Willys Jeep 1943 WIP

Previously, I’ve modeled nature scenes and a couple of aircraft. I wanted to try an automotive model to expand my modest skills in different direction.

So my latest WIP is of a WW II Willys jeept circa 1943. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated. First, I collected a couple hundred diagrams, blueprints, and images of the WW II version of the Willys jeep. It quickly became apparent that there was no standard version as countless modification were made by the manufacturer and in the field. Every image I have of the jeep is different. In situations like this, I normally seek out the people who restore jeeps and WW II jeep re-enactors as they are usually obsessed fanatics for accuracy and details. Alas, all of their jeeps are different as well. Second, I researched the history of the vehicle. I wanted to be inspired by its history as I modeled it. Finally, I learned that it can become a real pain when you try to model down to the individual nuts, bolts, and screws.

In this case, I’ve modeled the visible screws, bolts, etc. on the outside and a few of bolts on parts visible in the undercarriage, including the snaps for the canvass top, though you are not likely to see them in the attached images. This is much like my need for detail when modeling the B-17. I included details that could not be seen in the render but that I wanted to know were in my model.

So here is my Willys jeep WIP so far. The modeling is about 90% complete. The materials are only generic procedurals in cycles so I can separate the major color differences like tires and rim. I haven’t yet UV unwrapped it for serious detailed texturing. The lighting is just generic World environment lighting in Cycles.

I haven’t yet decided if the final scene will be winter, fall or summer; or if it will be in an urban or rural setting. Also, I haven’t yet decided what additional items will be included in the final render. Typically, jeeps had all sorts of items like lanterns, packs, rations, ammunition boxes, coffee pots, personal items, etc.

The finished model will be fully textured in a WW II scene with appropriate lighting and with some accessories.

I expect the texturing to be difficult only because I’m not an artist and so creating the illusion of mud, chipped paint, weathering, etc are not in my skill set, but if you don’t give it a try, you’ll never learn new skills.

BTW, the dashboard instruments are accurate according to the consensus of multiple images of 1943 Willys jeeps; the round yellow sign on the front is a “bridge sign” which indicated to the engineers managing bridge crossings what the maximum weight of the vehicle was. Typically, the Willys would have a circular bridge sign with a “2” on it indicating that it could cross bridges that could support two tons or more. You will also see square bridge signs with a “3” on top and a “2” on the bottom. This indicated that if the jeep had a trailer, the bridge capacity had to support at least three tons.

I only modeled enough of the chasse to give the illusion of more detail. But there is no engine, transmission, or other details that would not normally be visible from the outside.

When finished, this model (as all of my models are) will be available on Blend Swap with a CC-0 license. Actually, I’ve been considering uploading this model to Blend Swap in two versions. One will be my completed project in a finished scene. But I thought it might be interesting to upload a second model with just generic materials and UV seams and challenge the Blend Swap community to create their own historically correct textures of different version of the jeep such as the British SAS version in Africa, Marine Corps versions, Navy versions, Army Air Corps versions, Coast Guard versions, and different Army versions. Also there are different version such as the radio jeep, the medical evacuation jeep, the wire laying jeep, and the list goes on. There were jeeps with .50 and .30 cal. machine guns, jeeps with trailers, pack howitzers, recoiless rifles, and the list goes on.

General of the Army (5 stars) George C. Marshall once said that the jeep was the most important weapon the US had in WW II. More that 600,000 were built and it provided mobility, utility, flexibility, and situational innovation that was unknown to that time. True, the atomic bomb and many other weapons were important, but in the opinion of many historians including Generals Patton and Marshall; the jeep was key to victory.

I’m a student of many different histories, including WW II; and so I would hope my texturing challenge on Blend Swap would inspire other modelers to do their own research for historically accurate textures for the jeep. By doing so, they, like me, would discover the fascinating history behind the jeep.

Comments are welcomed.



