Beyond The Sprues

Current and Finished Projects => Profiles and Pixels => Topic started by: Jeffry Fontaine on April 30, 2012, 09:03:59 AM

Title: SketchUp 3D Model - Hardened Aircraft Shelter
Post by: Jeffry Fontaine on April 30, 2012, 09:03:59 AM
I spent the last couple of days and nights attempting to model a Hardened Aircraft Shelter that you see at many military airfields to protect aircraft from the environment or the occasional bomb or rocket during times of war.  The model features sliding doors at the front and a jet engine exhaust portal at the rear. The 3D model was created with artistic license and does not attempt to represent any specific hardened aircraft shelter design. 

Screen shot - Doors closed
(http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/s720x720/35891_10151741300488532_722638531_9553865_1758871459_n.jpg)

Screen shot - Doors open
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/s720x720/561324_10151741300068532_722638531_9553859_1879107821_n.jpg)

Additional images can be viewed at this link to my FaceBook Album "SketchUp - Aircraft Shelter" (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151741298638532.430965.722638531&type=1&l=f343cfd9a5)

Link to these models at the SketchUp 3D Warehouse:

Aircraft Shelter - Doors Open (http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=b53e4085c54be372e32e933935a85bb1&ct=mdsa)

Aircraft Shelter - Doors Closed (http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=eabf7357ffcfb373e32e933935a85bb1&ct=mdsa)
Title: Re: SketchUp 3D Model - Hardened Aircraft Shelter
Post by: GTX_Admin on April 30, 2012, 05:57:20 PM
Nicely done.  I wonder how you would go modelling up an entire airbase?
Title: Re: SketchUp 3D Model - Hardened Aircraft Shelter
Post by: Jeffry Fontaine on April 30, 2012, 07:24:04 PM
Nicely done.  I wonder how you would go modelling up an entire airbase?

Not sure I would want to take on that task.  A sure way to suck the joy out of any hobby is in attempting to put way too much effort in the details.  With that being said, I suspect that modeling an actual airfield in SketchUp based on satellite images you could model a specific location with 3D models incorporated into the satellite image and even share that on Google Earth if you were so inclined.  One of the things that SketchUp and Google are promoting is modeling your town or city and there are a lot of folks that are doing just that. 




***edit to correct sentence structure error
Title: Re: SketchUp 3D Model - Hardened Aircraft Shelter
Post by: RussC on April 30, 2012, 07:42:59 PM
Nicely done.  I wonder how you would go modelling up an entire airbase?


Did one. its on my deviant art account. Its more of a sampler of airfield structures than a real field concept.

http://russc1.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=96#/d4e22vd (http://russc1.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=96#/d4e22vd)

http://fav.me/d4e22vd (http://fav.me/d4e22vd)

It shows an older airfield added to with longer runways. Viewed from above, the older section and parking aprons was designed to look like a skull and bones.
Title: Re: SketchUp 3D Model - Hardened Aircraft Shelter
Post by: Jeffry Fontaine on May 01, 2012, 09:41:24 AM
Nicely done.  I wonder how you would go modelling up an entire airbase?

Actually, I did play around with creating an airfield/airbase in SketchUp but the file became so large that I found it to be unmanageable since I was modeling the thing in 1:1 scale :)

Creating the runway and parking aprons was relatively easy to do and then it got complicated when I tried to randomly place things here and there to not make it look all dress-right-dress and in some kind of formation.  After all of that effort I deleted it and figured it was saner for me to just focus on one small part of a facility such as an individual hardened aircraft shelter into which I could put a lot of detail.  For as simple as that model was to create, it still ended up at 5mb when it was all finished and there was a lot more I could have added to it such as the missing personnel access door, interior lighting, central drain, plus the blast doors for the jet exhaust portal.  I figured the doors at the front were enough of a chore without having to try and repeat it all over again and for most folks the details I put into the model are overkill.  It was still a fun exercise and I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment that comes from sharing the finished model with others. 
Title: Re: SketchUp 3D Model - Hardened Aircraft Shelter
Post by: RussC on May 01, 2012, 07:55:28 PM
Nicely done.  I wonder how you would go modelling up an entire airbase?

Actually, I did play around with creating an airfield/airbase in SketchUp but the file became so large that I found it to be unmanageable since I was modeling the thing in 1:1 scale :)

Creating the runway and parking aprons was relatively easy to do and then it got complicated when I tried to randomly place things here and there to not make it look all dress-right-dress and in some kind of formation.  After all of that effort I deleted it and figured it was saner for me to just focus on one small part of a facility such as an individual hardened aircraft shelter into which I could put a lot of detail.  For as simple as that model was to create, it still ended up at 5mb when it was all finished and there was a lot more I could have added to it such as the missing personnel access door, interior lighting, central drain, plus the blast doors for the jet exhaust portal.  I figured the doors at the front were enough of a chore without having to try and repeat it all over again and for most folks the details I put into the model are overkill.  It was still a fun exercise and I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment that comes from sharing the finished model with others.

   Great results. One thing about adding a lot of details is that it can sometimes be better just to build a framework first and do details in later versions. Some very simple 3D HAS models are posted in the Digital Aviation Arts group over on dA' and when you take the building and a 3D jet and some simple render program that will do lighting, like Kerkythea, some really photo level results come out, which can be further spruced in Photoshop with backgrounds and small items and some weathering.

   If you want to try and model an airfield and keep the size down, try modeling it as a a 1/32 diorama size. Scale is almost irrelevant at 3D, except if you are actually integrating the results with real earth structures like you mention many sketchup users as doing.
   As What-if-ers' (Ooops, I mean Beyond the Sprues'ers ;-) scale is what we make of it.
Title: Re: SketchUp 3D Model - Hardened Aircraft Shelter
Post by: GTX_Admin on May 02, 2012, 03:46:43 AM
   As What-if-ers' (Ooops, I mean Beyond the Sprues'ers ;-) scale is what we make of it.

You can still refer to us as "What-if-ers" if you wish - the term is more about our style of modelling rather then being linked to any particular forum.  Moreover, no-one has a monopoly on the term...