Demo Reel Tid-bits Part 1

CZ858 and RPG-7 crates

 So, or good-morning, or however you start these things off with...

I am currently working on my demo-reel, and surprise surprise I made it about firearms... unless this is the first time reading something from this blog then it IS a surprise.
   The first environment is set in some SHTF-esque safehouse. The inhabitants can only afford surplus or cheap sporting firearms, and they reload their own ammunition (except for the .22 LR because you can't reload rimfire cartridges without VERY special equipment, good thing the bulk ammo is generally inexpensive.)
   The above image is just some crates of surplus RPG-7s, CZ 858s, and rockets. The scribbling on the side of the crates state what firearm is in there, both in Russian and Czech. The original idea was to put the rifles in a box with a bunch of shredded paper, and it looked terrible.

Gun Rack

 Here we have CZ 858, Remington SPR 220 Cowboy, and a Ruger 10/22. All resting peacefully on a rifle rack. Below the Ruger are several boxes of CCI Blazer 22 LR. Technically they should have trigger locks on them and the ammo should be stored elsewhere, but this IS a SHTF scenario.

Workbench and makeshift suppressor

When I was still in highschool, my dad wanted to start reloading ammunition, mainly because it was hard to find 10mm for his S&W 1006. So we borrowed a brass tumbler (the round thing under the table), and a LEE melting pot (find it yourself) and we started cleaning brass casings and melting some lead. In this shot there are some reloading Dies, gunpowder, bullet molds, and reloading books. Two presses with different dies, and a few bricks of lead.
   Now attached to the stainless Ruger 10/22 is a suppressor. I did some research on how suppressors worked, and the ways to make one out of pipes and a few extra things. Seeing as this is a safehouse where it's inhabitants do not have immense funding, a makeshift suppressor is more valid than a commercial one.

Keep in mind that these are not the finished product, and I am still working on the texturing, this is more or less an update.

-Mike

Cartridges (not bullets)

(From Right to Left):

 12 Gauge, .410 Bore, .22 LR, 7.63x25mm Mauser, 9x19 Parabellum, 

10mm AUTO, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .223 Rem, .308 Win, .50 BMG

   Cartridges are generally named on the diameter of the bullet, that said a 10mm bullet is about the same diameter as a .40 Caliber cartridge, and the .50 Cal is the same as 12.5mm. That does NOT mean that 10mm and .40 Cal are the same overall though, 10mm has a longer casing and thus, more powder and thus, more push... In my opinion, a S&W 1006 (10mm Auto) is more fun to shoot than the Glock 22 (.40 S&W), but maybe my opinion will change if I tried a Glock 20 (10mm Auto).
    1 Caliber equals about 24.5mm. Note that the majority of the calibers are written with a period before the number, meaning that '.40' is ninety eight times smaller than '40'. When speaking about the size though, you'd say "fourty" instead of "point four". There is also a difference between a .40 S&W cartridge and a .40 Super, as firearms only accept certain cartridges, what's more confusing is that Winchester can make .40 S&W for a Colt Double Eagle... That's the equivalent to Toyota making Honda tires for a Dodge Dakota...
   See the above picture? On the far right is the .22 LR, cheap, powerless, plinking ammunition. The third cartridge on the right side of the fifty (the big bullet) is based on the 5.56x45mm NATO. That round is what the military uses in the M4's, SCAR L's, and M249. The diameter of the bullet is around 5.7mm, while the .22 bullet measures around 5.6mm, interesting huh.

   A Cartridge is the whole enchilada: Bullet, Casing, Powder, and Primer. The Primer is hit by a firing pin of the firearm, the primer ignites the gunpowder which builds up heat and pressure in the casing. When there is enough heat and pressure, the bullet pops off and heads down the only direction it can: down the bore and out the muzzle. The grooves in the bore called 'rifling' twists the bullet which allows for less air resistance and a straighter travel (like a football). Because of the heated lead and the rifling, the bullet slightly expands into those grooves, this is called 'Bullet Engraving'

   I really only modeled the cartridges that coincide with the firearms made. The .410 and .45 LC were made for one revolver; the Taurus Judge.



