I have hardly been here lately, all due to work taking up so much time that there has been little time for hobbies. I hope to spend a bit of time in the galleries soon, catching up on what is going on here. I am sure I have missed a lot. So, moving on... My latest Blender model and my first vehicle model to have a full Blender rig. Like my Poser models all the controls are in one place for ease of use. I was surprised to find that learning to rig this and then rigging it in Blender complete with scripted expression drivers (for ERC-type functionality) was done in a single day; it took me a lot longer to learn the equivalent for Poser! A single slider runs from 0 to 1 and as it does so the landing gear doors first open and then the landing gear comes down. There are other controls for lights and the various doors, as well as the tail-wheel steering. So, here is the story behind this lovely little ship: The year 2260 saw the release of this eight seat Gravity Manipulator Flyer by Sindusan Aerospace. This being the latest iteration of the company's flagship model no expense was spared. The craft contains two Toroidal Gravity Manipulator chambers in the tail, making it both stable and safe. The craft has no manual controls, the on-board AI being the only legally allowed pilot. There are two models, identical in appearance but not in capability. The aircraft version can fly for 108 hours continuously on a single charge, and can be recharged in about twenty minutes if a high energy charge station is available. It can cruise at an altitude of 45,000 metres (over 147,000 feet) at Mach 5, or can fly at 46,000 metres at Mach 7 if a much shorter flight time is accepted. If you have a space-going license then the craft can be purchased as a fully capable spacecraft, able to reach an orbital altitude of 250km (roughly 155 miles). This can take you from any point on an Earth type planet to any other point in about 45-55 minutes, depending upon local traffic conditions. The spacecraft version can fly for 98 hours continuously on a full charge when operating as a spacecraft or if used in local airspace as an aircraft it can manage 144 hours of continuous flight. Full recharge time using a high energy charge station is around twenty five minutes. The on-board air recycling system has the full flight time endurance, so regular dips back into the atmosphere are not required as they are with many other orbit-capable flyers. Since it uses electro-catalytic air recycling it does not need the regular replenishment of any chemical components either. As the craft has eight full sized seats with plenty of headroom the designers opted to provide a capacious luggage compartment, able to take a huge amount of luggage. The luggage space is so big that some owners use their flyers to move items of furniture. Regardless of which model a buyer chooses the craft is nearly silent to ride in, with a powerful active noise cancellation system. It even has an external noise cancelling system so it can take off or land in the middle of the night without disturbing your neighbours. That annoying Gravity Manipulator hum will never be a problem with this little ship! #spacecraft, #science fiction, #flight, #vehicle, #space vehicle, #Blender, #Blender3D, #3D