> Transmit Date: 03.06.2008
> Name That Part #1 [Data Source: admin]
With more and more parts coming in from the sculptor, we thought we’d have a little fun with a mini-contest we like to call Name That Part.
The game is simple – at random intervals we’ll post a picture of a single part. And you all get to guess what that part is. First person to post the right answer wins. And yes, there will be prizes. If we don’t get a right answer in a few days, we’ll post the answer for everyone to see and no one wins the prize.
Without further preamble we offer this little doohickey. And for the prize, how about a set of Zoe’s Independents military dog tags? You have until Monday to Name That Part, so get crackin’
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
That is the angle part that connects the engines to the wings. It rotates the wings to the vertical positions. It’s also missing a clip that connects to those hinges on the top that keeps it stable while the engines are horizontal.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
EDIT: Rotates the engines–not the wings.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
I can’t find the label for what the entire part is exactly, but I’m fairly certain it’s what the engines pivot on. The three knobs on the top look like part of the Engine Locking Clamp, and the indentation on each end would have to be for the Engine Pivot Bearings.
Whatever it is, that’s some nice detail.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
I think it is one of the three heat exchangers that go across the bottom of the Engine section (the Big Yoke).
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Okay, well, guess that wasn’t as hard as I thought it was. DarthViper wins for posting the correct answer first. It is, indeed, the gimbal that connects the main engine to the wing strut and allows it pivot and rotate.
DarthViper - please e-mail me at admin@fireflyshipworks.com with your name and mailing address and I’ll get your prize in the mail ASAP.
Okay, next time, something *harder*
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Oh, I was so close too!
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Cool, email sent.
Yeah, hopefully something harder, I recognized that one right away.
I’m still curious as to how the reactor ‘legs’ connect to the ship, they kind of seem like they are floating but that would obviously be wrong, and the only thing I can see that probably connects it would be near the intakes on the front of the round part of them. Otherwise it’s attached to the gravity ring somewhere.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
DH - Well, it’s funny, everyone on “Team Serenity” knew what it was, but between the blueprints and now the replica, we see Serenity bits in our sleep
I did show this part to some folks at QMx who aren’t intimately involved with this effort, and none of them got it right.
Based on your questions, though, you clearly have some deep knowledge of Serenity’s design.
Speaking of which - the “yoke” is connected to the ship around the base of the reactor, and the skids are attached to that.
Michael – Sorry about that, you were *very* close. I think we’ll have to make it a rule that previous winners aren’t eligible to win future contests (or at least have to take a break for a round); only seems fair to give others a chance to win.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Yes, I’ve examined it quite a lot for a 3D model I was working on. Are you going off the blueprints version or will you try to make it as much like the movie version as possible? The blueprints are more accurate as far as if the ship were real, but it’s a pretty good mishmash of both the TV and movie versions. Plus the corrections to make the interior actually fit into the exterior.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Absolutely correct – I worked on the Blueprints (project manager) and it was, as you say, a real world compromise between the two designs (that was Tim and Geoff’s call, btw, not mine).
But the replica will be based exactly on the screen version. It’s by far the most detailed and, because we have the Zoic files, we can get pretty darned close in terms of accuracy.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Nice Work DV! Too bad I was out of town yesterday. I’m still looking forward to seeing how the struts attach to the fuselage body and still allow the engines to rotate. I imagine some sort of ball and socket arrangement.
Looking forward to the next installment of “Name That Part”.
jim
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Jim - The blueprints do a pretty good job of showing how that works. There’s a pdf over at http://www.serenitystuff.com/2007/11/15/review-qmx-serenity-blueprint-reference-pack/ (which I noticed that you commented on, so I’m sure you’ve seen the article at least). The images in the pdf are good, you just can’t quite read the notes. You can see some of how it works with the pictures above. The indentations on the smallest part are for moving the engine up and down, then the large cylinder on the side is for rotating the engine itself.
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Thanks Mike. I have studied the blueprints and what I am thinking is that when the engines rotate for VSTOL operation, if the struts for stowing the engines are fixed at the fuselage, the gimbals (which also rotate) will impact them before they reach 90 degs. I have always assumed that the fuselage side was not fixed, but could pivot in a ball and socket type arrangement which would give the engine a “Little” more range of motion. I won’t even talk about rotating 180 degs for a crazy Ivan ;^)
I’m probably over thinking the whole thing but it will be fun to see how QMx deals with it.
jim
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
HA! Very clever indeed. “Magnetic Gripper”! The “Engine Deployment Jack” releases from the engine when it rotates for vertical flight. Verified by the B/P Ref. Pack and the BDM. Thanks again Michael for explaining that to me. Now QMx, can you pull it off?
jim
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Well… not sure if both engines will rotate fully on the replica. Remember, too many articulated parts leads to lots of delicate bits and stuff that breaks really easy.
I think we may need to develop of Serenity play set…
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
please tell me that the primary buffer panel will be detachable…
03.06.2008 at 9:24 am
Hi Matthew – it was one of the first things I told the sculptor I wanted. He hasn’t confirmed that it’s there yet (at this scale the part would be only a few millimeters wide), but it has been requested.