Another quick update...
The project has switched from design to printing. I've started testing different printing samples to get the best quality for the main body.
Here's a look at the battery and all the parts exploded. I've been continuously refining it and even as I print the tests, I'll go back and add a support here and there.
With the battery inside, it looks like this.
So here's the parts that make up the battery and how I'm splitting it all up to mimic the original battery seam and make printing easier since i can't print the entire thing in one go...
The top cover is three pieces that fit together.
The side walls are five pieces... The four walls and the Ford oval logo. Having the Ford logo printed separate means I can paint it the gold on the outside face.
For the bottom tray, it is also three pieces. There will be three large dowels that will be glued to the two smaller sides that insert into the large center tray base. This is very beefy because the battery will be sitting on it, and it's also tall to lift the battery up to the top.
And then we finally have the caps and plugs. The plugs will screw into the top cover and the caps pressed down onto studs on the top.
And as far as that star texture goes, I finally have been making some good progress with it. Here's a look at the 3D version of the Star texture done in a way I can repeat the texture on the left and right and it will seamlessly tile. Now I just need to get to work applying it to the sidewalls. The hardest part will be where the battery curves on the edges and the texture curves with it.
That's it for now! Hopefully I can share some photos of some of the test printing soon. Starting to see the distant light in the tunnel.