information from.

6080 ft - This measurement comes from an article in a British magazine by one of the three owners of the Galactica Archives and estimated the scale of the model to be about 1/960 scale (1 inch = 80 ft). This measurement is roughly supported by Glen Larson (Producer) and John Dykstra (VFX supervisor) who say the ship is about a mile in length. The extra material on the DVD also says the ship is a mile long. This measurement is exactly one nautical mile. Again I don't have the article and will trust this scale was stated.

2-3 Miles long/random measurements - In an issue of Fantastic Films (February 1979) James Delson interviewed Ken Swenson, a model maker on Battlestar Galactica. In the interview he says "They called them battlestars because they were so huge...It's the size of a small city." (Personal note: He also says the ship with the three film cans is the livery ship.)

Fantastic Films (April 1979) shows a blueprint with the Galactica's dimensions and showing the length to be 3280 d.m. (whatever a d.m. is...)

In the magazine Science Fantasy (October 1978) James Burns writes "The 'Galactica', which is supposed to be two to three miles long, has been built down to scale..."

In a related note and one that I will use eventually to do some measurements, The Battlestar Galactica Scrapbook mentions that Dykstra's team extrapolated the length of a the shuttle from the size of the windows to be 110 feet. For practical purposes, the art director arbitrarily cut the scale in half and a 33 foot long section of the shuttle was built..

Source http://ravensbranch.allen.com/galacticasize.html

Recenlty I have reconsidered that the 6080ft scale should increase by another 100ft (approx) or so to have enough room for the Vipers.

[gmd3d]

I use the Nautical mile as well. The statute mile makes the launching bays a little cramped. the distance between the launching bay to the end of the launch tube is short enough, then if you assume that that is a viper elevator behind the roll-up door behind the vipers, you just run out of room. 6080' is workable for me, the landing bay opening seems to scale to the shuttle just right at that length, and the vipers fit the launch tube diameter acceptably at that scale as well.

I sure do wish I had more free time right now, the pure awesomeness of this Battlestar model inspires me to want to work on some of my BSG models so bad right now.

cant wait to see whats next.
Same here.. I want to do some BSG models. but just no time

[Merlin]

Your model is beyond impressive, the detail, what is the poly count ?

[ivanhoejones]

OMG.... just got approved on the site here.... and all I have to say so far is wow! your model is amazing so far... and the detail superb! Don't stop however long it takes, I can tell it is an "Art" thing for you and a passion for something you love down to your bone marrow. Keep up the excellent work!

[maudib]

Ah ha, but Larson and Dykstra are working in the American film industry, and in the US, the "mile" is the US survey mile (5280ft) not the nautical mile used in the US military. I don't think they were thinking of military terminology, just the ordinary civilian use of the word "mile" as used when driving along the freeways in SoCal. Maybe the British fans mistook the term "mile" to mean what they are familiar with in the UK? Just a thought. The difference to me is trivial. Like you said, just scale everything with regards to the vipers and call it a day.

Merlin, my G stands at 11.2 million polys.

Thanks for the kind words Ivanhoejones, yes... modelling this battlestar is an art project for me, so I don't really care about practical uses for it (eg. animating) so I don't limit my poly counts too much, but keep it within reason so I can at least render the thing for still pics. Poly reduction can always be done on it after its complete, and that's where my priorities are with the limited free time I have to work on it.

[gmd3d]

Ah ha, but Larson and Dykstra are working in the American film industry, and in the US, the "mile" is the US survey mile (5280ft) not the nautical mile used in the US military. I don't think they were thinking of military terminology, just the ordinary civilian use of the word "mile" as used when driving along the freeways in SoCal. Maybe the British fans mistook the term "mile" to mean what they are familiar with in the UK? Just a thought. The difference to me is trivial. Like you said, just scale everything with regards to the vipers and call it a day.


I would not presume to say what Dykstra was working with! :duck:

but I would like to think it was the nautical mile and thats only based on my personal preference. but I think that the best way for any modeller/designer to approach the Galactica scale use the Viper and launch tube and work from there..

