Looking for a dropship or shuttle.
retiretomaui
Posts: 392
I'm about 1/4th through an illustrated novella and I'm at the point where I'm in need of a drop ship or assault shuttle, something non-toony, that I can portray deploying troops and boarding another, larger ship. Any ideas? I've checked here, Rendo, etc., and so far not found anything that really fits my needs. Something like the dropship from Aliens would be great, but whatever it is, it needs to look realistic, like it would actually fit into a universe a century or so into the future.
Many thanks!
Bob
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So the dropships that come up in the daz store with 'dropship' search don't fit the bill? Why? (So people can give more informed suggestions)
I really like the Warhawk but its a little bit spendy and I'm on a budget. The Dracons Wake dropship is a bit simplistic and doesn't really (to me) look like a "real" dropship set a century or so in the future. The others don't really classify as troop carriers. Remember, this for a troop deployment/attack scene, so a two man vehicle like the NDNA2 won't work.
Hope this helps,
bob
Why not this one? (I know you said you checked Rendo but you never know what you may have missed)
https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/fa-stormbringer-squad-dropship-pack/94822/
It's set up as a squad dropship with weapons, and enough seats.
With a limited budget your options are also going to be limited. If the options here or at rendo do not suit you, there are other places to get models but in general they will be more expensive than what is found here and are not created for Daz. If the models come in OBJ format you can still use them in Daz, but they will not be a 'load and render' solution. There will be some work required, with materials etc. cgtrader and turbosquid are two examples.
doing a quick search does come up with some very cool models though.
another option is sharecg, but i doubt there will be anything there that is better than what is here
There is this one it looks pretty close to the aliens dropship https://www.daz3d.com/gunship-dragonfly
What about this one:
https://www.daz3d.com/sci-fi-cargo-ship
I know is says cargo ship, but I am sure it can be kitbashed to drop troops. If you are a PC+ member, it is very cheap.
Another from petipet that is cheap https://www.daz3d.com/flyer-eagle
Thanks all. I hadn't even noticed those!
Bob
Yeah, the Flyer Eagle (though I'm not sure why the primary turret is a dorsal one for only firing upwards) is probably the best option for those with PC membership. I would, however, strongly recommend the Gunship Dragonfly. I've been in need of something similar and, while not perfect, it's among the most practical options in the store and renders nicely.
The War Hawk looks great nice, but suffers from the complete absence of any landing gear! Plus, doesn't have any ramp for vehicles (or other wheeled equipment, such as loading trolleys) to unload out from it. Don't have any idea how the creator envisioned it being able to land on potentially uneven terrain.
Kibarreto has some amazing options in the Vanguard and Ironstar. They actually render fine in Iray, but haven't yet been properly updated for it, which means elements like the lights and computer screens are too dim. While two of them are meant to be military in nature, however, none of them quite look as if they would take a beating. But in terms of detail, they're among the most convincing out there.
DZ Fire's NDN might actually work fine if you add manually the look of a landing ramp to that boxy undersection. Unfortuantely, that hasn't been updated for Iray, either and, while that would probably be fine for ordinary needs, the moment you pose anything alongside such a thing which is designed for Iray, you can start to experience an uncanny valley effect. With that said, DZ Fire did release Iray textures on their Facebook page, I can just never get anything like that to work without Daz Studio auto-updating things for me, so I can't really give an opinion on how good they look, as I wasn't able to get them to work for me. I really liked the design, though!
On the other hand, they have recently released the NDNA2. It's a similar craft and you could add a landing ramp to the cuboid ventral section there, too. It's designed for Iray and looks great in it. However, for obvious reasons, it's only practical if you're trying to portray a landing in an atmosphere. Those huge propellor blades wouldn't be much use if transiting from the vacuum of space! :) Same goes for that minigun-type arrangement on the nose and the external-only missiles: None of them are shielded from the heat of atmospheric entry. If the missiles could internally retract and it used a smooth domed energy weapon (even barrels not being necessary for a laser, unless it's a coilgun or partible beam), it would be perfect. I wanted to make the rotors invisible and exchange them for some 'kit-bashed' elements, but because they cut a circular shape into where they rotate, be advised that this doesn't quite look right if you ever try that. So, it's more of a near-future atmospheric craft.
Polish has the SharkT Air Striker. Looks excellent when rendered! This has a rearwards ramp. However, it also looks like a deliberately crudely designed craft and, for simialr reasons as above, those turbines and external-only weapons make it a non-option for anything other than atmospheric flight. Also has a strange undercarriage arrangement whcih doesn't look like it can retract (and, thus, would give it severe speed and agility penalties).