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Awesome. Good modeling. Will you be modeling a mounted weapon for it like the 50. cal?

did several models for WWII and it always is a pain in the neck to find the right info
what is the real things what version
I guess versions and modifications where done depending on the field conditions
or generals requirements !LOL

there is already a jeep model on Blendswap did you do it ?

looking nice

happy bl

@ coolfield7
I haven’t decided whether to add a .30 or .50 cal and mount (the mounts are different depending on the weapon). Modeling a reasonably realistic machine gun, mount, ammo, textures, etc. is time consuming–at least for me. I only get to model a couple of hours a week if I’m lucky, do it takes me forever to finish a complex model. However, I do intend for this model to be the central part of a scene/diorama, but I haven’t decided on the setting and extras that will be included.

Great modelling!!! I’ll have to show this to my brother in law as he’s a Willis fan, he even had one but not sure what year it was.

I can already picture it all full of mud after a hard day @ the battlefield carrying ammo and personel to an from the frontline :smiley:

I know. Doing the research is sometimes more time consuming that the modeling. There were literally countless jeep configurations in WW II. I could probably spend an entire year modifying this model to other variations. I may add the wire cutter that can be seen in may WW II images of jeeps. Apparently low hanging wires were a real problem and so they welded a piece of steel with a hook on the end to the front bumper to cut the wires as they drove through them. One of my favorites is the jeep modified with a 75 mm pack howitzer on a mount in the back–that had to put a lot of stress on the jeep when it fired.

There are several jeeps on Blend Swap but none of them are mine. The one by Jay-Artist is the best of the group. It had reasonably good detail and Jay-Artist did a very nice job on the textures. However, there were a number of inaccuracies such as the front and rear wheels being the same. In reality, the front wheels had a slightly different design than the rear ones. Also the gas can was not standard, there were differences in the type of nuts and bolts, it didn’t have the night lights on the front and rear, it’s missing the hood clamp for the windshield, it’s missing the trailer hitch, the suspension springs were not positioned correctly, it’s missing the shock absorbers which can be visible at certain angles, the dash instruments were not accurate, the glove box is the wrong design, etc. I don’t mean them as criticisms because the model is a very good reasonable representation of a jeep of that period. Only someone like me would notice those kinds of details. Jay-Artist was a definite inspiration for me; I just wanted to take my model a bit further in detail and accuracy.

My model also has some problems that I discovered late in the modeling. They are fairly minor and I think only someone very familiar with the jeep would notice, so I don’t know if I’ll go back and fix them. For example, the front seats are not in precise proportion. I didn’t have a clean reference for the angle of the seat and so they ended up angled a little to far back and the cushion on the back is a bit too long. I will have to replace the top frame holders on the side as I really butchered that effort. They look alright from a distance, but there are errors in my design I want to fix. And the back seat isn’t quite right. There is some modeling to be done on the inside of the back. I need to add the fire extinguisher under the driver’s side of the dash and I may add the decontaminator that would be strapped to the front left fender just to the left of the shovel. The decontaminator was there in case of a chemical attack like mustard gas. But by 1943, there are very few WW II images of jeeps that still and them.

I’m not sure how much more time I want to spend on this model, but I will get it textured and placed in a WW II scene of some sort. I have some ideas but I’m not sure my modeling and texturing skills are up to my own expectations.

Did I mention how much I dislike UV unwrapping something like this?

The model looks very nice! Can’t wait so see the final scene. :slight_smile:

@ ShadowCamero
Me too. I’m very slow because I run my own business and so time is my enemy.

@ Tommy1441
Glad you like it. I’m also thankful that its imperfections are not too obvious in these images. Working on making it more accurate with higher quality, but my skills are limited compared to the real artists in this forum.

BTW. just noticed your F-16 WIP. Terrific modeling. I can’t decide whether you inspire me to improve my skills or your level of detail and quality makes me think I’m just a hopeless wannabe with no real artistic talent.

On the other hand, I’m nearly 70 years old and I have been modeling off and on for a bit less than two years. Sometimes old dogs (or in my case an old US Marine war horse) have trouble learning new tricks.