:salute:

[gmd3d]

but as I said above or somewhere .. I think it could go for another 100ft or so and all would be resolved with the Viper and tube. I hope to test that soon

[Titon]

Figuring out the true scale of this thing is just in everyone's imagination. According to the books and articles it's considered to be a mile long but a 5,000 foot starship just does not make sense. This thing is big but who know's.

Having been assembling the cg model the scale is all over the place.

[gmd3d]

Figuring out the true scale of this thing is just in everyone's imagination. According to the books and articles it's considered to be a mile long but a 5,000 foot starship just does not make sense. This thing is big but who know's.

Having been assembling the cg model the scale is all over the place.

never a truer word spoken:salute:

[Matador]

Thanks again for the tip Maudib... I'm doing the exact same thing... Just wanted to make sure I wasn't making this more work than necessary.

For filming I will have different versions of the big G... One for close-ups... Another for full scale beauty shots. Another for battle scenes.

Lightwave really seems to handle all those greebles very well. But to help with filming, I'm going to need the different versions.

Regarding scale...

I first built a viper to scale and then built everything around that myself... The Launch tube, hanger deck, and landing deck... It was all about the scale of the Viper...

I'm just glad I have a forum to go to, to brain storm all this stuff.:cool:

[gmd3d]

Its a lot of fun getting back into it.. I must say..

the exchange of ideas is fun..

of course the main attraction is the model work

[Punisher454]

I first built a viper to scale and then built everything around that myself... The Launch tube, hanger deck, and landing deck... It was all about the scale of the Viper...

If you do some searching, there are some blueprints available online of the original launch bay set. They even show the forklift used to lower the elevator.

[Merlin]

Figuring out the true scale of this thing is just in everyone's imagination. According to the books and articles it's considered to be a mile long but a 5,000 foot starship just does not make sense. This thing is big but who know's.

Having been assembling the cg model the scale is all over the place.

I 100 percent agree!

[gmd3d]

I agree 99.9 percent.. remainder just to be awkward.

[Merlin]

I agree 99.9 percent.. remainder just to be awkward.

I now agree 100.1 percent, just to even things out, again! : )

And... i triple stamp a double stamp, and then ... triple dog dare anyone to change it!

[Senmut]

Thanks again for the tip Maudib... I'm doing the exact same thing... Just wanted to make sure I wasn't making this more work than necessary.

For filming I will have different versions of the big G... One for close-ups... Another for full scale beauty shots. Another for battle scenes.

Lightwave really seems to handle all those greebles very well. But to help with filming, I'm going to need the different versions.

Regarding scale...

I first built a viper to scale and then built everything around that myself... The Launch tube, hanger deck, and landing deck... It was all about the scale of the Viper...

I'm just glad I have a forum to go to, to brain storm all this stuff.:cool:

Has anyone done the same with a BaseShip's landing bay?

[Punisher454]

I think trying to design the Baseship landing bays according to the info we have (Hand of god) woould be more confusing than the galactica's. The matte painting used in the show didnt make much sense at all. Certianly not a practical design to hold 300 fighters.

I would build 10 identical landing bays. 5 on the upper saucer and 5 on the lower. I would keep all the deck orientation facing the same "up" direction, just because thats the way i think they would have done it in the late 70's ( 2 dimensional thinking, emulating terrestrial designs that fans would understand).
I would have the central core hangers (2 of them) be a hub for moving ships from one landing bay to another or to a maintenance hanger. The fighter elevators would be here along with perhaps Cylon support ships as well (they have to have some sort of shuttle type ships).

Really the cylon base ship would be fairly easy to layout the interior compared to a Battlestar. Other than a few special compartments (throne room, command center etc..) you can mostly just repeat the same pie slice of the ship many times.

[maudib]

2-27-14

No update today, just playing around with scale and testing out the mesh. I sized Lawrence's shuttle so that the G is 1.5 miles long. Looks pretty good, but I still like the 2 mile scale better.

