Shin Gamera — a corvette built around a kaiju skull, one JSON coordinate at a time
GRAH!
Hi Guys,
I didn’t get much of a response in the other main group, so I thought I’d show her to you instead. Not because I simply want people to say, “Wow, she looks great!”, but because this group might better appreciate the amount of work—and slightly obsessive madness—that went into building her.
What am I talking about? My pirate corvette: SHIN GAMERA.
(As many of you probably know, Gamera is one of Japan’s classic giant kaiju: an enormous fire-breathing turtle. The Japanese were truly ahead of their time!)
My ship was inspired by him. The basic idea is that the entire corvette was constructed around Gamera’s skull, as though I were giving the creature a new mechanical life.
Now, whether or not you like the lore and the aesthetics, I mainly wanted to explain how I built her...
First, a little context: I teach mechanical design at secondary-school level, and I’m very comfortable with 3D modelling, especially CAD. However, as a matter of “principle”, I decided not to use Blender; You may ask: “What principle?”
No particular principle, really—apart from challenging myself to understand how everything works.
So how did I create Shin Gamera?... Simple: I deliberately chose the most complicated, tortuous, but also most entertaining route possible:
I manually edited the JSON file.
And I had an absurd amount of fun doing it, because it also turned into a proper technical investigation! For example, I had to identify the correct ObjectIDs for Corvette parts and base-building components... I loved every minute of it 🔥
I’m also obsessed with symmetry, so I manually edited every mirrored component to make sure its X, Y and Z coordinates matched perfectly on both sides... Yes, I probably need to be locked away somewhere 😂
If you’re still reading, thank you... 💯
I’ve attached a series of images showing the Corvette and some of her optional equipment:
- Experimental teleporter There is a 10% chance of being reassembled inside the backside of a space leviathan.
- Intergalactic pirate trading terminal There is a 10% chance of accidentally purchasing several tonnes of Faecium.
- Compact frigate-style stellar cartography station Used to record every new system I discover.
- Base-building components used to create suitable accommodation These are for the people I kidnap… sorry, host. Around 90% of them eventually return home. The others are simply misplaced somewhere in space. No ransom is ever requested.
- Cargo hold for abductions Sorry—spontaneous invitations to enjoy intergalactic transportation.
- Large external sun deck and aft observation platforms Perfect for relaxing, fishing, and shouting “Land ho!” whenever I become stranded above an ocean world.
- Pilgrim Exocraft Summoning Station, for zooming around inside pirate bases and across planets (I can confirm it doesn’t work on the ocean floor).
This is Shin Gamera.
Thank you.
GRAH!!!