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Awesome! I'll get started on the L4 Bren LMG, if noone objects. Can't wait to model this up and get it out of the way~!

{ZW}C-LOKE wrote:Awesome! I'll get started on the L4 Bren LMG, if noone objects. Can't wait to model this up and get it out of the way~!

cool.

Haven't got many refs of the L4 Bren but the ones I do have are here, if you need more I can see if the MAs can find more but your probably best off just searching for some yourself: http://realitymodfiles.com/rhino/refs/L ... -11-12.rar

Main thing is not to make the WW2 version, the L3 Bren, which can be distinguished mostly from its rounded mag and different muzzle but other differences in there too:


Need the one on the bottom, the L4 Bren

The L4 Bren is a conversion of the Bren to 7.62mm NATO from 1958. Indian Army variants may be new-build, not conversions. L4 Brens can easily be identified by their different magazine. The British issue L4 magazine is of 30-round capacity and has a slight curve. The L4 magazine was interchangeable with the L1A1 SLR magazine, so the L4 Bren also can be seen fitted with straight 20-round magazines from the SLR or with the straight 30-round magazine from the Australian L2A1 or Canadian C2A1 heavy-barrel SLR. The flash suppressor was changed from the cone type of .303 variants to a slotted type similar in appearance to that used on the SLR and L7 GPMG. All L4s are chambered for 7.62?51mm NATO rimless ammunition.

The full version of the one we need is the L4A4 Bren LMG which is a Bren Mk III conversion with a lightened bipod and chrome-plated steel barrel. Visually probably not much different from the other L4 Brens but this was the one most commonly used in the Falklands which I can tell from my sources (may be incorrect, not confirmed).

Cheers

Awesome! These will come in handy. I didn't know there was a difference. Can you tell me, is the mag offcenter? I wonder this because if it isn't, it makes the point of ironsights seem silly. I will figure this out, and I'll get to work on it right away.

The sight is off centre as you can see in this ref here:


More clearer on the FH2 one, which is the WW2 version, the L3 btw:

Aaah yes, I see. It's the L3 version. I will keep that in mind, I couldn't see that in the refs. I'll check to see if there are any other variants of this weapon I should keep in mind before I get started.

Cool. Here's some day 1 progress, just to get this started.

- Posts moved to a new dedicated topic for the Bren model.

Is this a high poly model your making that your going to bake normals down onto a low poly model from or is this the low poly model that's going to go in game (with or without doing a hp model, also low poly not to be confused between 1st and 3rd person weapon models, talking about the 1st person low poly model here)?

If this is the low poly then there is quite a few issues that need fixing up which I'll go into if that's the case but if this is a high poly model then looks good but think the front iron could use more detail and not much point of modelling the inside of the barrel other than for baking a hole but that isn't going to be seen tbh as its always pointing away from the player, quite far away and no other person in 3p is going to get close enough or at the right angle to see it and all that's needed is a 2D textured hole with a normal map at the very most
Flash suppressor also looks a little thin compared to the ref I posted above.

I was thinking I'd start with a high-poly model first, then optimize down from that. The ironsight is a roughdraft, and that was the last thing I was working on before I grabbed a couple of screenies and went to sleep. Didn't really have a lot of time the other day, and was busy all day today, but I wanted to get a good head start on this.

As for the inside of the barrel, I was just going to leave it like that until I grabbed a render, but that hole will eventually be cap'd by the time it makes it to 1p. The muzzle does look a little thin. I'll just go ahead and scale the faces on the inside of it down, and that should make it beefier. I was also thinking of scaling the holes down on that flash suppressor, because these are a little bigger than normal.

Wanted to make sure I get a good bake, because that'll make up for a low poly model of this weapon, which I can imagine will be much simpler, polygon wise. There are no triangles in what I have so far, they're all quad's.

Thought I'd give a little update, to show that I'm still working on this. It's shaping up!





