R Reynolds Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 This may be counter intuitive to all those who model showroom pristine cars but I prefer my props to have some mileage on them, especially a taxi cab. There is a dent in each door (the passenger one is somewhat lost in the reflection of the lower hinge) and two in the rear fender. All four use the same normal decal with identical scaling and amplitude. I'm still testing to see whether I get convincing results by scaling just the decal or I have to make small, medium, large and asymmetric dent models. Quote
Vertexspline Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 Looks awesome Rodger ..and I think adding a little character makes it seem more real. great job. and nice render too! Quote
thumperness Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 Nice looking car Rodger. Dents can happen anywhere. But it seems to me that they would be more prevelent(sp) nearer the opening edge of the door. Like it hit a light pole or another car. 2nd thought for any and all modelers. I have seen several examples of 'creases' in a model do to bad splineage or improper hooks, etc... Could these also be used for dents like these? Just a random thought. Rodger, I appreciate the fact that you say you are not a character modeler. As I learn how to model, I find myself wanting to lean in that direction too. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted October 15, 2011 Hash Fellow Posted October 15, 2011 smashing dents! I suppose you could also scratch the paint where the dent is too. Quote
John Bigboote Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 Gosh! Screw the dents... show us the whole taxi! They look great, technically they are dings- not dents. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted October 15, 2011 Admin Posted October 15, 2011 Very realistic Rodger! That door dent looks like the real deal. Up here in northern Japan we see a lot of those dents in vehicles... you could say it's the bane of our existence... especially in the winter which is just about to hit us. On the plus side, it does give the young troops practice with accident paperwork. I would think that on the rear fender you might also see one or more paint transfers/scrapes. Admittedly a little harder to see than a dent and if touched up in any way with paint would be of a slightly different color. I'm not sure how prevalent patchwork was back in those days. You might be able to get more of a scrape by scaling the width? From what can be seen... great taxi model! Quote
John Bigboote Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 AND- being from Windsor, ONT in the heart of the 'rust-belt'... you know all too well about rust holes and salt corrosion! Quote
R Reynolds Posted October 16, 2011 Author Posted October 16, 2011 I have seen several examples of 'creases' in a model do to bad splineage or improper hooks, etc... Could these also be used for dents like these? I suppose they could be used as some type of dent but not this type. These defects are relatively symmetric and have a distinct shape that would be tough to include into the existing fender splinage (see image of the fender with the dent model). Using bump or normal decals is far easier and gives you much more flexibility over the dents' size and location. ...technically they are dings- not dents Yes Matt, you're right. Back in the early '90's I was involved in the development of a new optical invention to detect sheet metal defects on the production line, so I got to know the distinction (and the defects' shapes) really well. But I guessed most forum users would find the term dent more familiar so I went with that, figuring I wouldn't get caught by someone with experience in the auto industry. I would think that on the rear fender you might also see one or more paint transfers/scrapes. Good idea Rodney. I'll try some different decals to simulate this. ...show us the whole taxi! See attachments; glass and interior materials are still under construction. It's a 1948 Checker. I'm pretty satisfied with my flattening technique to apply the checker board with minimal warpage especially around the rear corner, right through a 5 pointer (which almost always distorts decals). Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted October 16, 2011 Hash Fellow Posted October 16, 2011 Fabulous! I see this taxi racing to beat one of your trains at the railroad crossing. Quote
Vertexspline Posted October 16, 2011 Posted October 16, 2011 oh my ....that's amazing looking. Great job Rodger. Really fantastic ! Quote
Admin Rodney Posted October 16, 2011 Admin Posted October 16, 2011 Wow is right. That's an amazing ride Rodger. Quote
Fuchur Posted October 16, 2011 Posted October 16, 2011 Very cool stuff! I like the little dust, mud and rust parts. Makes it much more real! Keep on rocking! *Fuchur* Quote
mouseman Posted October 16, 2011 Posted October 16, 2011 You are quite a master at this! I'd love to dream that some day I might be as good, but I know I won't! Quote
John Bigboote Posted October 16, 2011 Posted October 16, 2011 whoosh! THAT is fantastic... you did that in A:M??? Can we get Jason to put this on the Facebook page?(if Roger does not mind) I was wondering too, if this was going to be a 'prop' in your railroad project. Looking at old 'creampuffs' like this, it always strikes me... isn't that too much car and not enough tire? You have something going on with the windows... like refraction or a transparent decal to fog it up... or something, whatever it is- it WORKS! And the reflection on the bumpers, nice! Great work Rodger, thank-you for showing it! I'm going back to drool over it for a while now... Quote