However, if you look at Kindred Art's store, they have the Vulture. This looks futuristic and is relatively pragmatic! The ramp slides out and it's nice and reflective (there is also a way to make the engines look like they're deactivated). The only problem, from a practical standpoint, is how antiquated those minigun-style weapons look. Tons of PAs use them, for some reason, but they never look right on anything futuristic. They're also fixed and can only fire straight ahead, instead of being located on turrets to slew up/down/left/right. But these can be made completely invisible and there's nothing preventing you from creating your own turret weapons on it - or just keeping it 'clean'. You could always just add some spheres, locate them anywhere you please, apply black glass shaders and depict them as defensive laser turrets (which would no more require a barrel than today's laser designators do). Either for destroying targets or simply against any incoming missiles.
I imagine a High-Powered Microwave weapon could also be simulated by just applying a small block-like shape to the hull, too. Look up the real-world 'pain ray' and you'll see it just uses a flat surface to project the energy. Futuristic technology will probably have made the same principle much smaller, to say the least!
So, in conclusion, I'd say the ideal weaponised dropship has yet to be put in the store! But out of the above, the Gunship Dragonfly or a kit-bashed Vulture are the most convincing choices for this. Dragonfly being the most obvious if you're specifically wanting something similar to the 'Aliens' dropship design (but keep in mind those unshielded guns and external missiles have the problems I mentioned above).
On the other hand, if, as you say, you want to depict it being used to literally board a spaceship, you're giong to have to kit-bash an extendable airlock onto it. Opening up a ramp won't help personnel (or, more likely, weaponised droids) physically enter a ship which could potentially be completely sealed. :) It's easy enough to do, because the exterior won't necessarily show anything aside from a rectangular or circular 'skirt' which clamps into place. Watch 'The Hunt For Red October' for an example of this. I'd imagine it would also need to somehow cut throught he hull from the inside, but you wouldn't need to physically depict how that occurs. Just show the soldiers/robots embarking with what looks like a slab of irregular-cut wreckage behind them, to imply they cut through. And, of course, pannicking enemy personnel, who would know the moment that shuttle departs, it's goign to leave a large hole to the vacuum of space behind it!
My 2 cents: I love Porsimo's Dragonfly for a squad-sized transport. It's blocky, bulky and heavily armed, as a troop carrier/support vehicle ought to be. Another option if you seek sleek is Kibarreto's StarJet. There is no cockpit/control center modeled, but the exterior is sleek and modern looking. The effort went into the cargo bay, which would hold a platoon sized group. I've even put vehicles in the bay (HumVee sized to medium truck).
I agree. This is something that I have given thought to for personal reasons. What would the ideal drop ship look like (thinking that form follows function)? Being science fiction one can do anything that one wants. That said, there are considerations in my mind. In no particular order:
1. Entering the planet's atmosphere. I could see the weapons being burned off due to friction (and heat) from reentry. Would future dropships have "Star Trek" style shields to protect them from the heat and frictional forces of reentry? Personally, I would imagine weapons that would be tucked inside the dropship's superstructure and deploy from a door that opens. Kind of like the guns on Airwolf.
2. Propulsion. Would it have wings like some kind of future space shuttle or would it have some kind of propulsion that would not require wings for lift? If one's future world has gravity generation so people don't float around in space and have weakened bodies then would it be logical to presume that they could just as well "block" gravity so that the dropship could levitate (for lack of a better word).
2A. Would the dropship still have wings in case the fancy options in #2 above fail?
3. From a tactical point of view, how do you drop in from orbit without half a continent knowing you are coming? You would lose the element of surprise.
4. Jet engines won't work. No air in space.
Or possible this one, it might be too small for what you have in mind though - https://www.daz3d.com/orion-dynamics-vulture
This might be a little too Star Trek for you, but https://www.daz3d.com/vanguard
Kibarreto also makes a Shuttlestar, but that's basically a three or four person craft.
Forgot about Star Jet! Pretty sure that's influenced heavily by the TSR-2. Yeah, that's another with a ramp, though, again, it's more for offloading cargo at prepared strips. Not sure if it looks 'strong' enough to lay down fire support after hastily lifting off, but should be fine if you just want a transport with some limited defensive ability to ferry soldiers and/or vehicles from one prepared base to another. You'll probably need something more rugged-looking if you intend to depict it typically used for coming a hot landing zone and potentially taking hits, however.
Don't forget that whatever you have, you can always greeblize the heck out of it.
https://www.daz3d.com/nurnies-greebles-parts-and-pieces and similar