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Author Topic: Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2.  (Read 56884 times)

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Mission_bug

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Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2.
« on: November 19, 2019, 03:23:55 PM »

What is one of those, you might ask and has it anything to do with IL-2?

Airfix anyone? 


Surely many of you must have built one of these in your youth:





Well, after building a plane, then some churches, I needed some inspiration to make something else and thought seeing as
many of the aircraft we wanted are now in the game as are many of the fighting vehicles, what could possibly be missing?

I found myself going through what might be needed for the airfields and found myself looking back over things I made as a youth
and came across this site of a preserved vehicle in Belfast and here we are. ;)

http://www.grubbyfingersshop.com/walkaround_galleries/Thornycroft%20Amazon%20RAF%20Recovery%20Crane%20UAS%202017/content/index.html


Good to know that dedicated enthusiasts are bringing these vehicles back to their former glory and keeping
them available for future generations. 8)



3d model and WIP templates:  Peter Shaw aka Mission_bug.

New texture for updated high poly wheels:  Rogeroger.

Driver 3D and its original texture: wingflyr?

Soldier modified to fit the Thorneycroft and Coles by Peter Shaw. Found in 08__new_Vehicles_p7_public_version_v1 from SAS~Epervier.

All links removed 19th October 2021 due to final release pack in vehicles section:


Early days:












The poly level starts to rise, oops, I always get carried away. :D













Not sure how many images I can post in one page so I will collect a few more for tomorrow.  ;)


Wishing you all the very best, Pete. ;D



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asheshouse

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon with Coles Mk.VII crane.
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2019, 12:32:32 AM »

Nice project.
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erafitti

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon with Coles Mk.VII crane.
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2019, 03:33:09 AM »

Excellent choice.  ;)

Un saludo.
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Mission_bug

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon with Coles Mk.VII crane.
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2019, 04:34:37 AM »

Hello guys, good to know you both like the choice I made. 8)

The intention is to do the whole set eventually, however, the few drawings I have of the Queen Mary trailer are not very clear, I think I pulled
them from the net and they were themselves what seemed to be scans from a book, I have a better drawing for the Bedford tractor unit that
pulls it though.  The Thorneycroft uses a scale drawing from the Blueprints site, was the best I could find so I made a start. ;)

Here are the remaining images I put together to show the remainder of the build over the last few months:




It was difficult to see what was underneath, some of the shots from the site I posted the link for had parts
obscured by certain things, in the end I found a Airfix forum where one had been made and that helped. :D




Testing in game:



The chassis has become a Body mesh for the test, the poly limit is getting just over 2500 at the moment:




There is still the rear hook to add, seen here on this photograph from the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, York, that with one at
the front will take the mesh to the normal IL-2 limit:





BodyTop has been added with the hier, this will have the drivers cab and all the mudguards as well as
the turntable for the crane:






Mapping is done as I construct certain elements, that way I do not have to do it all in one go, very tedious:



At the moment the trick is to get onto one texture all the necessary parts, what I intend with the above is
to finish the chassis parts and then add the upper body to here if I can get it all to fit, wheels and Coles crane
will most likely need their own texture, we will have to see.

Also, where possible I am trying to map each face from all the individual parts so if need be painting one side
a different colour is no issue, that said if I have to I can take some of the less easy seen parts and double up
the mapping to save some space, I never do things the easy way it seems always the long hard road. :D


Strictly speaking this is purely a build project of something I thought would be interesting and so keep me at
what will be quite a slow build, it is not necessarily for the game, trouble is I keep thinking in terms of how it
will go into IL-2 just because it is somewhere I can test things as I go because I know the format. :o

It looks like the build will become four sections:

Chassis.
Upper bodywork.
Wheels.
Coles crane.

To make this a running model in IL_2 1946 modded is straight forward enough as the mesh of each section can be
assembled using the hier and the vehicle set up in its traveling configuration, difficulties arise though to set it as
a static object if users do not have the necessary DLL files to allow a object to be multiple parts and also if I get
carried away with the polygon count then other DLLs will be required for that as well.

The issue for a object is you really want to be able to set the Coles crane into a position that fits your scene in
a mission, it might be I have to make four separate objects for those without the appropriate DLLs but they would
basically have to put the vehicle together from four or more objects. :P

The alternative would be to have Chassis, body and wheels assembled as one but considerably reduce the poly
count, if I can by that stage, the Coles could then be a second object that could be added and rotated to
where it was required to complete the illusion of a working gang rather than just have the thing in its mobile
configuration.