R Reynolds Posted October 18, 2011 Author Posted October 18, 2011 I see this taxi racing to beat one of your trains at the railroad crossing. Quite possibly. I was wondering too, if this was going to be a 'prop' in your railroad project. It's the only reason I model anything. Believe it or not my WIP model for Penn Station created the need for the taxi. The first image shows the doors to the below street level entrance. I figured it would be more convincing to have a car parked outside so dropped in my '41 Plymouth coupe. The second image was OK but I guessed a taxi would be more likely. No problem! I can find some reference images of taxis, cannibalize and reshape parts from the Plymouth and I'll have a quick & simple taxi for outside the doors. Two years later I'm agonizing over the colour of the knobs on the radio. It's a peculiar type of madness from which I suffer. Can we get Jason to put this on the Facebook page?(if Rodger does not mind) I have no problem with it although you might want to wait until it's finished. At any rate, wouldn't that be like putting a photo of Andy Rooney on the home page of your dating website? I question whether a broad demographic would find an old taxi appealing. Mike Fitz' Audi is probably a better fit. Quote
R Reynolds Posted October 18, 2011 Author Posted October 18, 2011 You have something going on with the windows... like refraction or a transparent decal to fog it up... or something, whatever it is- it WORKS! You certainly have a right to your opinion Matt but I disagree. The diffuse reflections in the windows (which I find totally unrealistic for typical smooth glass) come from an unexpected change in the way A:M interprets the specular size property (at least in v13). I was always under the impression that specular size was totally divorced from the actual surface properties. You could have a smooth chromed sphere with sharp reflections from the surroundings but still have a specular size of 95. Totally unrealistic but it's only a simulation of the light source's reflection. But now it seems that the specular size is increased by adding roughness to the surface. Perfectly reasonable and accurate. However for some reason I can't get specular reflections for sizes less than 0.501; specular simple disappears from 0.500 on down. Sounds like a float value is getting assigned to an integer. So to get a specular highlight I need to give glass some surface roughness. The image shows progressive renders of the taxis' rear passenger window with specular = 0 and 0.501. The roughness causes pebbly reflections of far away objects. Until I make the transition to a new computer and v16, I'll probably live with glass with no specular and realistic reflections. Quote
R Reynolds Posted October 28, 2011 Author Posted October 28, 2011 Experimenting with different sizes, shapes and severities. You can get away with relatively lo-res decals. The round symmetric dent is only 128 x 128. The two large ones are the same 256 x 256 decal but this is a fairly large surface feature to cheat with a decal and I'm not convinced it could withstand prolonged scrutiny up-close. But for junkers in the background, it's more than adequate. My next step is to follow Robert's suggestion to scratch the paint within the dent. This is going to take some finessing, the proof of which is illustrated at the lower left corner of the passenger door sign. In this area there are two identical dent stamps. One is centered right on that sign corner while roughly halfway between this and the driver's door gap is the second stamp. The lack of distortion in the sign makes that dent look less severe. Any scratch and rust detail are going to have to be subtle. Quote
R Reynolds Posted November 5, 2011 Author Posted November 5, 2011 it always strikes me... isn't that too much car and not enough tire? I agree with you Matt, the proportions didn't look quite right so I increased the tire width by 1 in. (25mm). The final dents are subtle but noticeable. Still working on my dirt painting technique but I'm pretty close to finished. Quote
mouseman Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 It's really convincing, especially within the set. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 5, 2011 Hash Fellow Posted November 5, 2011 Follow that car! Do they not use salt on the roads in winter in Canada? In Minnesota a car like that would have big rust holes and dried slush stains. As soon as you drive it off the lot. Quote
R Reynolds Posted November 12, 2011 Author Posted November 12, 2011 Dings, dents, dirt and now, bird droppings...and with that final abuse, sedan_Checker_cab_48.mdl is done. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 12, 2011 Admin Posted November 12, 2011 That's an amazing ride Rodger. Well done! Quote
mouseman Posted November 12, 2011 Posted November 12, 2011 That's an amazing ride Rodger.Agreed! Amazing! One thing I am curious about (and this is probably also on the original) ... since part of the fender is on part of the front door, what happens when the door opens? Quote
R Reynolds Posted November 13, 2011 Author Posted November 13, 2011 ...since part of the fender is on part of the front door, what happens when the door opens? Yeah, that had me puzzled for a while until I happened to be watching a movie from the 40's where the hero was driving a car with similarly styled fenders. As soon as he opened the door, it was obvious (see attached reference images). The sheet metal added to the door to continue the fender shape is slightly smaller than the fender itself, so as the door opens, one shape fits inside the other. Its a clever design trick helped by the shape and location of the joint with respect to the hinge points. It's this kind of totally gratuitous design cue (like those monstrous chrome bumpers) that IMHO gives these cars so much more character than what we drive today. Very few would be willing the pay for such wasteful details. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 13, 2011 Hash Fellow Posted November 13, 2011 Very impressive, Rodger! Quote
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