First I found an existing sketchup model from Sketchup's warehouse (it was designed by Abraham Katase). I scaled down to 1/12th scale. Then I began the time intensive process of building panel thickness onto it. I then added in an underlying frame and started adding notches that would fit together when the pieces were cut out.
I found a sketchup plugin that would unfold the panels onto a flat surface. I imported those to autoCAD. In autoCAD I added panel details and texture. From there it was a matter of fitting them onto my scraps of plywood and hitting print on the laser.
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| The original model from Katase. |
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| The modeled frame. |
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| The modeled body. |
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| The wings in the closed position. |
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| The wings in the open position. |
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| The finished model. |
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| The CAD file with all the panels. |