Thanks for the compliments, but I’ve been working on and off Blender for the past 12-14 months so not much experience here…is just that I’m passionate about the F-16 and because of a knee injury couldn’t make it to the Air Force…so this is the closest I would ever get to one, hence the motivation and my OCD to details playing the major roles here.

Now, just because you are nearly 70 is worthy of admiration that you are here having a go at Blender…and you are NOT a hopeless wannabe nor an old dog…you are young with experience! if you know what I mean…it’s all in the spirit. Just keep going.

Beautiful job! I really enjoy WWII history and thus would love to do some WWII scenes. I just need the skills!

FMB, great model and the idea of “crowd texturing”! Your dedication to details is encouraging!

I definitely agree that Jeep was one of the most important “tools” of WWII! They were delivered in such enormous numbers that they were able to significantly increase the mobility of every army, even as numerous as the Soviet army…
I have never heard about the howitzer version. (Kind of a “pocket” self-propelled gun :)). I have impression that the wire cutter was introduced in 1944 in France, when German soldiers started to create wire “traps” across the roads for wandering allied patrols, but I may be wrong.

Witold,
Good to hear from you my friend and thanks for your comment as the detail you put into your models has inspired me to strive for better quality, greater detail, and improved texturing in my models. However, I have a very long way to go to match your skills. Still, it’s a good goal to have.

I’m not certain when the wire cutter appeared on jeeps. You may be correct about German traps, and I considered that as well. However, there were also lots of down and hanging telephone and electric wires, especially in the urban areas and I assume that cutting through them would be easier than stopping every time a low wire was encountered. I’ll have to do a bit more research. You’ve now piqued my interest.

Here’s the image of a jeep with a pack howitzer (http://www.cityprofile.com/forum/attachments/automotive/11799d1302177654-older-jeeps-jeep-1942-army.jpg). I may have the caliber wrong, but it looks larger than 40 mm to me and smaller than a 105 howitzer. I don’t believe it ever saw combat, but it’s still a favorite of mine. It reminds me of the 106 recoilless rifle we used to have mounted on our jeeps in the Marine Corps.

Regards.

Darn the gun is bigger then the jeep!

the guys in the front seats must all be deaf!

happy bl

Yes, for sure the calibre of this gun looks like no more than 57mm! With such a long barrel… it looks like a typical anti-tank gun, not a howitzer! (Maybe it would be more useful, especially in 1942/1943 in North Africa?)

Today I have found another Jeep (from D-Day?). It was made in 3D Max and rendered in Vray, but also looks very detailed. What do you think about its details? Did its author made any errors? (I think you are Jeep guru now :)).

Witold,
I tend to agree that it’s not likely a howitzer. I haven’t been able to identify it and that seems to be the only photograph of that configuration.

That is an excellent 3D Max model and VRay render of a Willys or Ford jeep. A lot of details are spot on and I like the texturing.

I am hesitant to say that anyone modeling a jeep can make an error because there were so many variations as they were manufactured and also field modifications.

However, here are a couple of items I noticed that could be errors or perhaps the artist used references I don’t have:

