Imperial Ornithopter Concept

 So I also played around with an Imperial 'thopter to appear briefly during the exterior shots of the Emperor's palace on Kaitain, based on concept art by Ville Ericsson?
With the still work-in-progress adaptable folding wing design from the Atreides 'thopter.
The other issue of course is the Atreides 'thopter is also Gold.

Harkonnen Ornithopter

I rather like this interesting "bug-like" ornithopter, though I was never impressed by the stubby little wings on it.
This is the incomplete model of the movie 'thopter based on photos of a model kit. As Ron Miller the production artist was kind enough to send Me the blueprints, I will probably be reworking this quite considerably.
The Special Edition version will replace the round globe like "thrusters" at the end of each arm with a modified version that reflect the design established in the Special Edition version of the Atreides 'thopter, though with a distinctly Harkonnen flavor.

Atreides Ornithopter

(Click on images for larger view. Click TITLE to link to animation on youtube)

Here's the one that started it all. Modeled in Lightwave 9.5.
I first modeled the 'thopter from the theatrical release using reference photos of a really good model kit that I found on the net.
Once I had made the original one I decided to adapt it into a new "flapping" version.
As I rather like the unique "U" shape of the Harkonnen 'thopter from the movie and because nearly all technologies end up having the same basic geometry (Look at jet airplanes for example... while each manufacturer makes them look different, the same components are all there in roughly the same places), I decided to make the Atreides thopter roughly have that same shape, although in this case its more of a "V" shape.
The wings themselves have been through numerous iterations, but are ultimately a sort of flexible "Spring" in a wing shape, with a section of aircraft wing in the middle for flaps and mounting things like sensors and weapons. The underside of each wing houses a small "foot" that extends when landed to support the tal heavy design.
As in the book, the 'thopter also features small booster rockets - and I am thinking of having some unfold at the back of the central hull for landing purposes.
The landing gear was a pain in the ass to model and rig to work as I have only two or three fuzzy images of what it is supposed to look like.