Update! Well, more additions actually. I made a standard cockpit that goes with each Voltes team member (except that Steve's controls are far different from everyone else). I just hate looking at the Volt Machines with painted glass so I decided to build a standard cockpit that fits on each Volt machine. The images below shows a couple of snapshots of what the detached cockpits look like before they are installed on each assigned Volt machine.
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| Voltes V cockpit reference from front | |
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| Voltes V cockpit reference underneath | |
For starters, I have placed a standard Biped posed inside the cockpit just for "fitting" purposes (as well as scale). Also been browsing for cockpit details (ie. F-16 since there are several references for it). Built the cockpit around the biped and this is what I came up with on my first pass.
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| First pass of a Voltes V standard cockpit | |
I initially went for the basic shape based from the anime. The entire thing, based on the anime, is assembled together during pilot deployment. The only change that I did was that the anime shows that the canopy is entirely made out of glass - no frame for the canopy. Hence I decided to build one (I got the idea from looking at F-16s). But the interior was extremely roomy like a regular driver in a fancy sedan. Looking at F-16 cockpits, they're pretty cramped. So I went towards that direction and here's the result.
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| Second pass of a Voltes V standard cockpit | |
It was a "tight" fit for the biped but everything is within reach (from the cockpit chair). Somewhat content with this version, I pressed on to make it more refined as well as making a couple of differences. Based on references, most of them are the same in terms of size and shape, including the interior. The only thing different is the control stick (or steering wheel).
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| Voltes V cockpit console and steering reference in V5 Lander | |
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| Basic model of standard Voltes V cockpit | |
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| Voltes V cockpit console and steering reference in V1 Crewzer | |
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| Basic model of V1 Crewzer cockpit | |
Texturing wasn't a problem. Basically, I stayed with what the anime has in terms of layout, but I also grabbed some images of dials, switches, buttons, gauges, and other sorts of control mechanism available at
The F-16C Reference Library. As for other texture sources, I pretty much relied on
CG Textures. Here are first pass samples of a textured cockpit rendered through the
Video Post of 3DS MAX.
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| View from above of a first pass textured version of a Voltes V standard cockpit exterior and interior | |
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| Another view of a first pass textured version of a Voltes V standard cockpit exterior from behind | |
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| Another exterior view of a Voltes V standard cockpit | |
These renders came out alright but I think I bumped up the gloss value a little too high (but the refractions look alright). So I did another pass and added a few more decals on the texture. I also softened the gloss so that the interior is much more visible.
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| Final texture of a Voltes V standard cockpit with decals and glows (done through 3DS MAX Video Post) | |
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| A closer inspection of the cockpit's interior console | |
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| Rendered texture sample of a Voltes V standard cockpit's exterior and interior console | |
There are a few more that I wanted to throw in there but for now, I'll leave it like this. The rest can be easily done by changing a name or two as well as numerical designation.
