Updated: March 22, 2024
Normally, when it comes to my writing or my 3D art, I am not fond of repeating myself. This creates a bit of a problem, because it requires of me to come up with new, original ideas all the time. But given my interest, there's only so much I can do before the inevitable repetition strikes.
Planes, spaceships, water ships (as in real ships), tanks, I've done them all. And so, I struggled finding the next 3D project that would be both 1) novel 2) fun enough to attempt. After several days of turbulent thought and strenuous imagination exercises, I managed. I came up with a nice concept. A mobile ballistic missile launcher, somewhat like the Soviet/Russian Scud. Same same but different. Let's go, then.
8x8? Nope, how about 10x10!
Making designs based on existing, real-life objects is tricky. The reason is, you are limited by a predefined template. While challenging on its own, like what I did with the FREMM frigate, it takes away from your creative freedom. This time, I decided to compromise, but in a good way. I would base my model on the real article, but with enough variations and changes to not make it boring.
Why Scud, you ask. Well, it's a rather interesting design. The TEL is both ugly and fascinatingly beautiful at the same time. It has a weird, almost fragile shape, odd angles everywhere, the crew cabin section feels like an afterthought, but when you put it all together, you get a nice, wild, semi-apocalyptic look. A combination of something from 1959 wedded to a modern, robust style. Then, the open-top missile element is also quite cool. More recent ballistic missile vehicle types usually feature a protected launcher, but this makes them all too plain. Almost like a container on wheels. The Scud has ridges and curves and weird boxes all over the place.
First, SketchUp images ...
It took a while creating this particular model. Some 80 hours, probably the longest ever. I spent a fair deal of time making the wheels (and they are different from the Monster truck). I spent even more time designing the suspension and drivetrain, including shocks and leaf springs and whatnot. Then, the missile launcher was another cool, challenging motif. I didn't deviate much from the original, because it has a bunch of neat ideas. You get these ladders, and the missile base looks unnecessarily complicated. But that's what you want in a model. Some chaos, some asymmetry.
Then, I added color, including a two-tone European green-green camo pattern. I was quite keen on not having perfect left-right symmetry. On the left side, in addition to the paint job variations, I extended the front stabilizer and lowered it to the ground (in some of the images). On the right side, it is in the raised, travel position.
The real Scud does not have front stabilizers, only the rear pair, but then, it's also shorter and has four rather than five axles. On the left side, there's the cabin roof spotlight in its wire cage, the fish-like grille that I presume provides cooling air for whatever electronics live inside, and a hydraulic crane (not on the real TEL). On the right side, you get the tow hook, the roof-top antenna, some extra boxes, and a power generator. We shall of course demonstrate these in more detail and clarity shortly.
Rendered work, Kerkythea
As always, I went back to my favorite rendering tool, the oldie but goldie Kerkythea. Much like SketchUp Make 2017, it belongs to the nice era of pre-cloud everything. In fact, I am actively searching for modern, GPU-cable rendering tools, but these are almost exclusively cloud-powered, annual-subscription software. Nope. Always good to keep them old installer, hey. Maxwell Render looks great, though. And I fixed the blank window issue, so it's fantastic, really.
I am quite proud of my work, justifiably or not. The tires come with a pretty elaborate grooving pattern and a nice rubber texture, plus the wheel wells have lots of nuts and bolts and spokes and whatnot. I also spent a lot of time working on the counterweight-balance mechanism for the missile, the erector, and the clamp, and of course, you can also see all those funny ladders everywhere.
The front bumper is also quite detailed, with lots of rivets and screws, and signs of wear. The bumper lights are shielded, and covered in a mesh. The front windows come with wipers. Then, let us not forget the fire extinguishers. And the uber-complex suspension, cor.
Gallery
All right, here are some more lovely images:
Conclusion
I think this Scud-like model is pretty neat. It looks great, mostly because the old MAZ launcher has the grace of a mutant, and yet, it is sexy in a paradoxical, brutalist sort of way. And there's yet more work to be done, as I've not done any interior modeling. For now.
The cheap "trick" of working with real-life objects is that if you nail the basics, you immediately get a sense of recognition, as the mind can easily place these in an actual world scenario. When you create things from scratch, sometimes, it can be a bit more difficult figuring out the proportions. Well, for me, my TEL is the best of all worlds. I didn't feel limited making it, it was new enough, and once finished, it gives off the right vibe. Enough for today, methinks. If you have any suggestions on what I ought to design next, ping me. See you around, folkses.
Cheers.