If you can draw some ortho ref images I'm up for it (couldn't draw if my life depended on it) :)

Yeah it'd be nice to see some wires...

More views
 

I'm glad to hear that people like this model, it is a very pleasing one to do because I was so passionate about the Thundercats when I was little (and now!)

It would be fantastic for some people to build some low poly characters to accompany the tank, we could build up quite a collection of Thundercats models in time. Unfortunately, as I have mentioned before I am going away shortly for 4 months so could not do anymore myself.

Anyway, here are some more views. My next challenge with the tank is to fit all the seats and gun (that is supposed, somehow, to sink into the floor) into the back compartment. I'm afraid I dont think I can include even half of the features the tank has in the cartoon series. I was watching some last night and that tank and do ANYTHING!!!

WIreframe
 

Here is a wireframe of the model, there is probably a lot of tidying to be done to it but I am not entirely sure of the how neat it has to be (this is my first project)

Also, how do you usually go about posting images of your wireframe? I just did a printscreen, is there an easier method?

Let me know if you want to see any other views/have suggestions/crits etc...

Now I have to start making some Thundercats! :)

The wireframe is a bit hard to see on the small picture. As far as I know, you don't have to worry about having all quads if you won't be smoothing or deforming a mesh, but I've been wrong before :)

bigger
 

bigger wireframe, bit hard to see as there is so much!

cool, thats great work on the tank, lots of detail as well :)

found a great site for shots from the series (will post it tonight as its on my laptop). I've started accumulating as many all round shots as possible for the costumes and as many side and front shots as possible for each character. Will try and get some ortho drawings done but they might not be done till your back ben ;)

how about the main base next? ;)

More Thundercats
 

Yay! I would love to collaborate on getting som more models together. The cat's lair would be a good one to do, that was my plan initially but decided it wouldn't be much fun when it came to animating! It doesn't really do much.

I am struggling enough trying to incorporate all the features of the tank for now! I need to start modelling the gun on the back but am quite busy for the next few days, will do what I can.

I would like to see this site you found with all the images, I just dug out an old 1990 Thundercats Annual to get a few more references but the characters look quite different in it to those in the cartoon.

Back to it!

sorry about the delay, here's the site with lots of captured reference stuff from the episodes :)

http://www.purrsiathunder.net/coppermine/index.php

some great angle shots etc of the characters and will be useful for drawing some orthographic pics :)

aaah the memories
 

I feel like such a little kid all over again when I view this post, I get all kinds of little butterflies in my stomach just watching this thunder tank come to life. you are doing a great job benpackwood. I remember another show that I use to watch when I was younger, it was Voltron "defenders of the universe" I always thought that was a cool show, I might do something on that when I get good enough, I dont know what my next challenge is going to be, I will have to find one LOL.

keep up the good work benpackwood and thanks for reminding us all of the good old days!!

Leland Webb

Webb Creative Arts

This thing will never be done
 

Hello all, thanks for your encouragment through this project. It makes it all the more fun to do if you know that others appreciate it!

That site had loads of good pics cheers t1ck135, I would love it if we could get a collection of models together, not that I'm complaining about going away for 4 months but I really want to get on and do some others!

I have now added a gun at the back which comes out of a trapdoor in the floor. I have set up a 'set driven key' so that when the doors on the trapdoor open, the gun raises. I had to scale the gun and it's stand to fit in the hole without poking out of the bottom!

I have started on the seats in the back, then comes the dashboard and then I should be almost done.

I am watching lots of Thundercats at the moment to try and grasp all of the tank's features (which seem endless) and deciding which to try and incorporate.

I will keep posting images as I make any changes and I hope you continue to enjoy them

Cool, its looking great. Makes me want to drive it :)
Have you much to go before texturing?

not too much left
 

I dont think there is too much left to do now before texturing, just some detailing in the dashboard. Im sure a lot of detailing could be done with texturing but I'm not very confident at texturing and am avoiding it as much as possible. In all honesty I have no idea where to start when it comes to texturing the tank.

Any help would be great!

The other thing to be thinking about now is rigging for animation, single components all work now (arms moving, guns raising, tracks turning etc...) but there are so many components they don't move together. I had a quick go at grouping it all and everything except the tracks moved together but they went at a different speed, why??? They are lots of small polygon shapes attached to a curve and deformed by a lattice, if that helps!

Thanks for your help.

Oh, and I added a nose gun I saw in one episode!

The models coming along nicely, i still have my toy thundertank :)

dashboard
 

I've done a little more on the dashboard but don't know what to do now.

I'm not sure what texturing it really needs or how to do it!

And don't know how to rig it so the bits don't all fly apart! Does it all need to be polygons or Nurbs instead of a mixture? Do they need to be grouped? Or parented? or what? Why do my track fly out of shape when I move them?

Help would be great!

Cheers everyone

I'm a noob with rigging so cant really help there :(

Texturing-wise it'd be nice to see the dashboards with things on the screens etc... As for the general body, maybe look into playing with shaders like people do with cars (not that I can help there either)

Looking great though :)