October 22, 2024

Half Life 2 “Mudskipper” Airboat

This is a 1/12 scale 3D printed model of the airboat from one of my favorite games Half Life 2. I am making this to go along with a NECA Gordon Freeman Action Figure.

I started with the original model mesh from the game and imported it into Fusion 360.

Once imported into F360 the mesh was converted to a solid model to be easier to work with.

This worked out well because during the conversion it converted into over 130 separate pieces.  While this is kind of a nightmare to work with this many pieces in CAD it is a lot easier to rebuild the pieces that need to be redone when they are separate.  Redesigning the pieces is necessary because even though they are solid bodies a lot of the pieces can not just be 3D printed from these files because they are not always really solid and will not slice correctly.  There is also the fact the game models do not necessarily actual fit together in real life.

Before starting I laid up some basic 3 views (or 5 views in this case) to reference from.

Even though I am using the game files to stay sort of game accurate I will be taking some liberties to add a lot more real life details.  The in game models often rely on texture maps to add detail were I need to add more actual physical details. I will also be changing certain aspects to be more realistic.  For example…  on the left is the plain game model and on the right is my redesign where I made it look more like a real life Jon Boat which is what the center piece of the airboat is modeled after.  I did keep the weird bow angle shape to stay game accurate but l might change this in the future to a more realistic Jon Boat shape.

I started by printing some of the larger pieces just to see how things would actually print. The floats were printed from the original files but had to be printed in two pieces because of my 3D printer limitations.  (floats are 13.25″ long and my print bed is only 10″ max) There are a few details that didn’t print correctly but I can fill these in later with wood based filler.  The boat was also printed in two pieces to try and keep the bow sections flat while printing.

 

Next I started experimenting with the pipe frame work on the floats. I 3D printed some forms and made the pipes from some 2.85 filament.  This is done by heating up the filament with a heat gun and placing the now pliable piece into the form until it cools to hold its shape.

For 90 degree bends I also used a form to produce a nice clean tight bend.

I tried to use a form for straight parts too but it ended up being easier to just heat the filament and then roll it on a flat surface by hand until it cools straight.

So far everything seems to be working out quite well. But there is a ton of pipe work on this thing so we’ll have to see what happens long run…

On this side no forms were used (except for the 90’s.) I just bent the pieces by hand.

Here is a quick mock up of the boat and floats. For strength I used 1/8″ metal rods for the connections of the floats to the center boat.

Next it was onto the roll cage and seat frame pipe work.

It was back to the forms to make the seat pipe frame work so both piece would be exactly the same.

The forms worked perfect for this…

The two piece after trimming.

I only have a sample length of 3mm filament so I am also experimenting with printed and real wire pipes too, but I’m not sure which route I’m going at this point.

The frame work for the roll cage was all flat bar in the game design so this was easy to redesign and print.  Again do to printer size limitations the roll cage had to be printed in separate pieces and then glued together.

The side cage piece will glue right to the main seat plate then the top pieces can be glued on.

A quick mock up before gluing the cage together.

The Pulse Cannon was about 9 separate pieces but I was able to join them all together in CAD and print it as a single piece. I may go back and add some more detail to this also.

This is not how it mounts but I just did this to see how it looked for mock up.

Here is the first mock up to see how it scales with the actual Gordan Freeman action figure.  This is the first time I removed the figure from the package and unfortunately it does not bend enough to actually fit in the boat.  I might be able to modify him to fit but I really don’t want to alter the action figure as they are stupid expensive to buy nowadays if I screw him up.

I needed to add some mounting points to the boat design so when I reprinted it I did it in one piece this time.

The bottom is really rough from the supports but this is not a problem…

… because I added even more detail to the bottom.

Once these pieces are  glued on I think it really finishes it off.

Next it was onto the Engine.  The engine block is an original game file but everything else was redesigned to add more detail. I also took some liberties here and added exhaust headers to the left side of the motor for better realism. The longer pipe will lead to the front were the water box is located.

Here is a mock up with different looking cylinders and the left side exhaust header.

The gas tank (game file) is designed around a Kawasaki 550sx Jetski but I did make some changes and redesign the gas cap to be more realistic.

Most of the Handle Pole/Handbars are also designed around Jetski parts.  (Fun Fact – the original ride in game was going to be a Jetski before they changed it to an Airboat.)

Making sure my new handlepole mount setup fits the edits I made to the gas tank.

The entire handlepole mock up.

Here are the parts for what I guess would be the water cooler and water box… although I’m not sure why an airboat would need a water box like a jet ski but that’s video game logic for you.

After realizing a lot of the air boat was modeled after real world parts I figured the motor had to be designed after something real too. I guessed it had to be some kind of airplane motor becuase it used a prop I started researching inline 6 cylinder plane motors.  It didn’t take long before I came across this Mercedes D.III, which I’m about 98% sure is what the airboat engine was modeled after.  The engine is actually from a WW1 airplane and was introduced in 1914.  It turns out is a water cooled engine but still doesn’t explain the need for a water box 🙂  At this point I decided to go back and redesign and add a lot more detail to the in game engine.

This is what I came up with… I kept a lot of the original in game detail but also combined it with the real world engine to add even more detail for this model.

Here are all of the new printed parts for the updated engine. All of these were printed with a .25 nozzle to try and improve the details as these are some small pieces.

Next it was on to the Fan Shroud, Rudders, and all of the cosponsoring pipe work.  The shrouds were printed all in one piece and at this point I left the supports for the brackets on just for strength.

The rudders were both printed flat out of the same file…

… I then used a form with along with the heat gun to deform the right rudder like it is in the game model.

Here is the mock up of the rudders and Prop Shroud.

Here are the Prop and Hub pieces. I designed the hub in two pieces to make it easier to print.

The blades will get glued on later on in the assembly process.

These should be the last of the major pipe work. (There’s still a few small bits but I’ll do those as I get into assembly.)  This part of the cage will be three pieces… I printed them flat then will bend them after with a lighter to final shape.

I started to glue the float support rods into the boat. I did print up some clamps just for some more detail but they probably won’t be noticeable once everything is together.  (I got a little crazy with the glue though.)

I also glued on the gas tank supports and a front handle.  I need to start the boat paint before I get any further into the assembly.

One more mock up just to make sure everything is looking good. Most of the major components are printed at this point now it’s time to start the finish and paint work.

To be Continued….

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