Tunnel Motors

[Giuseppe]

So I recently ran into some minor issues with the mapping on my Blomberg trucks and decided to take a break and start work on a new project I've been meaning to get to... EMD's famed SD40T-2/SD45T-2 "Tunnel Motors!" My first road of choice would have been the Rio Grande (my home state is Colorado,) but with the announcement of the new Donner Pass route I figured some Espee units would be nice to celebrate. The body, modeled using my GP-40 as the base mesh, isn't much to see just yet, but here is some work on the trucks:

Render_01.jpg

As you (hopefully) can see from the render, I'm going for a "super-detail" level of modeling with these. It wreaks havoc in terms of poly counts, but it's so hard to leave the details out!

Anyway, cheers,
Giuseppe

[steve_the_slim]

I think I heard somewhere that RSC is planning on releasing tunnel motors with Donner Pass. I'm not trying to dissuade you, and I'd love to see the SD45 version, but I figured I'd make sure you knew that you might be duplicating something RSC is already working on.

[Chessie8638]

RSC is 'supposed' to release one. Most likely a SD40T-2. But keep at it. Your GP40 looks sweet. And these will probably be the same!

[Giuseppe]

Thanks for the feedback; I was under the impression that RSC might release some "tunnel motors" of their own, though I'm certainly not sure about that. Regardless, this will be good practice, and since the SD45T-2's were very close externally to the 40's, the modification there will not be difficult. Anyway, here is some initial work, as you can see there are a lot of "holes" and missing details but the shape is coming together at least.

Render_02.jpg

Cheers,
Giuseppe

[imnew]

Ah man, that really sharp lookin ! Excellent work Giuseppe

[bobbel66]

This looks fantastic, continue to.
Michael!

[ArcticCatZRT]

Your work looks fantastic so far! Can't wait to see some more shots from the build, good luck with it!

[imnew]

Giuseppe, any updates on your project? You still with us ?

[Giuseppe]

Sorry for the lack of progress; I've been very busy lately and haven't worked on any personal projects since last week. Anyway, I saw that RSC is in fact releasing an SD40T-2 with Donner Pass, so looks like I'll be doing the SD45T-2. I always liked them better anyway!



While I'm online, here is a quick render showing some minor progress on the truck. Traction motors and brake cylinders added; brake rigging still needs to be installed.

Render_03.jpg

Anyway,
Cheers, Giuseppe

[Giuseppe]

Here we go! Basic stuff like the front platform still need to be modified, but looking pretty good on the whole.

Render_04.jpg

Cheers,
Giuseppe

[MontanaRails]

Your modeling is top notch! Looks great!

[imnew]

What a talent , first class modeling !

[Heavy Chevy]

That looks fantastic, very well done. I would like to ask though. Where do you get all the dimensions from? I often wonder how these get put together with such great detail. Can you get drawings that cover all the details or do you measure off of say and HO model and then multiply by 87?

Keep up the fine work.

[Kali]

Usually you get a scale drawing - whether it's got dimensions on it depends if it's an engineering drawing or someone just put a line drawing together. You can import that into your 3d package and literally draw around it with vertices.

The details are done by eye from photos though, mostly; it's usually quite hard to make out enough detail from a general arrangement drawing if it's even got all the detail.

[BNSF650]

WOW that looks good