-Mike

Kimber Custom TLE II (Ver 1)

Kimber Custom TLE II (10mm AUTO)

If John Browning was still alive today... he probably couldn't do much considering he'd be l58 years old. But he would have that satisfaction of creating the most successful handgun platforms of all time, I mean bigger than Glock, and as good as the AR and AK platform (granted, those are rifles). The design itself popped up during 1910 and the original handgun was called the M1911. The slightly upgraded version named M1911A1 is still being used today by certain special forces groups.

   This is not that gun, technically. The Kimber has a full length guide rod and adjustable trigger, hammer, and sights. Most modern 1911's do. Also this is the Kimber TLE (Tactical Law Enforcement), originally designed for LAPD S.W.A.T teams. The original Colt's came in .45 ACP, these days however, other versions of the 1911 have been chambered for many other cartridges, such as: .22 LR, .380 ACP, .38 Super, 9x19mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, 10mm Auto, and .45 GAP

Big name companies such as Smith and Wesson, SIG Sauer, Taurus, and even Remington make 1911s. I didn't put down Norinco because it's not a surprise that they'd make a 1911 variant (they've done so with Remington 870, M14, AK, RPG, AR-15, Winchester 1897, TT-33, SKS, SVD, and some others...)

  Because of it's popularity, I just had to model a 1911. Thing is, everyone has done the M1911 or M1911A1, that and full size guide rods are more aesthetic than the ones that original 1911's have (except for the GSG 1911, a .22 LR version. The guide rod is thin and short.). I also gave the handgun wooden grips for design reasons, add some color to the otherwise monochromatic item.



-Mike

Armalite AR-10 A4 (Ver 1)

ArmaLite AR-10A4

The ArmaLite AR-10 is a 7.62mm battle rifle, a battle rifle is a military service rifle that uses a large caliber round (like the M1 Garand, M14, and H&K G3). Designed by Eugene Stoner, the original AR-10 came before the smaller caliber AR-15 which soon received it's military designation: M16. There are many different variants of the 7mm AR rifle, the one displayed here is the A4, it differs from the other versions because of it's removable carry handle and it's sight rails. They soon made a carbine (short) version which was probably very loud.

I originally made a M4A1, which basically looks the same since they're both based on the AR-Platform. So for this guy I removed the carrying handle, added a scope (which I'll remodel into an actual brand name scope), gave the rifle a solid stock and straight magazine, (most 7mm battle rifles have straight magazines. For example the SCAR 16(L) and SCAR 17(H) basically look the same, however the 17 (which is in 7mm) has a straight, box-like magazine... the more you know). I also re-sized the forend of the rifle and removed the front sight.



-Mike

Hello out there...

Hello there, my name is Michael Buerfeind (pronounced "bur-find"), I am a 3D environment / prop modeller and I reckon I should start putting up some pictures of things made in order to get some sort of presence out there in the world.


   I really enjoy modelling firearms for two or three reasons (I'm thinking about it as I type), One reason is that in order to model a good enough firearm, you should learn about it first. Looking up any references of the gun, and the pieces that make up the object. For my Mauser C96, I have 79 reference images. I also check on YouTube, many people have done reviews, close-ups, reloads, many things that'll help in figuring out how to assemble the model. In the end, I would learn new things about the firearm, which is always exciting.
   The other reason why modelling firearms is enjoyable, is teaching others about them. Most people don't know much about guns, which is part of the reason why some people are afraid of them; people fear things that they don't understand. Someone sees me working on a gun and will ask what that is, I would generally tell them about it and then add some (unnecessary) anecdote or history about the gun.

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy these models and the any subsequent commentary.

-Mike

First guns I made in Maya when I started 3D modeling program at VCAD long ago...