I have several posts scattered across the couple different Rush threads (e.g., Rush reveals & pre-orders, Rush mods & toys) regarding my Red Barchetta mod, so I thought it might be useful to put them all in one place -- especially for further discussion with those who are on the waitlist, particularly once the mod reaches the final phases of fit checks & location/configuration testing (which will have a lot of photos / discussion).
What follows in this first post is the progress made thus far. New updates (& discussion) will be in the posts that follow.
NOTE: There is a finite number of these cars out there (at a reasonable price anyway), so therefore there will be a limited number of these mods available for purchase. Please PM me to get on the waitlist if you haven't already -- I'll try to accommodate as many folks as I possibly can. I have enough cars in hand (or already on order) to cover everyone who has PM'd me so far, plus 12 more spots available (as of 25 Jan 2022). Final pricing for the mod has not yet been established, since the design configuration(s) & 3D print times haven't yet been finalized, plus I'm exploring other options like add-ons and lighting. These will be discussed later in this thread.
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History & pics as of 25 Jan 2022:
Being a big Rush fan myself since I was in high school, I had some fun ideas for mods for this game as soon as I'd heard rumor of its development. Before the game was even formally announced or revealed, I started looking around for this -- the perfect size pre-manufactured detailed die-cast Ferrari 166 (the car being referred to in the song 'Red Barchetta') to put into the game:
While the car could certainly mount somewhere inside the game all by itself, that just wasn't enough for me. I wanted to incorporate the "one-lane bridge" from the song, since it's a key plot point in the climax of the story. I tried to envision what type of bridge might be in the countryside, that would also work well for this mod and wouldn't hide the car. I found a basic model of a double-arch open-top bridge, and set to work modifying, resizing, stone-ifying, and trimming/cutting to have it mount on the ramp, and incorporating components to attach the car itself.
After a few iterations of the design, here was the rough draft.
The ball would roll underneath it, as shown here:
I proposed mounting this along the straight section of ramp on the right side of the Rush game, similar but opposite to the setup shown on my Game of Thrones. It was correctly pointed out, however, that this section slopes downward -- so whether I can keep the bridge as-is or if I need to extend the height of the bridge on one end is yet to be determined -- I need to see it in the actual game first. If that location doesn't work out well, it might fit well above the flashers on the left side (over the Vapor Trails logo), or perhaps on the S-curve section of plastic ramp that crosses over the metal ramp. (Heck, that section is like a bridge already!)
While I wait for my game, I made some improvements to the design of the bridge; I added arches with keystones to make the design look more realistic. I also acquired a few other filaments to try, one that looks like brick and another that looks like stone, both of which have darker flake in them to help add to the look. (It still looks good in the original dark gray as well.) Here were two partial prints I made, to test the updated design and the new filaments:
Additional minor model cleanup/enhancement is planned, but ultimately the bridge is pretty much as far as I can go until I have my game so I can start fit checks and modifications as required.
Knowing that different folks have different tastes, and/or the possibility that other mods might end up too close or interfere with wherever the bridge ends up, I decided to make an alternative mount/scene as well. Looking around the playfield, the sharp bend in the ramp in the upper left corner of the game could also also be a good spot to mount a mod, especially with the screws already there to use for mounting. So I started playing with the idea of a 'road' scene.
I worked on a few drafts, and came up with this. I chose a black filament with a fine sparkle (one of three different black/sparkle variations I have, lol) to give it a realistic asphalt look, and the grassy areas have a lot of surface contour & waviness to look more natural. I printed the stripe in light silver to make it reflective and not quite too fresh white; I might try again in off-white for comparison.
I have some additional modifications & enhancements to this scene to share in future posts.
Due to some discussion in the other threads, I wondered if there was a 'gleaming alloy air car ... two lanes wide' that I might be able to use as the barchetta's pursuer. I was skeptical this would work, because it would be somewhat sizable. Still, I looked around and found this:
Interestingly enough, this is a model of a 1960s Russian prototype GAZ 16 hovercraft. The scale/size is correct for this idea, but it is quite large overall and will take up a significant amount of space in the game. In addition, apparently this model is rare, with only 333 made; this was the cheapest one I could find, and it was still $95. As such, I will not be offering this 'air car' with the mod. Someone suggested making it into a topper; that's an idea I might explore, but only as a one-off.
___End of history / major posts so far___
Silver Spring, MD
