LTSV Trainz - Projects

Projects Menu

Image	Started	Status	Updated
This page lists all of my current and completed projects with outline details and links to the relevant pages.

	Early wagon models These rather basic models were built back in the days of Trainz UTC and were never released. They are gradually being enhanced with shadows, animation, loads and other features.
	2003		03/01/2006

	Teesside Limestone Hoppers This was the most advanced of my early models but still requires a lot of work before release. These wagons are nicknamed white ladies due to the heavy weathering most have, and this feature will hopefully be reproduced through mutiple Chameleon skins.
	Dec 2005		27/06/2007

	BBA Steel Wagon and variants The BBA steel wagon was my first "proper" model and involved getting to grips with LODs, animation and shadows. Industry compatability was not included, nor were other extras like Chameleon and Couplestar. Several coil-carrying variants were released while an upgraded model is a possibility for the future.
	07/01/2006		29/01/2006

	Covered Steel Wagons This project covers three designs which, just like the real thing, were modified from other wagon types. All will feature animated sliding hoods and the first version was released in three liveries in April 2007.
	16/01/2006		18/11/2008

	Car Carrying Wagons The main element of this project is the Cartic-4 articulated double-deck carrier, of which 10 sets, in a variety of liveries and configurations, have been released. The single unit Procor 80 wagon was also modelled, along with a range of cars, vans and trucks for loading.
	18/01/2006		05/08/2008

	BAA Steel Wagon and variants Rather than re-work the earlier BBA wagons with industry compatability, the model was modified to represent the shorter BAA type. The initial release was of an as-built wagon, with various loading configurations using three TYind steel products, and five Chameleon liveries. Later releases will cover variations in the end frames and rebuilds such as specialist coil carriers.
	Jan 2006		17/08/2009

	Marcon/Brett Aggregate Hoppers The Marcon hoppers are my favourite type of wagon, and the only one I see regularly on the real railway. The model was started in early 2006 but then sidelined, due in part to it needing two new types of bogie. The broadly similar Brett type will follow later.
	Jan 2006		04/02/2006

	Road Vehicles Experiments with opacity led indirectly to the release of a London Transport DMS bus, with see-through windows. Several other types are planned and it is intended to make these easy to reskin. An interim model of a Bristol VRT double-decker was the next release, followed by a fleet of Alexander RH double-deckers in a variety of liveries and including drivable models.
	14/05/2006		28/08/2009

	HTO/HTV 21t Coal Hoppers The 21t Coal Hopper was a common sight on British railways from the early 1950s until the late 1980s, so a model had great potential. 7 different models were made, covering most variants, and each had four Chameleon liveries and animated loading/unloading.
	15/05/2006		28/11/2008

	Ballast Wagon Rebuilds As on the real railway, these wagons were built on the underframes of elderly coal hopper wagons. Two box wagons variants have been released (Clam and Rudd), while a cut-down hopper (Tope) is "in the works".
	16/05/2006		01/12/2008

	TYind Industries and Products TYind was conceived as a way of relating many of my wagon models to each other and giving them a role. A long-term project, it will eventually comprise a number of products and industries to represent the stages in the manufacture of cars, from iron-ore quarry to car showroom. The first industry being built is a rolling mill, which receives steel slabs and outputs strip coil.
	17/06/2006		09/07/2008

	PTA Iron-Ore/Aggregate Tipplers Following a request, the PTA tippler was the next of my early models selected for upgrading. Although basic looking, three different models were required, and there are five main liveries, with multiple Chameleon skins to represent the well-worn look of the prototype.
	15/07/2006		26/10/2008

	Bardon Aggregate Hoppers The Bardon hopper was the most requested type in a quick survey on the UKTrainz forum. The first variant is under construction but delayed while the bogies are built. As well as the usual features, specular lighting has been added to this model.
	12/08/2006		25/10/2008

	Low-Poly Wagons This project is intended to create very low-poly versions of some wagons (perhaps as splines or scenery items) to be placed in the background, or to populate scenes such as marshalling yards.
	Feb 2007		01/07/2007

	BDA Bogie Bolster and derivatives The BDA was a refurbished Bogie Bolster D fitted with air brakes and new bogies. Over 1,250 were introduced in the late 1970s and most remain in use today. As well as many variations in the as-built wagons, later modifications mean that there is potential to do a whole family of models. The project may eventually encompass related types such as the Boplate and Trestle.
	16/07/2008		10/08/2008

	TTA CO2 Tank Wagons These wagons were a common sight in Speedlink trains in many parts of the UK and came with a variety of detail differences.
	17/08/2008		18/08/2008

	On-Track Plant On-Track Plant covers a huge variety of machines intended for track maintenance. This project started off with a fairly basic model in the form of a Plasser TASC-45 maintenance trolley. Larger machines may be modelled later.
	29/08/2008		04/09/2008

	Autoballasters These hopper wagons work in sets of five and can unload ballast to either side. The early wagons were rebuilt from Tiphook aggregates hoppers and this project will include models in original condition.
	17/10/2008		19/08/2009

	MRA Ballast Tipper Another type that works in 5-wagon sets, the MRAs have two boxes per wagon, which can be tipped to either side to unload ballast. The generator wagons, with their distinctive centre 'huts' will be included.
	17/10/2008		17/10/2008

	Bogies and Components Most of my wagon projects have required the construction of specific bogie types, these having included the FBT6, Y25 (cast and fabricated), Axle Motion and Ridemaster.
	n/a	n/a	n/a

