Raptor 3D Project - Edits 09
Fuselage refining, wing and taileron fit, thrust vectoring parts:
I've spent many hours smoothing out details, especially near the wing/fuselage joint, and the tail, to get the shapes closer to scale. Next step is to shape the edges of all the moveable control surfaces, so that the gaps disappear, as on the actual aircraft. After that, it will be time to cut the landing gear doors and weapons bay doors out of the fuselage. In the meantime, here are a few nice renderings, showing the progress so far.
Remember the "squat angle" of the landing gear, that caused me to slightly rotate the side view drawing while building the model? In the renderings below, the MODEL has been rotated forward 1 degree, to simulate that stance, and looks more realistic. (When I go back to modeling, I re-rotate the model to match the drawings at zero degrees.)
These were all lit with the same 3-light setup, as shown here.
Fine-tuning the control surface edges...
Although not obvious in this image, I've done an edge treatment on the leading edge flap/Wing joint, where it's hinged, and also on the inboard end, where it meets the fuselage. This includes the stealthy "bevel" that appears on the actual aircraft. The leading edges of the flaps and ailerons have also been beveled, and all that remains is to do their side edges, where they meet the wing and fuselage.
All control surface gaps now sealed.
The wing/fuselage joint is an ongoing edit, since I've built the wings in a scale-like manner, using the separation line on the actual aircraft. It's a tedious process, in which I'm gradually increasing the smoothness of the joint as I do other fuselage edits. So, rather than posting a lot of images devoted to that, I'm simply doing it in the background, as the rest of the model moves along, and you'll see it improve gradually.
Click the "Edits 10" link below to continue.