Codename: XV

My progress on creative projects can all too often be described as 'glacial'. As an amateur, I can take my time and create when I feel like it...

Here we have the first images of EXOVAN, from my 'workspace' in Alibre Design 3D CAD -- captured and cropped using Irfanview.

Not much to look at, but at least it's a visual. I'm still teaching myself to use this program, so these images are quite crude -- I might do better with a chunk of wood and a bandsaw. This form represents the beginnings of the body shape:

As you can see, the main body is roughly octagonal. Remember, all glass and body panels are flat. In this next view, I've highlighted the area of the rear portal in red:

There's a lot to add before this starts to look like it does in my head, and a pretty steep learning curve along the way. For now you'll have to imagine the Mattracks and the exoframe, not to mention windows and hatches. Also, many aspects are subject to change...

Updates when available.



Phil Smith
April 29, 2007

UPDATE

I've revised the rear portal, added cuts for the side portals and hollowed out the trackwells -- and for illustration purposes, the image below shows a hint of the interior:



...the side portals don't show up well in this next image, but you can see where I've altered the front for the forward portal. You may be able to see that the lower side panel is highlighted, which gives a sense of where the leading edge of the side portal is:


All these images are clickable for larger versions. Someone please remind me to alter the HTML here for a wider text body...


Phil Smith
April 30, 2007

UPDATE 2

...Altering the HTML for the previous template wasn't producing the results I wanted, so I've switched to a different one and tweaked it. The look of this blog will likely continue to change periodically.


Here we see a new cutout for the forward portal ("extrusion 30", highlighted in red):

The center front portal was causing problems. EXOVAN just isn't wide enough for it -- you either end up with a portal that is unacceptably narrow, or window framing (and an exoframe tube) directly in front of the driver. Moving the portal over to the passenger side solves other issues -- now we can get by with 2 windshield wipers (instead of 3), and there is room on the driver's side for a flush-mounted winch.


Yes, EXOVAN is now asymmetrical, making it just that much more outlandish...

UPDATE 3

Phil Smith
May 2, 2007

UPDATE 4

Now I'm just playing with my Mattracks simulations -- but in the process inching my way up that steep learning curve...


Phil Smith
May 3, 2007


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