Latest updates
28/08/2009 Road Vehicles	Following a request, the Dennis Dart in Stagecoach livery was submitted to the DLS today. This is an interim model, a more detailed version is planned for later. The only changes made were to modify the opacity maps to work correctly in TC3 and TS2009.
19/08/2009 Autoballasters	Lots more detail has been added to the KPA hopper, both inside and out, although the hopper doors and animation remain to be sorted out. Also missing are the buffers, door levers and various other bits and pieces. Keeping the poly count down has been a challenge and I will have to ensure that the LOD meshes achieve a significant reduction. The wagons were seen on an early in-game test run.
17/08/2009 BAA + variants	Milking the mesh! With a little free time during the summer holiday, I thought that doing some BAA variations may be a quick way of getting some new releases. However, research showed that there were no fewer than 6 different designs of end panels on these wagons, and in-numerable variations of style and position of coil cradles. This view shows the first 5 ends completed. Note that the rearmost two are from the batch with deeper solebars. Not every variant will be released but those that do will have specular lighting and well weathered finishes.
13/08/2009 Autoballasters	Good progress is being made on the Tiphook version, with lots of small details added and the start of texturing. The texture uses a single 1024x256 image. Even so, the copious lettering on the hoppersides does not stand up to close scrutiny.
10/08/2009 Autoballasters	After a period working on other things I returned to Trainz, picking up the work on the Autoballasters. The hopper chutes (for the original Tiphook variant) were created using a lot of estimation! I wonder who will finish their model first, Bachmann or me?! Seeing the Bachmann model would certainly help with some of the details that can't be obtained from photographs...
01/12/2008 Ballast Wagon Rebuilds	The Tope wagon has been delayed while I do some experiments with photo textures. I have never used this technique for anything larger than a bogie and, as will be seen, I still need to do some work on the colours and matching other parts. The model was not made with this method in mind so I may need to redo the texture mapping.
29/11/2008 Road Vehicles	I am continuing to dig out old projects with a view to reducing my back-log. The latest model to receive attention is the car carrier lorry, last seen almost 2 years ago. The bodywork was extended to carry five cars and work on the textures and mapping has started.
28/11/2008 HTO/HTV Hoppers	The 36 unique textures were produced by making a slight tonal variation for each of the four skins on each wagon, then spraying various dirt colours on a new layer which was then blurred and merged. The art files were also created and the completed models were submitted to the DLS.
23/11/2008 HTO/HTV Hoppers	The new end supports and handrails were added, along with an extra LOD mesh and new load animation. The model was then cloned for each of the 9 colliery names to be featured. Each texture will have different running numbers and varying amounts of weathering. Making up the 36 required images may take a while!
19/11/2008 HTO/HTV Hoppers	While I was on a roll with content creation, I decided to revisit another long-neglected item, the NCB coal hoppers. Originally just to have been a reskin of the HTO, the texture mapping had to be changed so I took the opportunity to modify the hopper shape to be more accurate (steeper end slopes and no discharge chutes). Still to be changed are the handrails and supports at each end plus more texture mapping.
18/11/2008 Covered Steel Wagons	The BWA was completed today, along with three weathered skin variations.
16/11/2008 Covered Steel Wagons	I redid the booleans using the same method, and luckily they held. The coil attachment points were added together with cradles, and the covers and locking latch were animated. The next step was to create a new texture and map all the parts, then test in Trainz as seen here. Apart from LOD, shadows and Chameleon, the snagging list runs to 11 items at this stage.
11/11/2008 Covered Steel Wagons	I had my first ever problems with Gmax today (which must be some kind of record!). I had used a boolean to cut out recesses for the door locking latches at each end, then carefully rebuilt all the faces that got screwed up. Everything looked alright through several saves, but when I came back to them today, each of the files looked like this, with a collection of new and wacky faces created. Ho hum.
10/11/2008 Covered Steel Wagons	The BWA has been brought back into the workshops to have the hoods set up for animation (the originals did not include inside faces). It seems I have learned something about 3D modelling over the past few years as I found many other parts that could be improved, either for appearance or to reduce the poly count.
29/10/2008 Ballast Wagon Rebuilds	The Tope wagon has been taken out and dusted down, seen here with a clean livery for testing purposes. Besides redoing the load animation, I also took the opportunity to model the hopper without chutes, and to add the spill plates to the end. Just need to add a LOD mesh and sort out the couplings and texture switching.
26/10/2008 PTA/JTA/JUA	I finally got around to adding the VTG livery, as worn by most surviving JTA/JUA wagons from about 2002 onwards.
25/10/2008 Bardon Hoppers	Having undertaken a review of my ongoing projects, I decided to get some of the smaller ones out of the way, including the Freightliner reskin. The model, and a set of four alternate skins with moderate weathering, was completed and released this week.
21/10/2008 Road Vehicles	I was reminded recently of my promise to complete the Oxford buses so I gave them a bit of attention tonight. The colours on the park and ride example were tweaked to reduce the pinkness of the stripes, and logos and blinds were added to both. There had also been a request for a Wilts and Dorset example, which I initially turned down as they never ran Alexander RH buses. However, I knocked this up tonight to see how quickly the reskinning process could be done. Although more work is required (for example the blinds and adverts, then the icons and packaging), this took 25 minutes from start to in-game. Update: These models were released on 25th October

Page added: 01/10/2007

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Last edited: 28/08/2009