Anyway, much to think about as I build, further updates will now be smaller and less frequent as I will add them as I
do each particular piece.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete. ;D
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Kopfdorfer

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon with Coles Mk.VII crane.
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2019, 08:14:20 AM »

Really interesting project Bug , both in terms of the object itself and its usefulness in
populating airfields , but to my non-modding mind , it seems to hold the opportunity to develop
code that can treat one "game" object as 2 ( or more dare I say it ) "combined " or "compound"objects.
What if this object had a properties tab that affected "component rotation" using the keyboard  ,
the same way mission builders rotate any object.
In this way you could have the chassis pointing one way , and the second component another.
In addition to being useful to cranes , it could also be applied ( a lot of work , I know , I know) to any object that had rotatable components such as tank turrets , ship turrets , aircraft mg turrets, Bubnkers of certain types.
It also holds potential for train turntables and drawbridges - which would be awesome for transit of vessels on inland waterways.

Your idea just unleashed some images in my mind and I could not help but share them.

Great project.

Kopfdorfer
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SAS~Storebror

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon with Coles Mk.VII crane.
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2019, 09:15:02 AM »

Just wow.
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Don't split your mentality without thinking twice.

Mission_bug

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon with Coles Mk.VII crane.
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2019, 09:21:37 AM »


Your idea just unleashed some images in my mind and I could not help but share them.



Careful with those images Kopfdorfer, this is a family show. :o

That is something to put by the coders Kopfdorfer, maybe it is possible, maybe not. ;)

The only way I can think of at the moment using what already exists is to build it like a tank, the crane compartment and jib take the place of head and gun from a tank, however, the vehicle would need a enemy object to initiate the code for the crane and make it revolve, awkward I think because you want it to move to a specific place and not continue to move around looking for the enemy objects needed as it moves toward a stopping point, then there is the issue that the artillery around the airfield would take out the enemy object you need to activate the rotation.

Alternatively if the polygon count could be reduced to allow all the components to be assembled as one object then you could have a number of those each with its own name and with the crane rotated to a certain point so you just add that specific object into your mission.

Once I have all the parts built I will be able to determine how best to utilize things, still the most likely is the player assembles what will most likely be the four objects listed to make the complete vehicle, the moving lorry will be set in the travel position.

I am surprised nothing already exists like the recovery set in the game, maybe it would have spent more time on the road than actually at any particular airfield, would be interesting to know just how they were used, did each airfield have the set or were they based at a maintenance complex and deployed only when necessary to pick up damaged aircraft and take them to a repair facility or back to the manufacturer?


Just wow.

I thought the game needed something a little different Mike, glad you like it. 8)


Take care.


Wishing you all the very best, Pete. ;D
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Zflyer48

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2.
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2019, 10:26:10 AM »

A great project, Pete. Good luck as you continue this mod.

Best Regard
Mike
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Piotrek1

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2.
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2019, 11:13:51 AM »

Excellent choice Pete 8), airport infrastructure is very much needed,
I wish you good luck in the implementation of the project.
Best regards,
Piotrek
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cgagan

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2.
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2019, 12:05:18 PM »

A great project indeed! Keep up the good work, best, Costas
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Mission_bug

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2.
« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2019, 12:39:22 PM »

Hello guys, glad you each like my choice of project. 8)

Hopefully progress will be reasonable, not a snails pace. :D

Finding references has been a little difficult but depending on what figures you read up to 2000 of these were made, many would see
civilian service post war, there are images out there that show the chassis towing various trailers as well as the crane equipped version
I have started so who knows what we might end up with. ;)

Wishing you all the very best, Pete. ;D
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Shessi

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Re: Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2.
« Reply #11 on: November 20, 2019, 02:25:20 PM »

Great stuff Pete!

Takes me back....ahhh those Airfix sets...Fire Engine + Amb and the Bowser set, along with this...just great memories.

(As an aside my stepfather was in the RAF in the late 40's. He was part of a recovery team, recovering downed/crashed Meatboxes and Vampires in Holland and W.Germany.  He used to talk about using the Queen Mary trailers, saying it was a good bit of useful kit.)

Cheers

Shessi
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