Suit Up!

Klavs is well known for all the ship models that he makes, but this time he's gone inside the cockpit for his next 3D design. The Confed pilot pictured here looks like they belong in WC1, but there are also several aspects imported from WC2, WC3 and the Academy cartoon. I particularly like how well the pants of the blue "undersuit" look like they're actually useful, rather than just a pair of jeans. This makes the brown bomber jackets more fun, and the sidearm is a wonderful touch too.

Don't miss the "Me: The Life and Battles of 'Maniac' Marshall" excerpt below!

The suit, helmet, ejection seat and umbilicals had everything a prospective vacuum breather needed if you needed to punch out or put down. Air, water, sidearm, survival equipment in a drop bag, you name it. We wore our thermies (Thermal Protection Garment) underneath the suit. Those kept us cool or warm depending on the situation, and you could even drink your own recycled pee if you had to, though I preferred to keep my piddle pack on "store" mode.

Did we NEED the jacket? Hell no. But you felt ten feet tall when you wore it. It was a badge of honor, and gave you confidence, like a good luck charm. The more beat up, the better. Guys would jump up and down on them, soak them in water, hit them with sandpaper, beat them with pipes to make them look even more ratty and used. In the pilot's lounge, we all looked like a bunch of kids wearing dad's coat- they looked at least one size too big when you wore them over a normal uniform or baggie. But over the flight suits, they were like a suit of bulletproof armor. Not even a laser beam could pierce your ego when you wore it. Mine literally saved my hide in the Battle of Earth, but that's another story.

-Excerpt from "Me: The Life and Battles of 'Maniac' Marshall."

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Progress on the flight suit! I'm trying to incorporate elements of a lot of things, the WC-1 leather jacket look, the Academy helmet style, a hint of the WC2 style "backpack", "flip up" faceplate as described in the books, WC3 style "g suit" on the legs. Along with some other things. This is pure modeling right now, with a placeholder head. Texturing should hopefully make it look a lot better. Now starting work on the requisite patches, wrinkles, and wear and tear.