  1. The front and rear wheels are the same. On all models of WWII jeeps I’ve seen, the front wheels are distinctly different than the rear ones. In this model, the front wheels are mostly correct but only has the basic details. The rear wheels are incorrect as there should only be a flat plate without the bulge seen in the front wheel.
  2. I’ve never seen the rear hand holds that low before. They are normally even with the side hand holds.
  3. The Jerry can is a German or British design. That spout design and the prominent seam down the middle were not included in US manufactured gas cans. US 5 gallon gas cans had a flat twist cap with a small chain connecting it to the handle so it remained with the gas can. The prominent seam on US gas cans was horizontal about a quarter of the way from the top. Also the straps holding the gas can are wrong. There was single strap that was attached to the bottom of the gas can holder and it looped up and under the gas can handles and onto a small bracket attached to the rear body.
  4. The metal cover for the axe blade seems to be missing, but it could be the angle of the scene.
  5. This is not an error because the white star on the side can be found in three different places. Most commonly, it was on the rear outside corners above the rear hand holds. When an antenna mount was installed in that location, the star usually was placed under the side hand hold. There are some references with the star above the rear wheel, but there is no obvious reason and it is fairly rare.
  6. The frame for the windshield isn’t right. It wasn’t indented like that. Additionally, the spacing of the snaps for the canvas top on the top of the windshield frame doesn’t appear to be correct. There were ten snaps evenly spaced across the top.
  7. The top frame tubing for the canvas top is too short. It would normally come almost all the way to the end of the bottom frame tube.
  8. The seat covers don’t appear to be attached to the seat frame correctly. The back pads were snapped to the seat frame with four snaps on top and three on each side.
  9. The mount for the 50 cal. MG doesn’t seem right, but it could be based off of a reference to a field modification.
  10. There should be a seam on the body about where the middle of the shovel is. The side was manufactured in two sections and joined about in the middle.
  11. The body mount for the front suspension spring is wrong. There were actually two pieces to that part of the suspension spring that required a double mount at that point. This model only has a single mount and the lower part of the front suspension spring is missing. The rear suspension springs were different.
  12. There are a few screws and bolts missing on the side of the body.
  13. The serial number seems a bit odd. I’ve never seen one with a dash in the middle of the number. Perhaps it was done like that on the British or Canadian versions.
  14. With such a close up of the tires, I was disappointed that the artist didn’t include the Goodyear or Firestone logos on the sidewalls. It would have been very subtle but it would have helped to “sell” the scene as being real.

I’m not an expert on jeeps, but I did spend a lot of time doing my research and I have hundreds of references from WWII photos and photos of people who restore jeeps. To be honest, the best references are of the restored jeeps. Their owners tend to be obsessive fanatics about their restorations and have used references and resources not generally available. I can say the same for those kit modelers who strive for super accurate details. Their forums are a gold mine of information on the historic details that they included down to the number, size, and position of screws, wiring, and other precise details.

For example, one of my future projects will be to create a replica of Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s B-25B he flew off the aircraft carrier Hornet on April 18, 1942. There is almost nothing in the way of accurate diagrams of that particular model but the kit modelers have compiled an amazing amount of details for both the exterior and interior details. And fortunately, if you know the differences between the B and D models, you can use the D model diagrams. The modification between the two models were not significant, but if you want accuracy, then you need to know what those differences are.

My next project after the jeep will be the B-24H with the nose art of “Rhapsody In Junk”. I’m doing this one as a tribute to a pen pal of mine whose father was a bombardier on that aircraft when it was shot down. It’s a long story, but it turns out that he and my father were in the same German POW camp, Stalag Luft III (now in Zagan Poland), and since they were in adjacent barracks, they likely knew each other. She is a published historian and the head of the Stalag Luft III association. She provided me with a ton of information about my father’s capture and POW details. I thought I’d repay her with as accurate of a render as I’m capable of her father’s B-24H. However, there isn’t much information on the H model but it turns out that the modification between the H and J models were minor and I know what they are, so I can use the J model references to create an accurate H model render. Anyway, you get the idea. I try to use good references even if they are from unusual sources. BTW, she loved my render of the B-17 that was my tribute to my father and his crew. I think I can do a more realistic B-24H model for her as I have better skills now.

Anyway, back to the jeep model you referenced. The artist included a lot of detail that are not only historically correct but demonstrates that he did a lot of good research.

