Vision
I wanted to play a record, not just look at one.
Most 3D turntables are props: a perfect render that never moves. I wanted one that works. Lift the arm, set the needle in a groove, and hear that exact moment of the song. So I modeled a Rega Planar 6 RS, gave it a HAS Records pressing, and built a listening room around it.
How It Grew
First it had to look right. Then it had to work right.
It started as a Blender model, built part by part from Rega’s published numbers: a 447 × 360 mm plinth, 222 mm from spindle to pivot, a 236.5 mm effective arm length. Once it looked right, it had to behave right. The platter had to turn at 33⅓, the arm had to swing on its own pivot, and every groove had to mean a moment in a song.
Creative Direction
Quiet hardware, a warm label, and nothing that breaks the spell.
A cool studio, a silver plinth and a black pressing, so the colour comes from the label: a sunset over the HAS Records wordmark on cream paper. The interface sits to one side and disappears when you want it to. The small things carry the feeling: the motor eases up to speed, the arm lifts before it travels, and a green light on the cartridge glows whenever the record turns.
Execution
Modeled in Blender, played in Unreal Engine.
The Blender scene is the source. Every part, pivot and material exports to a compact geometry file that Unreal assembles at startup, so the platter, tonearm and dustcover each move on their own axes. Six bands hold six songs, which makes the needle’s radius a timestamp: set it down a third of the way across band two, and band two plays from a third of the way in. Hardware ray-traced shadows keep the cartridge and platter edges soft and steady, and a built-in self-test runs 44 checks, from the stylus meeting the vinyl to the platter’s measured speed.
Outcome
A Mac and Windows app, and a side that plays all the way through.
HAS Records is an Unreal Engine app for Mac and Windows. Side A plays six songs end to end, the needle following the grooves inward without lifting, and the arm returns to rest when the side is done. The turntable is a reference-based reconstruction for the experience, not an official Rega product.
