Nice work elfworks!
You should post your pics in the other thread here:
http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=2687
And we also want to see your texture sheet (the diffuse one)
spec and bump is just another .vtf with:
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Texture
Thanks for the kind words all! (And the links!)
Here's the flattened texture sheet in JPEG format.
The master image is a layered PhotoShop document. Using layers makes it really easy to tweak colors and adjust different grunge layers.
I started by rendering the occlusion map at 2Kx2K in LightWave. That gave me a good visual reference to start with, and it also lined up exactly with the colored GIF supplied by Lolz1337.
Starting from the bottom, I added layers of color for each different object. Then, I added the text as two separate layers. At this point, the model would appear unshaded, and look like it just came from the factory.
Next I set the occlusion layer to Multiply, so the base colors showed through, but were darkened by the occlusion map.
Then, I created a blank layer for the grunge. Again, setting it to Multiply allowed me to see the base image as I painted the dirt on top.
I then saved the image out in TGA format, and used the VTFEdit tool to convert the TGA into VTF format.
After looking at the model in TF2, I realized the colors were too dark, and the object was a little too dirty for TF2. I lightened and de-saturated the base colors, and reduced the opacity of the grunge channel.
Second time around, it looked much better.
The last detail I added was the grill on the back. That's just a simple line drawing on yet another layer.
My next task will be to create specular and normal maps for the object.
Thanks again!