Something that you Ldraw users will surely love :D

[piterx]

hey guys!

As i'm very used to have blueprints as reference when i build my models, i was wondering how something like this could be possible when building on the computer...

as far as i know Ldraw doesn't allow you to have a background to have a blueprint...so i looked for something that would be in a transparent overlay always on top...

and i found this!

and it's just great

have fun mates

http://www.digitalartistguild.com/misc/UtilityExplain/UtilityExplain.html

[allanp]

Looks very useful

[Doc_Brown]

hey thats really good! If I ever use Ldraw or anything, I would deff give it a go! :D

[JM1971]

Just the ticket, thanks.

[piterx]

:D a lil late!

[JM1971]

I remebered this post but never needed it until now, trying my luck in LDD with a 80's toyota hilux after watching back to the future :D

It works very well, great for aligning.

[piterx]

back to the future

[Splat]

This is what I normally try to do when I am trying to model an existing object in Lego:

1. Find a 3D file of the object original object/vehicle somewhere on the Internet
   
2. Use MeshLab (http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/) to open the file
   
3. Export the mesh as an STL File (turn off binary encoding during the export)
   
4. Open the file in a text editor
   Notepad will work, but I recommend something with a bit more power. I actually use Excel (import the file as a Space Delimited Text File) as it allows me to delete whole columns, and perform calculations on the values to get the scale right.
   
5. Manipulate the data as needed to get it into the LDraw format (http://www.ldraw.org/article/218.html)
   If you are familiar with regular expressions, this can speed up the process, as can functions in Excel.
   You can either just use the edges of the surfaces to create lines in MLCAD, or use the points to create triangles/quadrilaterals in MLCAD.
   
6. Save the file as a TXT file
   
7. Rename the file to an LDR or MPD file
   
8. Open the file in MLCAD
   
9. You may need to modify the file to scale the points/lines/surfaces as required (Excel works well here). Pick something that you can use to base the scale on, such as a wheel.
   

Depending on your computer, MLCAD and LDView will have a bit of trouble if there are too many surfaces present. A tip is to use MeshLab to reduce the number of surfaces (Filters > Remesh, Simplification and reconstruction > Quadratic Edge Collapse Decimation).

It takes a bit of work, especially when having to manipulate the data, but this gives you the object in 3D inside MLCAD, and you can then start adding standard Lego pieces in MLCAD that conform to the shape of your 3D object. I first start to build up some of the shell/body work, and then build the chassis inside it (using MLCAD sub-models).

Also, don't forget about Sariel's Model Scaler tool (http://scaler.sariel.pl/), and Scaling Tutorial for Vehicles (http://sariel.pl/2009/12/scaling-tutorial-for-vehicles/).

[paimabilu]

yes,this post but never needed it until now, trying my luck in LDD with a 80's toyota hilux after watching back to the future

[Lipko]

I usually just place a grid on the reference image as I have to count only a few sizes for the overall shape to look realistic. I think the details can be much more characteristic of a model than the perfect sizes (you have to do lots of rounding anyway).

But thanks for the tips anyway, maybe it would be easier than the counting thing.

[Philo]

Open the file in a text editor ...(snip)

These steps can be highly simplified using Marc Klein's stl2dat converter. This command line tool imports text mode stl files, and directly output a LDraw compatible file. If you prefer a Windows GUI, Mikeheide's LETGUI (whose distribution contains stl2dat tool) can be used too.