Shamrayev Project: Block-out one

 I didn't want to jump into modelling until the ship's overall design was finalised. However, my shonky drafting skills make it harder to make precise ship layouts, so we'll use Blender to quickly iterate form changes...importantly, none of this is going to be a final model. It's just another kind of sketch.

I might print out some layouts, then sketch over them for when I want to produce some more detailed illustrations without modelling fine details.

First Block-out

The core. A first bash at the proportions 200-ish metres long, 10m diameter (narrowest)

After some playing around. Two beams at the back for extra support

I wanted the engineering section to have more mass, so I duplicated the main cylinder and gave it a taper. It has just enough of the Soviet rocket vibe to give me good feelings, and it may be here to stay.

Tidy up the forward beams. Running the front beams further along the hull.

Ball tanks FTW. They've become clichés, but if handled well, they could be nice.

Critique time

So what's good and what's not right?

Good

1) Overall, happy with the proportions. Smaller spin habs, a bit shorter with a bigger diameter. That would be a design concession to reality. For 1g of simulated gravity, you would need these habs to be spinning at mad speeds, resulting in a sickness-inducing Coriolis effect. The compromise is that these habs generate 0.2-0.5g. They are not used in transit, only when "parked" in orbit.

2) The superstructure is already looking a lot more like engineering and less of a modelling riff. The 2018 version was a step in the right direction, but the design now benefits from two supporting aft beams, which look like they could handle more plausible loads, without magical materials. 

3) The detail of the engineering section was a break in the rules. It's a detail, and maybe too soon, but It gives a new Soviet rocket vibe that suddenly has me wanting to add some more historical references. That said, I'll wait until the main Big and Medium elements are tied down before I start making any more references.

Not so...

1) Currently, the lines of the main body are a bit broken by sections all with seemingly different diameters. It could be cleaner. Although this might be nullified as more details are finalised. I could shrink down the gaps and unify some of the sizes to make it look cleaner? I'll try that.

2) The earlier sails were more interesting. The originals didn't bottom out so close to the centre. The 2018 versions have a cool shape. I like some of the elements and will change the shape to test various sizes and configurations.

3) I wonder if I need to build the superstructure first. Currently, the superstructure is solid, but it needs to be trusses and structural elements that will look more spindly. I think it's important not to get locked down yet. I'll keep an open mind and be prepared to shift away from any particular element.