Big Dog - Birth of a Steam Locomotive

[bessemer]

Thats just really outstanding, man. Great work.

[scottb613]

Hi Ryan/Jon,

Thanks for the input... As a whole it should look pretty good when done... Many modelers like Tim Muir, Allen Norton, and Capt Bazza - produce models with way more detail than this... Most of my shapes are pretty basic and have just enough detail to get the job done... There is nothing really hard about any of this... The modeling phase is the most enjoyable and usually goes pretty quick - then comes the texture mapping which is a total chore - and - finally producing the detailed textures themselves in PSP...

I may have to stop this turorial for a bit... I guess this thread is getting more views than I thought - my PhotoBucket account is reaching it's limit and they will shut me down for 30 days... I'm looking for free/easy alternatives now...

[ciondadon]

Scott you make it look too easy man! lol

[scottb613]

Hi Cion,

Thanks... Just keep working at it - this is only my 3rd model - you'll catch on quick...

[scottb613]

DAY 10 - DAY 11 - DAY 12 - and So It Goes

I'm still working on the locomotive with about three more nights work invested... I'm not really using any new skills so I haven't been posting as much... I've been focused on many of the details that need to be created to make a convincing steam locomotive...

Created the locomotive braking system...

Created the cold water pump and piping to add to the feed water heating system...

Reworked the compressors...

Reworked the under cab area...

Added the large hinges to the front of the boiler...

Added the filler around the cylinders and valves...

Worked the cylinder and valve details...

Added most of the air compressor piping including the cooling runs...


Current Status: Port



Current Status: Starboard



We'll get back into the details when I start hand animating the remaining rods...

[sp#4449]

If you don't mind me asking, did you do something different with the headlamp? It's kind of weird looking, like it's too long or something? Were L&HR locomotives like this? To make myself clearer; the back half looks too long and too close to the boiler. I've never seen something quite like it.

Just curious,
Sam

[scottb613]

Hi Sam,

I don't mind at all - as anything is open for discussion as far as I'm concerned... I just checked the plans and the photographs - and - yep - good call - definitely too long... Thanks for the heads up - I'll fix it... I'm thinking about redoing all my air pipes as well as they look a little thin to me... Would anyone know what the actual size of what typical air lines would have been in the real world ??? I used a 1.32" for the diameter pipe - probably should be at least 1.5" right ???

[scottb613]

DAY 13 - TAIL END CHARLIE

I've been stalled a bit on animating the locomotive - as the beta version of 3DC I have been working with has an animation issue with one of the plug-ins which I'm sure it will be fixed in the near future... So - in the interim - I started working on the real tender... I found a better set of plans than I used for the original place holder - so - after scanning them - setting up the images to use as a backdrop - taking my initial measurements for the "Train Engineer" plug-in - I'm ready to start modeling... It goes pretty quick once you become familiar with the procedures...


Load the reference images for the backdrop



Input your measurements and the "Train Engineer" plug-in builds the foundation of the model



This post will address one method to build a relatively complex shape... There are probably a thousand ways to do it and I've tried a couple... You really need to give it a little thought on how you are going to handle all the complexities in the basic shape for the tender body... The beauty of 3D modeling is that is cheap to try different ways as all it costs is time... This time around I'm going to use a single shape to define most of the body... In the past - I've broken them down to much smaller components and half split the model to join the shapes after I had one side completely modeled... The technique outlined below is very similar to how you would build out the shell for a diesel...


It all starts with a cube



Stretch it along the X axis to the correct size - then knock about .2 Feet off both sides



Size the box appropriately - then "Extrude" the .2 Feet back - on each side



The small extrudes will give us the ability to form the sides of the tender with the curves as it passes the coal bin...


Grab the two small extruded faces



Perform another extrude along the Z axis



Now grab the top edge of the extruded section - with the X and Z axis locked - and - move to match curve of sides



Repeat to keep the shape following the curves



As always – you want to keep the curvature to a minimum to keep the polys in check… Each curve is different and you may need to play with the length of each subsequent extrude to get the desired result…


Extend a long extrude for the bulk of the sides



If you want smoother curves you can always do shorter “Extrudes” to more closely follow the shape…

To be continued…

[scottb613]

Day 13 - Part 2


Finish out the curves to complete the sides



Time to fill in the middle - grab the center face - extrude down the middle to coal slide



Grab the bottom edge and make slope match the angle on the plans



We need some depth so extrude .2 Feet to form the slide



Now "Extrudes" follow the direction of the original face - so grab the top face and "Extrude" that as well



That completes the rough work on the body shape for now - I'll clean it up and smooth it out later



To be continued…

[scottb613]

Day 13 - Part 3

Since this is going fairly quickly – we have some time to add some details… The component library which allows you to store the various shapes you make – really speeds this part – as you can add many parts you have made previously… I try to use it as much as possible…

Let's start with the ladder - make a quick template



Select the edges - Run "Pipe Engineer" plug-in - and - you have a ladder in a matter of seconds



Add a Headlight from my component library - make a few adjustments



Add some handrails via the "Handrail Engineer" plug-in



Add a place to fill the water



Add a Dog House - missing from plans - just a guesstimate for now



Add a coupler from my component library



And in a single evenings work - the start of a decent looking tender



To be continued...

[Traindude]

So... Is the coal load going to be a freightanim?

[scottb613]

Hi Sanjay,

It's a long way from filling with coal yet - but - yep - I use the animations... I hate seeing an "empty" tender still full of coal... They are easy to do...

[hiball 3985]

Scott,
I find all of this amazing, over my head, but amazing.. I envy all you talented builders.

Jim

[scottb613]

Hi Jim,

LOL - I don't think I'd really call it talent in my case - pure determination is more like it...


Thanks for the comments...

[hiball 3985]

Hi Jim,

LOL - I don't think I'd really call it talent in my case - pure determination is more like it...


Thanks for the comments...

OK, we will call it talented determination then . But the bottom line is you make some superb models.
Jim