  1. The tow rope wrapped on the front bumper was very common on WWII jeeps. Some were modified with a metal tow rig, but that seemed overkill to me. The rope was effective and much less expensive.
  2. The body frame is accurate except for the rear mount for the forward suspension springs. I honestly don’t think anyone but me would notice.
  3. The drain pan under the driver’s seat is accurately detailed but should be at a slight angle down toward the rear to allow the water to drain properly. The floor was designed to channel water to a hole into the drain pan. The drain pan was angled to allow the water to flow out. Frankly, that seems excessive to me. Why not just let the water drain our through holes in the floor? Actually, there were at least two variations of the drain pan and his model is showing one of them.
  4. If you look under the pivot for the windshield on the side of the body you’ll notice the pneumatic tube for the windshield wipers threaded down from the windshield frame and into the hole in the side of the body. It was not like that on all jeeps, but you’ll see it in some reference images and blueprints. I like that kind of attention to detail. It was routed that way so that it would flex when the windshield was put in the down position.
  5. The wire for the blackout light on the fender is accurately positioned. This is a detail that would be missed by 99% of modelers.
  6. I really like the texturing. My texturing skills are lacking so my jeep (when eventually completed) will not look that good.
  7. It appears that he correctly indented the body so the shovel would fit. Most models of the jeep don’t bother with that level of detail.
  8. I love the lighting. It fits the scene and provides a nice rim lighting to separate the model from the background.
  9. The rail and mounts on the windshield frame to allow the windshield to be opened is a nice touch that you don’t see on jeep models.
  10. The mirror bracket and the adjustment bolt are accurate.
  11. Nice touch with the snaps for the canvas top along the sides.
  12. The reflector bracket on the rear is accurate with screws on the top and bottom and the shape of the frame of the reflector.
  13. The rifle pouch on the side wasn’t common but it was an available accessory and you’ll see it in some references. More commonly, the rifle (carbine or Thompson) was usually stored in a cradle mounted on the back of the windshield above the dashboard.
  14. Also a nice touch are the tire prints in the sand. I like that. I think it could have been more evident as the sand is soft and a deeper print would have likely been made.
  15. The driver’s safety strap is a nice detail as well.

A lot of thought and excellent modeling went into this effort. Very well done. I can only hope that my jeep model will come close to this one, but I doubt it.

I’d love to see this model at different angles.

Anyway Witold, let me know how you are coming on your SDB modeling. Your P-40 was stunningly beautiful and amazingly detailed. You have inspired me to be as historically accurate and as detailed as possible–given the limited time I have to devote to this hobby. However, I can’t seem to find the detailed blueprints that you have used. I’m anxious to see your SDB. Why not post your WIP on Blender Artists with a couple of tips of how you create such detailed models.

I am purchasing your updated tutorial for Cycles for the P-40. I expect to learn a lot from them as well. Thanks.

BMF
Take care.

Here is an update on the Willys Jeep 1943 WIP.

The modeling is about 99 percent complete. I need to add the strap to the gas can, the straps that hold the tools to the body, the pneumatic tubing from the windshield wiper motors to the side of the body needs to be added, the small chain on the gas can lid that attaches to the gas can needs to be added, a rope needs to be wrapped around the front bumper, a wire cutter needs to be added to the front bumper, I need to add two metal safety rings to the trailer hitch, and the wire for the blackout light on the front left fender still needs to be added. These are all small details that should be easy and don’t require UV unwrapping.

The model is historically accurate with a lot of small details that I probably didn’t need to add and most people would never notice were missing.

I’ve completed the UV unwrapping and it looks fairly even. There are a couple of issues with scaling like the dashboard but I’ll correct that when I consolidate the UV maps before texturing.

Of course, I haven’t yet begun to model the scene for the jeep.

I’ll post additional WIP images as texturing progresses.

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Can I ask how did you uv-mapped the tire? And the tire treads?

It´s looking amazing BTW!

The UV unwrap for the tire itself is simple. If you look carefully at reference images for WW II jeep tires, you will notice that the tread is flat where it meets the road and angles of sharply down to the sidewalls.

So I just cut a seam along each edge of the flat part as seen in the image below. I didn’t bother to cut a seam across the flat part to allow the UV to lay relatively flat in a strip because there wasn’t any discernible difference between the two different ways of unwrapping it, though allowing that center part to lay flat is obviously more technically correct.

