Undercarriage Optimization
During the production of the undercarriage last week a vast number of edges were used to ensure a perfectly joining edge flow consisting entirely of four sided polygons. This factor is essential for providing satisfying results with any of the smoothing modifiers which work best with quads, as triangles (3 sided-polygons) can create noticeable pinching effects.
However as the undercarriage will be positioned underneath the main body of the steam engine it will not be completely visible. It was therefore agreed that it did not need smoothing as its angular metal appearance in real-life would not really have any smoothness to its edges. The decision to exclude an additional smoothing modifier will also reduce the overall "polycount" of the entire geometry which in turn should decrease the needed amount of memory as well as processing power needed to operate the file. This aspect may prove crucial at a later stage once the scene is highly populated, as a significantly high polycount can severely affect the responsiveness of the 3DS Max user interface and is then ultimately dependant on the power of the PC being used to modify the scene. However as the scene is required by all group members who all have different computer specifications any savings on performance will improve overall accessibility of the ".max" file which is crucial for the animation processes when the geometry is required to move for example.
The task of optimizing the undercarriage object was basically achieved by removing redundant edges which were not integral to its overall shape. Consequently all connection edges and vertices were removed until only the necessary outline edges remained. This was a rather lengthy process but should be worthwhile for the reasons described.
Undercarriage w/ High Edge Count
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Optimized Undercarriage
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Body Trim Construction
Now that the undercarriage had been optimized I proceeded by starting to model the main body of the steam engine. This initiated with the under-body trim which sits on top of the undercarriage and supports the main body. The rough shape was traced using the spline tool to follow the shape of the side reference image as a guide. From this the line 0bject was "outlined" to produce a closed spline, this was then converted to and editable poly and extruded to give it some depth.
Body Trim Spline Tracing
Body Trim Construction
One of the main features the body trim consists of are ladders; these would be used by the train drivers to climb inside the cabin area as well as mechanics to climb aboard the steam engine at vital areas to inspect parts for example. The LMS Fowler 2-6-4T has a number of ladders some which are positioned either side of the steam engine and another at the rear. Each of the these ladders differs in appearance due to the area it connects to, for the example the ladders located directly below the driver's cabin are slightly wider as these would be more frequently used and consequently are thicker to withstand constant use. The other ladders located at the front and rear of the Train are somewhat smaller and do not protrude outwards from the body, as these would otherwise be a hazard to boarding passengers for example whilst the train is coming to a stop. Having the ladders positioned in-line with the body also makes the steam engine more aerodynamic, as protruding ladders would create significant drag at high speeds for example.
The Ladders were created using standard box objects and inserting numerous edge loops to allow for the steps to be extruded. Additional edges were also introduced along all the corner edges so that the affect produced by the "Turbo Smooth" modifier would still smooth them sufficiently whilst retaining the angular appearance. The required number of edges were also added to the body trim where each ladder connects using the "Ring" edge selection tool to speed up the process. The ladders were then connected by target welding the respective meeting vertices.
Driver Door Ladder Creation
The first half of the body trim was then cloned and mirroed for the other side of the body. They were then connected at either end by extruding out certain polygons created by inserting new edge loops. These were then joint together using the "Weld" tool to fuse the required vertices.
The same process was used for the rear connecting segment of the body trim. Both the front and rear connecting struts were made taller to act as the bumper sections for the coupler plates to be attached to. Consequently the next object I continued to model was the coupler backing plates and couplers themselves. Before doing this though the body trim object was previewed with a Turbo Smooth modifier applied to observer how the smoothing affected the current edges. The whole body object was being smoothed a little too much create over-smoothed results, therefore this was resolved by adding extra edge loops added near all the edges to limit the smoothing effect.
Bottom Body Trim Smoothed Preview
Coupler Construction
The next feature to be modeled was the couplers and their backing plates. The Couplers on a steam engine are what allows other carriages to be attached, they are an essential component of any locomotive and thus were created with great care and attention to detail. Before beginning the construction I examined a large portion of the prior collated research images to identify the appearance of the couplers from a variety of angles. After gaining this insight into the relative size and shape of the couplers I started the production process with the backing plate. This was created using a simple box object which was centred on the back of the body trim using the "Align" tool. Curved corners were also fashioned by inserting additional edge loops at either end, the resulting newly created vertices were then manipulated accordingly.
Rear Coupler Backing Plate
The coupler surrounds were then made using a Cylinder primitive which was converted to an editable poly. The end of the cylinder was given a sloping square base by selecting edge row of edge vertices and applying the "Make Planar" function on the appropriate axis.
Square Sloping Coupler Surround Base
The opposite end of the Coupler Surround was then hollowed out by insetting the end polygon and extruding it inwards to produce a tube type of appearance. The end rim was also extruded and scaled multiple times to create a curved lip which is evident from the reference images.
Hollowed Out Coupler Surround w/ Curved Rim
The actual coupler was then produced again using a cylinder object, the rear facing end was extruded and scaled numerous times to create a curved edge which connects to the coupler plate. The coupler plate was made using the same process as the surround, where the edge rows of vertices were made planar and then curved slightly to produce the final oval shaped Coupler.
Oval Shaped Coupler
Additional edges were also introduced for smoothing reasons and further detail was added by placing nuts & bolts on the base of the couple surround where it attaches to the backing plate. I was especially pleased with the end outcome of the couple as the level of detail used accurately compares to the reference images which is personally satisfying. The Turbo Smooth modifier finishes off the objects nicely and helps to portray a hand crafted and realistic mechanical appearance.
Final Rear Coupler
The group of coupler objects were cloned for the other side of the backing plate, the entirety of these objects were then mirroed and cloned for the front of the Steam Engine. The size of the front coupler backing plate was also altered slightly to match the research images as closely as possible.
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