Subject:
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Re: Instructions for new fire truck - Ladder 110
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.inst, lugnet.town
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Date:
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Sun, 20 Jul 2003 13:26:37 GMT
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Viewed:
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5136 times
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In lugnet.inst, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
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In lugnet.cad.ray, Allan Bedford wrote:
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I’m working my way through a series of 4-wide fire apparatus right now.
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Any feedback on the model, the instructions, or the render are most welcome.
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Spiffy model. Especially the ladder with the nozzle at the top! Also a great
use of arches and rear fenders (how I wish that fender came in a split so you
could use it on 6 wide trucks)
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I’ve used the 1x4 arch on each of my 3 apparatus so far. I think it helps add
realism at this small scale, in the way it hugs the tyres so well.
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Needs more greebles, though. Even ladder trucks have some pumper
appurtenances so modeling some of that stuff would add, I think.
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I agree. This is why I’m working on a series of vehicles. So I can experiment
with varies levels of detail. The 2nd one in the series (Pumper 3) was based on
a real engine, unlike this ladder truck. I did try to include more details on
it. However, at 4 studs wide you’re looking at a scale of roughly 1 stud to 2
feet actual.(1) Lots of detail, angles, colors etc can change in two feet.
Which is actually part of the fun. I enjoy deciding what details can be
captured and which ones need to be left out. The other issue you have is that
even when you include a detail, it is sometimes out of scale with the rest of
the model. But... this is just LEGO and it’s just for fun, so I don’t worry
about it. You can see what I mean in the rear hand bar on Pumper 3:
http://www.bricksonthebrain.com/instructions/main.cfm?cat=45&review=654&revOn=true
It’s much too thick, as are the rigid hoses on the driver’s side. But it still
‘represents’ the detail.
Ladder 110 is also really meant to be my homage to this classic set:
http://guide.lugnet.com/set/640_1 (2)
Which is why this truck (and all the vehicles in this series) isn’t done to
minifig scale. No need for oversized cabs or doors to fit figs, as it’s meant
to be a building style that doesn’t take into account a fig riding in the truck.
I even thought about including the 1x2 red brick with the LEGO logo right under
the cab window. I may yet render it with that in place. :)
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The instructions seem well thought out in terms of sequence of steps and
having the parts box at each step helps. I know (think?) this is a standard
lpub thing now, IIRC but it is nice.
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It is an option which is selected by default. The way it works for me is that
it generates the construction image as one file and the parts list for that step
as a second file. All of those images were then manually combined into the
steps that I posted. If there’s a way to get LPub to do this automagically, I
can’t find it. :)
I personally think there are too many steps for a model this size. That’s
another thing I’m experimenting with. I’m hoping the next few will be a bit
more efficient.
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Stylistically though, I just can’t get excited about lightening previous
parts to show current step parts,
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What you see is the default in LPub. I tried backing off that option, so that
previous step colors remain at full intensity, but it didn’t end up looking like
an official instruction book for some reason. I went back to the default only
because there would be little confusion over what the new pieces were. Except
of course when you use white pieces, as in the ladder, and then there is
confusion. I can’t win. :)
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or by the use of rendered parts without
strong edge lines.
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Again I went with the default within LPub. (which is .5) What value would you
recommend?
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I like the more cartoonish instructions that Lego
themselves do, with big chunky edge lines. But that’s just me.
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I totally agree. In fact that was something I told Will Hess about his recent
6-wide instructions. I do want to get to that cartoonish look. I guess I just
have to figure out what options/settings to lower in order to obtain that look,
without sacrificing quality.
I’ve found the learning curve (to produce both instructions and especially
renders) to be fairly steep. Maybe that’s just me. Normally I am very
comfortable with new software, but not in the case of the suite of programs
needed to produce these types of images. I wish there was a very basic
tutorial that walked you through producing those ‘cartoon’ type images, for
dummies like me who are computer literate, but not graphics literate.
That was why I mentioned the .CAD thread about lighting techniques. Everyone
offered such good advice, but it came from a half dozen different people and
none of it was information I’d been able to locate online or in any of the help
materials included with the apps.
O.K. I’m done griping now. ;)
Thanks for the input Larry! Sorry for the long rambling reply. And just think,
I haven’t even had my coffee yet this morning. :)
Regards,
Allan B.
(1) The scale fluctuates depending on the vehicle you’re working on. For a
newer piece of apparatus, like a Pierce 100 foot ladder for example, the scale
really is about 1 stud:2’. For older smaller rigs, like Pumper 3 for example,
the scale is more likely about 1 stud:20”. But again, it’s working within the
framework of 4-wide, so the differences are to be expected.
(2) The design of the truck in the 640 set was later used in my all-time
favorite official set http://guide.lugnet.com/set/357_1.
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Instructions for new fire truck - Ladder 110
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| In lugnet.inst, Allan Bedford wrote: <snip> (...) LPub 2.2 adds another layer of processing after the two that you listed. The new layer can do a few things for you: 1. Pack sub-model steps into a single "callout" image for use in making compact (...) (21 years ago, 2-Aug-03, to lugnet.inst, lugnet.town, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Instructions for new fire truck - Ladder 110
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| (...) Spiffy model. Especially the ladder with the nozzle at the top! Also a great use of arches and rear fenders (how I wish that fender came in a split so you could use it on 6 wide trucks) Needs more greebles, though. Even ladder trucks have some (...) (21 years ago, 20-Jul-03, to lugnet.inst, lugnet.town, FTX)
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