As you can see in the UV map below, most of the tire tread is dark blue and the stretching is a light blue; so it will be an acceptable UV for texturing. However, the UV grid for the treads looked the same either way I unwrapped them. Besides, the tire is just going to be a dull dark gray with mud (or possibly snow) on it so very minor stretching is not really a concern here.

Those two seams separated the flat part of the tread from the sidewalls so you get nice clean UVs on the sidewalls as well.

A lesson I learned is that if your UVs are not turning out as expected, try switching to Object Mode, and then pressing CTRL A and reset the Scale and Rotation. Then go back to Edit Mode and unwrap it again. This will often help the quality of your UVs if the scale for everything isn’t set to 1. I don’t know if the rotation makes a difference, but I reset both.

I’m not a highly experienced modeler, so I’m learning all the time. UV unwrapping is tedious work on a complex model but after a while you begin visualize how to unwrap objects. It gets easier with practice, but it is still an unpleasant part of the modeling.

I use UV unwrapping to help improve my meshes as I progress. The UVs will often highlight problems with your mesh early in the modeling.

I also separated this model into four major sections to make texturing easier. There is a section of joined meshes that make up the frame, drain pan, muffler, etc. There is a section of joined meshes for the body, another for the interior, and there is a catch all for everything else like the screws, bolts, tools, gas can, and so on. Each of those major sections will have there own similar texturing requirements. I could join all of the meshes and crate one giant UV map as many people do, but I like to focus on creating a set of similar textures at a time.

The tire was modeled using an array modifier with an empty at what would be the center. I made one half section of one piece of tread and used a mirror modifier to create the other half. I used the empty in the array modifier so I could then rotate the array.

Also notice that the treads on either side of the center line are slightly offset but not perfectly. To get this effect, I applied the mirror modifier and then selected the inside half of the tire and rotated it to get the proper relationship between the treads on either side. This distorts the mesh and so I was concerned that the UV map wouldn’t come out right, but it work out OK.

Hope this answered your question about how the tire was unwrapped. There was a bit of luck as the way I modeled the mesh happened to facilitate unwrapping it as well.

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Here is a minor update. The wire cutter on the front of the jeep has been added. At some point during WWII the Germans began stringing decapitation wires across the roads. To counter this, the Allies quickly modified the jeep with a wire cutter welded to the front bumper. When it hit the wire, it forced the wire up toward the top. However, if it wasn’t designed properly, the wire could slip over the cutter and back down and still serve its purpose. Many wire cutters therefore had notches at the top of the cutter to catch the wire and hold it letting the force of the jeep to cut it without it slipping over the top.

I have references of wire cutters in the Pacific theater, so my guess is that it was useful for cutting other low hanging wires or vines that crossed a road.

Added the wire for the blackout light on the front fender and the pneumatic tubing for the windshield wiper motors. I have elected to use the more uncommon configuration of the pneumatic tube being routed down the windshield frame to the outside of the body and back into the engine compartment. However, the majority of the tubes were routed through the dashboard.

All the new add on objects have been UV unwrapped and scaled.

So here is an more detailed WIP image where you can see things more clearly.

If there are any jeep experts out there who notice historical discrepancies, I would like to hear from you. Except for the under carriage/Frame, my goal has been to create a historically accurate Willys jeep model and not just a generic representation.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Next will be the final touches on the jeep. However, I’m considering adding some accessories such as ammo boxes and the typical items that jeep drivers carried or lashed to the side of their jeeps.

Criticisms are welcomed–especially if there is a historical inaccuracy in the current model.

As a side note, I should stop selecting these icons of history to model (the B-17, this jeep, and my next project the B-24H) because I get too caught up in their histories and details which becomes time consuming. I have collected over 300 references, I have contacted jeep experts to identify various parts that were unknown to me, I want to understand the modifications and why they were made, and I feel compelled to educate myself as to the history (I was a history major in college 1964-1968), which also inspires my modeling. However, it always results in ultra high poly models that are practically useless to anyone.

I will also be taking breaks from texturing to model some accessories and to begin modeling the scene for the jeep.

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