Additionally, I found more references. Here is a link to download, if that is something of interest.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-cb5Gon6ORleXp0TjNoNzVkaWc

Looking good

Wondering why do you model it like it is laying on ground, seems rather counter intuitive to me

Any questions you have on the L4, I lumped one of those things around for a few years until the LSW replaced it. Fecking horrible thing to carry but a joy to shoot. Bear with me though, it was over 20 years ago...

@lucky.BOY:
I guess it's a bad habit of mine when I first start out modeling objects... I like to work in splines and planes, then convert to poly. I also like to work in mostly x,y axis', and do my depths in z axis. It will of course get rotated after I get far enough into it.


@strima:
Yes, I do have quite a few questions. I can't for the life of me find blueprints for the L4A4. I can find them for the MK III, but that's a WWII weapon. This is a far cry here, but would you happen to know where I can find blueprints? Neither can I find dimensions, particularly length.

Also, I can't find pictures of top-down, particularly where the front iron-sight is, and it appears that the front iron sight is adjustable? Not to be confused with the rear ironsight at the end of the barrel.

One last question I might have for the moment, is where do the spent casings get ejected from?

Also, this is my first time modeling a weapon. Pretty much the only bundle_mesh of any kind that I've done before was of the camel.

Thanks in advance!

the spent casings should eject out of the right side of the weapon-


I know this is a mark 3, but I don't believe the ejection port is any different then on the mk.3, but by all means if anyone actually knows where it is...

just off the top of my head

The spent casings come out of the bottom of the gun, the ejection port is straight down from the magwell I think.

Can see the shells coming out of the bottom here (granted it's a Mk2, but I think it's the same still?):
Shooting the British Bren MkII light machine gun - YouTube

Correct. The ejection port is right underneath the magazine.

Did some searching and came up with this forum, can't be bothered to trawl the lot but here's a blueprint for the side view of the receiver:

Bren blueprints...

The foresight is not adjustable, the rear sight is but IIRC only for range as this is a support weapon and suppose to lay down a beaten zone, quite the opposite in reality as I got 59 out of 60 rounds in a six inch grouping at 300m...

Also found a parts list but you have to buy it!!!

7 62mm L4A4 L4A6 MG Accesories and ancillaries Illustrated parts list

@strima:
Thanks for the feedback! I had found the same infoz as the ones you provided; I was hoping that somewere, the internet had a secret stash... I guess not.

@sharpie:
Thanks man, but I hadn't seen an ejection port on the left or right sides, and the topside is fed by the magazine... It's just as I had suspected; the spent casings get ejected out of the bottom of the weapon.

@Adriaan & sylent:
Thanks! This is exactly what I was wanting to know! I can't find a picture of the underside, and I don't see anything on the left or right hand sides of the weapon.

The more I stare at this weapon, the more I salivate... I swear! I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that, and I'm sure here in the future I sure will. Thanks for all the feedback guys!

You wouldn't worry much... the Bren is notorious for being a jamming weapon. Generally, with it's 30 round magazines, you'd be lucky to even get 25 rounds off...

Here is a video from Deadliest Warrior that shows the underside i believe. Starts at 12:10 Deadliest Warrior | Legendary Warriors Battle | Video Clips | Spike | Gurkhas vs. French Foreign Legion | Season 3 | Free Full Episodes | Spike


EDIT:
Found some operating manuals for you. Even those they may not be the correct version it was basically the same ejection port throughout the versions.

http://www.forgottenweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/manuals/Bren%20Small%20Arms%20Training.pdf

http://www.forgottenweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/manuals/Bren%20Light%20Machine%20Gun%20-%20Description%20Use%20and%20Mechanism.pdf

Also, take a look at the japanese type 96 LMG as it is basically a copy of the Bren

@sylent:

Nice~!

Great finds here, and I've already grabbed a couple of screens from the video, in regards to some of the more interchangeable parts used between various makes of the weapon system! All in all, these sources you've provided will come in quite useful! Much appreciated!

I have a friend who I believe owns a Bren .303 and I will ask him if he can take some photos of the ejection port for you. Perks of being a history major Anyways, good luck modelling with those refs for now.