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[Kopfdorfer]

Interesting,

I wasn't even thinking of making the crane capable of rotating in-game , I was just thinking of
FMB utility - the mission builders ability to rotate the crane head/turret etc within the FMB ,
independent of the facing of the truck object !

Now you have dug even deeper into the night crawlers !

Kopfdorfer

[David Prosser]

Goodidea. It will make good airbase eye candy.

[Mission_bug]

(As an aside my stepfather was in the RAF in the late 40's. He was part of a recovery team, recovering downed/crashed Meatboxes and Vampires in Holland and W.Germany.  He used to talk about using the Queen Mary trailers, saying it was a good bit of useful kit.)

Must have been interesting work for him and his team Shessi, let us hope I can do a decent model for you, you might be able to provide some material for the mission builders to work to and also take that trip down memory lane to those Airfix days of yours and actually see it move in game as well.

I was just thinking of FMB utility - the mission builders ability to rotate the crane head/turret etc within the FMB ,
independent of the facing of the truck object !

Yes Kopfdorfer, that is my intention.    The only way I can do that at the moment is if I provide the crane compartment as a separate object, raise it to the truck bed level and have it set about a centre point so you as the user of the FMB can rotate it about that pivot to face where you wish in relation to everything else in your scene, you would not necessarily need the Thorneycroft underneath but obviously something at the right height.  My dilemma is do I make the Thorneycroft complete and loose much of the detail or would you as a user be happy to assemble what could amount to four separate parts to make the whole vehicle.

Obviously I am proposing that method if you do not have the necessary DLLs that will allow objects to be joined with a hier and also be high poly.

Once built I can look at the practicalities, it would of course be nice if the moving version could be coded in such a way that as the vehicle comes to a halt the crane rotates either left or right, oh, and maybe the doors swing open and we have a guy appear in the crane and one standing by the vehicle.

Look what you have done to me Kopfdorfer, I am going insane and having all kinds of mad thoughts also.

Goodidea. It will make good airbase eye candy.

Glad you approve David, we can never have enough airfield eye candy.


Take care.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Not got much further since my last post but here you go.

The rear has what seems to be a winch and below that a hook, there are differences from each image I have.


Early development that still needs the hook adding:







The vehicle in Belfast looks as though some parts might have been removed, for restoration or otherwise I do not know:




The image posted earlier of the preserved vehicle in York has what looks to be a complete unit so that is what I went with, my
drawing only shows the winch.



Then there is this weary looking example photographed in Malta:



Those that found their way into civilian use would I think have suffered the ravages of time and use and most likely modified
to do whatever task was necessary by their owners so it is most likely the Elvington example is closer to specifications than
any other image I have to hand so that is how it will be.

In the images above you can see how each vehicle has its own look, differences in fixtures such as mudguards and the rear
body all make for some head scratching as far as trying to replicate a WWII vehicle go, anyway, on wards we go.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Hello guys, I think I have assembled enough of the parts now that make up the winch and hook.






Many of the parts above will need to be replicated once I have them mapped, that will be a very
tedious task, I have made the attachment as complete as I can so it will most likely need to be
attached to the remainder of the chassis using the hier as the poly count will by the time I complete
it be rather high.

The intention is to first of all build as good a representation of the whole vehicle as my ability allows and
once that is done I can worry about getting it in game, it is first of all a modelling project, secondly a
game asset if I get that far.


Take care.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

The rear contraption is finally done.

It does still need specific colours adding and a tidy up:







With that more or less sorted out I can now move to actual construction of the cab, mudguards and wheels.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Hello guys, just a quick update of this slowly evolving project.

I tidied a few things up and altered the mapping to use two textures, the chassis and the frame with
hook and winch were enlarged and grouped together on one, with the start of the body on the second:



I am looking at a few additional pieces that will also go on the chassis texture, here is the development of
the front steering, I think they are motors driving a cog that rotates the wheels but I need to find some
further references to confirm that:



Alpha cut holes are now added to the angle iron at the rear:




The axles now all have a disc and hub, the wheels will join to these as a separate mesh I think as the
poly count for the chassis is now at the mesh limit:




I would like to start the cab next and things such as the mudguards, they will go onto the second texture.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Hello again guys, just another quick update.

What looks to me to be part of the steering system now complete as best I can using the photographs
from the Graeme Molineux site:



Yes I know, getting carried away and trying to add a little too much maybe, however, it all should add to
the finished model I hope.

In game separate object attached using the hier:



Still trying to get the hang of smoothing with the rear contraption, not too bad now I think, no very
shinny areas, anyone got a tutorial:



I can now finally move on to the wheels and cab and then hopefully it will start to look the part.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

We have wheels.

I did some alterations and made new discs and added the hubs to them so they became a separate mesh no longer part of the
chassis but attached with the hier.

Next up six wheels were made, four for the back and two different ones for the front.

Here we see the new hubs and one of each wheel type under construction:



rear ones have now been mapped:



Here all are mapped but still need a dedicated texture making to add hub and tread detail:



Test pieces in game:




Take care.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Hello guys, just another quick update.

Struggling to make and align some decent believable tread at the moment, but it is there finally
even if not quite joined up as such:









I don't want to dwell on this particular aspect too much as it really needs a decent painter, as does all my
stuff, however, I need to get things as close as I can.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Well, onward and upwards we hope.

After trying to get various treads to fit from photographs I made my own so I could at least align things with
some accuracy in the 3d program, here we have  different for front and rear although I think I need to widen
the pattern for the rear for now it stays as is, I need to move on:




Mudguards, at last we have some of the items that begin to actually identify what it is and make it look
the part:




Now enough of that silliness, must be time to rescue a tin from the fridge, or is it too early yet?


Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Work is now ongoing, slowly but surely and the beast starts to emerge from the drawing.

This part is difficult to see in photographs, there is one each side, it extends from the mudguard and has
what appears to be a eyelet at the front to attach a wire that holds the crane hook in position
when the vehicle is moving:



I simplified the structure, the real one is what seems to be a piece of angle iron with panels added
that is open at the end, other than holding the eye and the lamp I am not sure what else it does.

First steps in constructing the drivers compartment:




Engine cover and radiator as separate items and each has a internal face as does the driver compartment.

I could have left it as a solid part but opted to break it down so I can detail the engine area as well:



Blocks made to allow the cut outs for windows using the Boolean method, also the mudguard
needed to have some material be removed that entered the cabin:




The glass is in and the opening windows at the front added as separate items, the cab required some
material removal to accommodate the front wheels:



Back and front views:





The front lamps need to be made and the supports for the rear mudguard then some detail adding to the cabin before mapping
of the work undertaken so far.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.