Thanks Sam and yea with 2020 and now 2021 it does feel like it. Though at least we've got 3d stuff to keep us moderately sane. Like tonight's this one was made by tracing over a photo found on google and the odd dash of the bevel command in C5.

Obviously can't show the photo here as it's a stock one (Alamy Image ID: EM2751) and I'm using my kidneys :) But I think it's pretty close considering it took about 4 hours from start to end modelling. Though not mapped or zoned yet.

As for the other part ...here's the start on the oil tank pump. Yea I learned this type was an old one, but it seems to suit the quirkiness of this model so why not :)

slight name change because of trademarks

Sorry there's been no updates, real life has been rather brown, dealing with a death and a near death.

ghostman - yea they are a PITA especially the clean up. Especially if I forget to use the merge command on the mesh before trying a Boolean. That's guaranteed to get the dog leaping my lap to offer some intensive therapy :)

Sam - thanks - though at this rate it'll be one for the history books by the time I've finished it :)

Warlock - thanks so much for that, not sure what you mean by edge flow, shear/proportional move tool.
Not sure if Carrara has the latter two or not. But your image has certainly saved the day here - literally in seconds!

Dunno what it was but for someone reason when I restarted this yesterday, I just couldn't grasp your idea. obviously, my brain being full of stuff, not your excellent suggestion. Just seemed to go around and around in ever frustrating circles, so I left it and started on another part.

Then I decided just one more try and bingo it worked, so thank so much!

picture..

Thanks and yea it's getting there.

Think the problem with this bit was I'd fallen into a deadly self induced artistic trap. Fixating on a single detail and missing the blindingly obvious :) Compounded by refusing to not give in and take a breather.

Also didn't use life-long learnt tricks, like abstracting complex shapes. Fortunately life interverned and I had to stop yesterday. So I looked again today and can see it's nothing more a diamond with a hole in the middle!

Diamond is easy enough, a boolean cut gave me the measurements, so I can go back and re-hand model that area. Though I think I'll have to stick with a boolean cut for the hole and clean up. Not ideal as booleans are messy and hand modelling always gives better topology.

But I'm hopeful this way could work.

...and some press photos for reference...

Thanks, thought as you can see here..this part is proving to be a bit of a pig...

...and this is just the core stages of my attempts so far!

Vanishing Point has a few V3 items, they are also co-owners of Poserworld along with DreamCutter and the original team.

took a breather from the tanks to play with the speakers...

..here's the 1st version of the back. Happy apart from the outside corners - they just need smoothing out. So why the speakers ? Because I think if you look at the press photos these shapes stand out.

Obviously (for copyright/design reasons)had to make some changes from the original.

tonights...

revised the detail on the gauge...

and tonights...

...and yes got a bit carried away with the detail here :)...

...note I've included the little black and yellow shape thing in what I think is a indication gauge, plus a suitably suitable warning label.

tonights ...seems (and thanks to the nice suggestions at hivewire) that this one might be one made by a company called Granby. So inspired by those here's the start of that...

ok another update...this time lets talk one more detail and colours.

Just found a photo with these 2 weird looking tanks. Guessing these are gas..as is in natural gas, rather than what Americans call gasoline and Brit's call petrol. Then again they could be Solyent Green for all I know :)

Though as they look such strange shapes to me, the weirdness just seem to fit this whole situ, so just got to model them :) Which will be quick given the shapes.

Now for colour, as I#'ve mentioned before this is still an oddity. The press and 1 google-maps photos are clearly taken in very bright cloudless light. Yet the photo a zoom background posted by 4 seasons landscaping is totally different.

Plus you'll notice on some the white painted area is bleached out. So I've decided to run with I'd call a "comprise colour". Yes it's not 100% screen accurate, but it's close and shouldn't bleach too badly on renders.

Especially HDR which tends to look overbright, especially on flatscreen monitors. Like this one which isn't accurately colour calibrated. Kinda like how the USS enterprise's studio models never look like the ones on TV.

Finally, as last night bricks. One set under the windows will now be textured on rather than modelled. Plus looking at new photos, theres also some castellated style ones on the ends of the painted wall.
Which too will be textures.

Thanks and yea sometimes mistakes can be happy ones and one big benefit of 3d compared to wood is cost. Lost count of the amount of times that I've spent days woodworking and only created a very expensive pile of sawdust:)

As for tonights..