One last hurrah - vote now!

As you may have noticed, I have been largely absent from this forum for a few years. I just became so busy with other stuff that eventually I stopped mocking and slowly my SketchUp BBC News studios gathered dust. Recently, however, I've been thinking of both getting back into it and looking through some old folders. What I realised was there were quite a few projects that had never seen the light of day. Before embarking on any new projects, I thought that I'd share these unseen works with you.

Firstly, this is an abandoned original idea that I was working on with graphics from SomeRandomStuff. It was an attempt to create a new look for BBC News sets, while utilising some existing infrastructure (e.g. camera tracks). Ultimately, it just ended up looking too derivative and unoriginal (my sets, not SRS's graphics!). And, although the renders do look nice, I ultimately decided not to proceed any further.

(The idea with the blue highlights in Studio E was that they'd be light blue for News Channel/One, a mid blue for the Six and a dark blue for the Ten.)

Next up are some recreations I had built but not shared.
Studio B at NBH


A mismatch of test renders, including some unseen ones from my 1993 mock.



Studio C at NBH (with graphics by Mdtauk)


I feel that my SketchUp and rendering skills have improved significantly, even since my BBC News 1993 recreation. My builds are now cleaner, more accurate and better lit. And if to prove it, here are some Daleks I made earlier...


As I say, I hope to get back to mocking soon - although that is obviously spare time permitting. I've particularly got my eyes on the cream and red era N8 at the minute. Are there any other sets that people would like to see?

Wow, just wow. If you don't mind me asking, could you send a link to your SketchUp account please?

These look absolutely extraordinary and I can't wait to see more

In terms of ones I'd like to see, maybe something like the 2010-13 rendition of studio N9 at Television Centre?

N9 is always an interesting challenge, very weird room - especially the ceiling. The problem is the real lack of off-air images, particularly of the newsroom area, that I would need to give it a good go.

They all look amazing. I'd love to see larger versions of the Studio B images.

BTW, what happened to your Salford set from 2016? I remember loving it at the time, but all the images have now gone.

Thanks. I cleaned out my Metropol uploads a few years ago and must have deleted them then. As with all this stuff its on an old computer, I'll see if I can dig it out for you. I'll also upload the Studio B SketchUp file.

That'd be brilliant. Now I just need to find a way to render from SketchUp Viewer...

I'd also be curious to see your 1999 N8/N9 sets!

I haven't started them yet!

As BBI45 requested, here is a montage of my old 'New set for Salford' mock.



Also as promised here is my recreation of the (now late) Studio B. Looking back at it there are quite a few errors, I'll probably redo it all at a later date. Also here is a comparatively basic recreation of Studio C at Pacific Quay.

And finally, to celebrate the installation of Maxwell onto my current computer, here is a test render of what the 2003-2006 N6 set could have looked like if the BBC had brought it more into line with clamshell look.


(P.S. Please do not upload my SketchUp files to the SketchUp warehouse. This has happened before and if it happens again, I will not upload any further SketchUp files).

Wow. These are incredibly impressive representations. I like the Studio B. Maybe when it returns they’ll replace the Barcos with LED tiles and update the tiles on the soft area.

How did you get the images for the Furios?

It’s very unlikely Studio B will return. It’s incredibly ineffective to operate, and a simple shuffle will mean they can easily do without it.