Thats right, much to the dismay of some of you I'm sure, I am now going to be selling my models. But don't worry! I still support the free card model community, and will still be releasing new, free models on this website. And I will be finishing the Century series, for free, as planned. So how will I sell models and offer them for free at the same time? My current project is the F-104, the next in the Century Series. I've nearly finished work and am almost ready to upload them. I currently have fifteen, thats right 15 different versions and variants of the Lockheed F-104. Some will be available on my website for free, and some will be available for a low price at http://ecardmodels.com/shop/ , a new website being developed by one of the Admins from Zealot.So its partly up to you. Which versions should be free, which versions should I sell? Here's the list:USAF Bare MetalUSAF CamoNASA (white bottom)NASA (blue bottom)LuftwaffeGerman NavyOrange USAF Test DroneNF-104Red Baron (civillian)Starfighters Demo TeamGreek Mount Olympus CommemorativeGerman CCVCL-704 VTOL ConceptCL-1200 Foreign Export ConceptX-27 ConceptGive me a couple replies, and I'll decide using them as advice. Don't worry though, the prices will be low (probably less than a dollar per version), and you'll be able to buy them all at once for a discounted price. I hope you all think its worth the small price.In the meantime, here's a taste of the F-104 model, including the Mount Olympus version, and the X-27 variant.
Hi everyone, its been awhile! I just wanted to let those of you waiting anxiously for my next model that I have not forgotten my website, or burnt-out. You will, however, notice that for a period of time during July and August, I was making additions to the website nearly daily, and that since early August, there have been none. I wish I could tell you all the delay was because I was designing an incredibly detailed and complex model to offer you all, or that I simply designed a lot with the intention of releasing them all at once. Alas, this is not the case. The past few weeks have been busy for me. First I took off four days for a sailing trip - the only vacation I would have the entire summer. Then I wrapped up my jobs in my hometown, and knuckled down to begin packing to move. I am now no longer living in Greenville NC, but instead in Greensboro, where I am now attending classes at UNCG in pursuit of my major. As you can imagine, this left me little time to work on new models.Now in Greensboro, I've found that some aspects of my personal life may interfere with my design of new models as well; I've made new friends, have classes to attend, and have a roommate who would rather not be kept up by my designing. In addition, my computer's video card recently died (completely). My machine is about three years old now, and while Photoshop is not the most graphic intensive of programs, I imagine the lack of a dedicated GPU will significantly slow down the program, and make designing new models even more tedious and time-consuming.Not to worry! Changes are coming! I've settled down into a stable schedule at UNCG, and can now set aside time specifically for designing new models. In addition, I ordered a new video card, which, despite being slightly better than my previous video card, was only about one-fourth the cost (old technology is cheap now). I am making a trip back to Greenville this weekend, and will pick up the new card then, so by Tuesday I should be able to work on models again.For those interested, I am still intent on finishing my current project, the Century Series of American fighters and X-Planes. When finished, there will be a total of 12 models in the series:F-100 Super Saber: Also called the "Hun". Already done and available for download.F-101 Voodoo: Saw use with the USAF and CAF. Also available for download.F-102 Delta Dagger: The "Duece", once again available.XF-103 Thunderwarrior: Never reached prototype stage. Available for download.F-104 Starfighter: Saw wide export to other countries. Will be next in the series.F-105 Thunderchief: An older simpler version of the "Thud" is available, considering upgrading it for the series.F-106 Delta Dart: Built on the F-102 platform. Not yet available.YF-107 Ultra Saber: One prototype built, but didn't make production: Not yet available.XF-108 Rapier: Not yet available.XF-109: Not yet available.F-110 Spectre: Designation briefly given to the F-4 Phantom at the beginning of its service in the USAF, before fighter designations were standardized. Yes, this means there will be a model of the F-4 Phantom. Not yet available.F-111 Aardvark: Swing-wing attack aircraft. Not yet available.I'm not sure what I'll work on after finishing the Century series. I have enough left of them that I don't think I'll worry about that for now, but feel free to post suggestions.
When I began designing the century series, I decided I would include both the fighters that reached production, and those that didn't make it, to fill in all the gaps. This means there will be a total of 12 aircraft in the Century fighter series.Anyway, with the F-102 out of the way, next is Republic's XF-103 Thunderwarrior. It never made production, but it was designed to be a Mach-3 capable fighter with all internal weapons, propelled by both a conventional jet as well as a ramjet that would take over at higher speeds. Though it would have been a marvel of an aircraft if it had been built, it probably would not have been particularly useful to the Air Force.Here are some pictures of the prototype model I finished today: