A New Series

Because of my dream to become a digital artist, the computer I have does not cut out for speed and power. With only 4 GB of DDR2 RAM, 250GB hard-drive, (not solid-state [sniff sniff]) a not so great case, and a motherboard and processor beyond embarrassment, I have decided to pool my resources to upgrade to a higher level. Unfortunately, my so-called resources were only able to reach for a computer case. And so begins the series on what went into my super-computer.

Like I said, the first part I was able to get was a case. Unfortunately, the picture I have is not the greatest, and since I don't want to go through the hassle of the 30 min duration of taking it back out of the box, the picture I supply you will have to suffice.

The reason I first bought a case is because that is one of the three parts I will only be able to use at the moment. (you cannot use a modern motherboard with DDR2 RAM) I could have gotten a solid-state, but about four people's birthdays are coming up, and I needed to redeem my reputation of supplying a birthday gift.

The case is a Sentey made Gs-6080 Seeker Gaming Case. Although I will not be using it for intense gaming, (gaming, but not intense) I wanted something that will look good sitting under my desk. The case is equipped with two 120mm fans, with fan controls on the top. It also comes with one USB 3.0 port which compared to nowadays, is no big deal, but compared to my computer, a leap. Both sides come off to reveal a hidden cable system on one side, and the interior on the other.
It comes with four HDD/SSD racks, which slide out with some coaxing. One main bummer is that the case comes with lots of little pieces and chords, but no instructions.

The case allows you to add two more fans on the top, which I will be installing soon. (a.k.a after birthday presents) I am not sure if the fan controls work with the two additional fans. I assume it wouldn't. My previous case had only two ways for air to go out; the front and the back. This case has front, back, top, and bottom.

In summary, I have found this case to be a thumbs up. There were some cases similar to this one, but cheaper in value, that were okay, but not as nice. I figured that money-wise in cases, you want to get a nice case even if it means spending a little extra, since you will be looking at it for the years to come.

I hope you enjoy this mini-series as it progresses through the various parts. I will not be posting on a weekly update, but rather as the parts come in.

Till next time,

Jonathan

Gunship

My first attempt at large models was based off the Supreme Commanders: Forged Alliance UEF Tech 3 Gunship. My first design had all four engines rotate to it's hovering position, but since the structure holding the wings in that position was flimsy, I removed it and kept that gunship in flying mode.

my main problem with this model was in filling up the gaps.

 A couple of the front engines were left open.

As you can see...I slacked off on some areas of the gunship.

The back air-to-air guns were added by me

The four guns on the underside was added to represent the gunships, well, guns.

They were not the original design.

So overall, the gunship, although not the best, was a major step in my K'nex designing. A friend of mine suggested that I take pictures of post-production pictures, which was a great idea, but was after I designed my fifth big model. =D So in the next three posts of mega-models, you will only see final production. 

Till next time,

Jonathan

Starcraft Battlecruiser

Hello all!

Every time I write a post saying I have "returned" I don't publish another post until two months later; so much for my grand recovery. But despite all that, I believe that this post was worth it. If you refer to my "about me section", you will see that I explain that I am not very good in creating lego models. However, when it comes to K'nex, my ability is far superior.

 The battle-cruiser is based of the Starcraft II computer game, which I happen to play. This model was my second attempt at large scale models. (My first attempt will be another post) On this model, I focused more on detail than structure, so when I picked it up, the wings nearly broke off. After adding some little unnoticed supports, the model was ready. If you refer to the pictures below, you can see the contrast of my model to the real thing. Unfortunately, the pictures of my model are not in the same pose as the real one, so you will have to make the best of it to decide whether I made a realistic replica.

View of the front. 

Some small weapons can be seen as added, and not part of the original model.

View of the left exhaust pipes, near the wing.

Center part of the battle-cruiser.

 The two guns on top are added. The two yellow/blue ones are the ground cannons

Command deck. The wings on the end were a unfinished attempt to create the wings on the model

Exhausts, which propel the ship forward. 

Front half of the wing, which consisted of the two air-to-air guns.

I tried to create the shield plating on the side of the wings.

 You can't see it from this perspective, but some of the air-to-air guns were created differently.

The cruiser is placed face down, where you can see the engines. The light orange rods are the supports I made to hold the wings together. Their tied force keeps them from sagging.

Well, that about wraps it up. The cruiser was a very large step for me in creating large models, but was a thrill to see it slowly develop. I also found out that not all pieces are unlimited, so I had to substitute many pieces for others. 

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!