6018

This is also a test to check how LW is handling my large meshes. 2 battlestars and 6 shuttles and Taranis' landing bay mesh (30 million polys). Render time was 8 min 35 sec with 19 passes and radiosity on. Some area on the side of the engine sections looking pretty barren, gonna have to work on that later.

[gmd3d]

1.5 MILES.. cool..

there is a lot about my bay I would rethink .. that on one of my back burners for the moment

[Punisher454]

the problem is we have too many back burners. Right now I'd like nothing more than to just spend several days modeling, unfortunately I only get a few minutes to browse the forums and such.
During my last free modeling period I was just staring to learn to use dDo and nDo (incredible tools). So anxious to get back to that.
Maudib's model is is like hardcore modeling pr0n for me.

[gmd3d]

yes.. that is so true :)

[maudib]

Update 3-1-14

Having problems with these strange splotches showing up on the textures. Anyone know what is causing this with LW?

6019

Several hours of work to make this large greeble. It's a bit disappointing to see renders like these.

[Senmut]

Could be alot worse.

[Punisher454]

Dont know about lightwave, but in Max something similar will happen when ray-trace rendering is done with a setting of too few rays being calculated. Notice it shows up in the corner areas that should be darker due to ambient occlusion.
But of course LW and Max are different, so I may be way off.

Looks good anyhow though.

[gmd3d]

what camera are you using too..

[Titon]

Are you using nodes? Ambient Occlusion will do that in areas if using nodes.

Also in some cases when you use radiosity and an occlusion shader this can happen. I would check for poly error's in that area as well.

[maudib]

Spent 6 hrs chasing down this irritating corruption. Giving up and moving on with modeling. Not using any texturing, only a basic image applied for rendering so I don't have to look at flat grey all the time. Thanks for all the suggestions from the LW and Max users. Nodes look like fun, maybe a chrome plated Galactica is in the future!

[maudib]

Is this object in the middle of the pic, what I think it is? Looks like a soda pop bottle cap!6022

I'm NOT modelling a bottle cap :barf:

[gmd3d]

Lol..

[gmd3d]

Oh my 5000th post..

Now I am a Major :)

all hail me!!

[Senmut]

Coooooooooooooooooooke iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinn Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gmd3d]

:)

[maudib]

3-4-14 Small update

Made the dome greeble and spent a lot of time adjusting the middle section and the landing bay pods so the dome and the connector tube would fit.

6025

Turned out my work from 2 years ago was way off and the new parts wouldn't fit. This is why I don't like to publish any firm specs yet. Everything is WIP.

[gmd3d]

looking good :)

[Matador]

Looks good.

[martok2112]

This is so monstrous....in a beautiful way. :)

[maudib]

Update 3-15-14

Just slaving away in greeble making. More stuff in a very boring section. The big greebles are fun. Don't want to add too much since this area is very rarely rendered. Gonna have to add a lot of plates to fill-in the area and make it look busy.

6056

[martok2112]

As always, simply stunning! :)

[Matador]

Nice work... You should post a tutorial on the art of Greebling. That's fantastic.

[Punisher454]

More stuff in a very boring section. The big greebles are fun. Don't want to add too much since this area is very rarely rendered. Gonna have to add a lot of plates to fill-in the area and make it look busy.

My interior modeling project has this portion of the Battlestar a very important hub area where ships are transfered between Alpha and Beta bays, plus this is where all cargo and supplies must pass through between the landing bays and the rest of the ship. I think that giant dome shape on the back is a huge cargo bay door. Perhaps its some sort of mega docking port.
Something that seems boring is just an opportunity to make it interesting.

But fantastic work anyhow!

[maudib]

Too me, that dome represents a power generator (energizer in BSG-speak?) Well protected by the superstructure and hard to target. I am thinking about putting a huge hole in the bottom of that area and create a cargo docking bay since like you, I think a lot of materials handling and transfer occurs in this area. The studio scale model has a huge hole there anyway for the filming support tube, so I am only leaving it uncovered.

[Punisher454]

Very cool.

[martok2112]

Such talent. I am floored! :)