B-24 Arrowhead: Weapon Deployed!

Thanks, Horo! I've downloaded the Banterle Plugins and Terragen but where would I find this 'faked' HDRI you mentioned?

You may still use that "faked" terragen HDRI which gives excellent light and a nice bumpy blurred grey ground. Try to use motion blur on it. There are plugins from Banterle (google that name) for HDRShop that do the trick.

Thanks David! I'm planning a new image with a modified bomber. I'm going to move the engines up into the wings. Having them hanging off the bottom now gives me the impression they would put too much drag on the plane, even though I gave the intakes a knife edged opening. This configuration also has this retro look that really doesn't fit the modern look of the plane. I'm also going to ad the horizontal fins to I mentioned earlier to the tail end of the missile. The background is just the HDRI image and is naturally blurred. I'm planning a sort of desert landscape for a new background. Maybe I can find an HDRI that will fit. The missile has a shiney white finish and a red nose with the same attributes. The hull of the bomber is a shiney grey/black. I can reduce the shine on both and see how that looks. I'm going to play with this for a while and not be in such a rush to post until I have a really impressive image.

The missle for some reason outshines the bomber. The vapour trails look fantastic. For some reason there is a scale issue. This looks like a model in scale. I'm not sure why that is. Could be the FOV of the camera and to some extent the blurriness of the background which I would have thought should add a sense of speed. Which is does. I would consider not making the stealth material so reflective and give it more opportunity to interact with the light flalling on it. Also tinker with the camera position and FOV and maybe use a material with a higher frequency component as well as the low frequency you have there. There is potential in this image as shown by the missile and the effect of the hdr image and vapour trails is good. I think you are close with this to something outstanding. Just needs a bit more tweaking.

Now you've done it, Tina! I have to widen all my doorways to get my swelled head through them. ;-) I know that you mean about the first one. The light shining off the windshield gives it a unique look. And as far as being busy goes, it keeps my mind off the petty frustrations that life is having a good ol' time throwing at me these days. Since I no longer wish to indulge in my older and less healthy avenues of escape, this has become my new refuge from the present adversities in my life. I long for a time when I don't have these irritating distractions and can more fully apply my newly developed tallents towards bigger and more intricate projects. In the words of Brother Theo, a minor character in Babylon 5, "Faith manages." ;-)

* Your a busy little bee are'nt you! Great work Spektyr. I am partial to your first one though. There is something beautiful in the image of the lone bomber. I don't know if it's the lighting or the way you have it positioned. Anyhow they are both great works!

Thanks Guys! I thought you'd like my cruise missile. Now that I look at it again I should have added a couple of horizontal fins to the back. Funny I didn't think about that when I first made it. Horo: That trapezoidal pannel is actually a window. I think I gave it too much reflection so it doesn't look transprent. Then again it could be that they can use instrumentation for flight. As for the contrails, I went with what I thought they would look like at high altitude and velocity. Naturally they would expand and disipate over time like all contrails do. By the way, you can't see them in this image but there are retractable bomb doors in the belly of the jet.

Yes, nice missile. The main bomber has a stealth design. I wonder how the pilots look out of the thing - or do they have to rely completely on instruments? It doesn't look like a RPV. The (knotty) contrails look like those observed a few years ago over some parts of the US and stirred quite a lot of discussions about yet another top secret stealth design.

. the lighting is much better, the rocket is nicely made