After completing upgrades for the Dragonfly, I proceeded to develop parts for the ubiquitous Cobra Hiss Tank which has been available in one iteration or another for the better part of 30 years. My first upgrade was to develop an armored canopy that I believe is more realistic and matches the aesthetic of the upgraded HISS V.5. After creating a 3d version of the original HISS in Solidworks, I proceeded to design the canopy and have SLS prototypes produced via Shapeways. Once I validated that the design would not only fit but open and close properly, and had the look I was trying to achieve, I offered the part for sale in my own Shapeways store.
After developing the upgraded wings and turret for the Dragonfly, the next logical step was to create accessories that attach to the wings. That said, I proceeded to develop rocket and gatling gun pods that are based on hardware used on real attack helicopters. In the case of the gatling gun pod, I was actually able to find an exploded drawing of the XM 18 gun pod used on Cobra helicopters in Vietnam. Once I was satisfied that the parts had the look and fit I was going for, I placed them on sale in my Shapeways store both individually and in sets.
My most recent project is a set of upgrade parts for the GI Joe Dragonfly helicopter which was originally molded in the early 1983s. When GI Joe was rebooted in the 1980s, many of the vehicles that Hasbro designed were based on vehicles in service with the US military and as such, the Dragonfly was based on the AH-1 Cobra which entered service in the late 1960s. The parts I designed are based on the later AH 1W Super Cobra which remains in service with the US Marine Corps. The upgrade set consists of a chin turret and wings which both utilize the mounting fixtures which were designed into the toy while following the look of the of the more advanced helicopter. Once the parts were designed, I had them printed via SLS from for test fitting. The parts are now available for purchase from a variety of materials from my Shapeways store.
