3-D Layout Modeling: SketchUp

SketchUp is a 3-D modeling program, frequently used for architecture, interior design, and game design. After being acquired by Google in 2006, a free version of SketchUp, called SketchUp Make, was made available for home and personal use. SketchUp was acquired by Trimble Navigation in 2012, and though they are pushing their web-based product as the new freeware version, the original SketchUp Make is still available for download.

When planning layouts 3-D modeling is not really necessary and can, in fact, take much longer to do. What you get, though, is the ability to create scenes that are viewable from any angle. The SketchUp file format is also supported by numerous 3-D rendering packages, allowing you to create photorealistic scenes. One of the best known tools, POV-Ray, is available for free and combines both raytracing and radiosity modeling.

3D Warehouse Models

I’ve uploaded a number of track pieces, and a couple of accessories, to 3D Warehouse so you can just import them directly into SketchUp. For convenience, I’ve grouped the models together in my collection BRIO Wooden Railway, which you can preview.

Track models include:

A, A1, A2, A3, B, B1, B2, C, C1, C2, D, E, E1, EE, EE1, F, F1, F2, G, G1, G2, H, H1, H2, H3, I, J, K, K1, L, M, N, N1, O, O1, P, P1, R, S, T (new version), U, V, X

I’ve created a wood texture that is not really a beech wood grain, but it is close in color and good enough for casual modeling. Chamfering and corner rounding is used liberally to enhance the track’s appearance.

Tips

Here are some handy tips and tricks for laying out pieces:

  1. Don’t explode components. This is just asking for trouble. When you explode components, they are turned in to individual edges and faces, and will interact with other unexploded objects. Faces and lines will merge and intersect, and so on.
  2. Use the “flip along” option in the context menu to flip switches, curves, and ascending track for proper orientation. Right click on the component and select “Flip Along”, choosing the components red, green, or blue axis as needed.
  3. Snap track together by using corners as the reference points rather than track centerlines. It’s much, much easier.