New Hi-Poly Spitfire in the works
Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 90

Thread: New Hi-Poly Spitfire in the works

  1. #1

    New Hi-Poly Spitfire in the works

    Hello! I've been chipping away at this for the past week or two - here it is so far. Built to original plans, I've tried my best to ensure that every shape, dimension and contour is as accurate as possible.







    It's set up so that the engine, tail and wings can be swapped seamlessly to produce any number of variants by swapping out a mesh (though obviously mapping may prove trickier ). Right now I'm intending to start by producing the Mk Vc as it's a variant I've yet to see done to a highly accurate standard.

    If you have any tips or tricks for exporting to and from Gmax and CFS3, texture/material types for good looking perspex, etc. please don't hesitate to comment! This is my first big project and I'll need all the help from the experts I can get

  2. #2
    SOH-CM-2020
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Aotearoa, New Zealand
    Age
    63
    Posts
    2,896
    Great to see a fresh look at an iconic plane! And a new modeller! Thanks for your industry.

  3. #3
    Member sixstrings5859's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Sulphur,South West Louisiana in the good'ol USA
    Age
    59
    Posts
    3,518
    Blog Entries
    1
    Very great to see ! A new Modeler ! Beautiful work ! Thank you for taking on this project. Hope you get the help needed. Regards,Scott

  4. #4
    Thank you everybody! I also know my way around AirWrench so I'll be producing as high a quality of flight models as I can manage for these models.

  5. #5
    Looks excellent! The Mk.VC is a great starting point for a lot of different variants.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by gecko View Post
    Looks excellent! The Mk.VC is a great starting point for a lot of different variants.
    Exactly! The Mk XII is an engine and rudder mesh change away, the Mk IX a new engine mesh and mirroring the starboard wing, the VII and VIII are a bit more complicated of a change but from a modelling perspective literally doable in an evening.

    I want to build the Mk VI, which will a require a B wing so that means the Mks Ib, IIb and Vb would also be on the cards!

  7. #7
    SOH-CM-2024 Pat Pattle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Newton Abbot, Devon. Dear old Blighty
    Age
    60
    Posts
    2,904
    Blog Entries
    1
    Wow that looks a beauty! The current cfs3 model, although having had several make overs is a bit long in the tooth now, especially around the wing root.
    Looking forward to seeing it progress.
    CFS3 Battle of Britain Website: https://cfs3bob.wixsite.com/cfs3-bob
    CFS3 ACC Member & ETO Expansion Group

  8. #8
    What they said! ( I see the usual suspects are here )
    I really appreciate the 'swappability' of the model. That way should make it easier to produce multiple versions indeed.

    I am by no means an accomplished modeler but there are some things that I have learned over time that might help you in some way.
    Concerning the mapping of the mesh: if you start unwrapping the biggest version (longest wings, biggest empennage and cowling) and plot that mesh on a texture sheet, you can be assured that the other versions will also fit on the same texture. Theoretically, you'd then only have to remap the 'interchangeable' parts and unwrap them to the relevant spaces on your texture sheet. I am sure you have already thought this out but if there's one thing I have learned is that careful planning can save you a lot of time later on. Unfortunately, my eagerness to see things come to life has forced me to redo a lot of stuff over time. Patience can be a virtue...

    This also goes for the size of the gmax UVW map: There are some tutorials around that teach that size does matter. They calculate what the size the UVW map in gmax needs to be by the size of the rivet you want to paint on your texture (eg. 6x6 pixels) and the size of the .dds texture sheet itself (eg. 2048x2048 pixels). This applies not only to the external model (you'd want the main parts of the model on a single texture sheet if you wish to use a .mos file to show damage) but also for the VC. Although it seems you can have as much texture sheet for the VC as you like, the number naturally taxes you PC. I didn't plan this very well for the VC and I now have a lot of textures for this part of the model.

    Even though CFS3 doesn't support PBR there's a lot you can accomplish with the gmax material settings and the use of _s, _r and +nm texture sheets. Again, planning is key here. To make life in gmax easier I would now unwrap similar materials to the same texture sheet(s) as much as possible: Eg, bare metal VC parts together on a sheet, painted parts on another sheet etc. All depending of course of how detailed your 3D model is (number of parts) and what resolution you're after. Next time I would also try to reduce the number of multi-materials in gmax as much as possible anyway.

    However, if the 'swappability' of your model also applies to your VC (different instruments, throttle lever styles, gunsight types etc. for each Mk.), it would be convenient to keep those interchangeable parts on a seperate texture sheet and leave the 'generic' parts on their respective sheets. This way you can keep the number of texture files that need to be changed with each variant down - less textures, less strain on your PC!

    These are just a few things that leap to mind. Other than that, download Tom's (Hairyspin's) tutorials on unwrapping. They can be of great use when it comes to unwrapping those really awkwardly shaped parts! Oh, I do have found a setting for perspex that I find quite convincing in CF3, so if you need it...

    I'll be following your thread with interest, so keep us posted!

    ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian

  9. #9

  10. #10
    Thank you all for the feedback and advice!

    Some work on the Spit after a two day break! First, I experimented in Gmax to see if I could fix the shading of the wings and the cowling, and in the end I had to attach them to the fuselage in the hierarchy - which isn't ideal or tenable for the finished model.





    Then back into Max 2008 to continue with the build. Today I've begun work on the initial flat-sided canopy paired with the Mk Vc windscreen. I'll also model the balloon hood which can be swapped out fairly easily.




  11. #11
    I shouldn't worry too much about the differences in shading between engine cowling and fuselage, fuselage and wings etc; you're using (slightly different) Gmax materials at the moment, not .DDS textures on a mapped model. You'll have to break the model apart again for the damage model to work anyway.
    Tom
    __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________
    Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7



  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by hairyspin View Post
    I shouldn't worry too much about the differences in shading between engine cowling and fuselage, fuselage and wings etc; you're using (slightly different) Gmax materials at the moment, not .DDS textures on a mapped model. You'll have to break the model apart again for the damage model to work anyway.
    That's what I thought. I'll leave every cut apart for now as I prefer to model that way anyway.

    Here is a preliminary windshield! I'm not sure I''m entirely happy with how it''s come out so it may be redone.





    Here''s how it looks from the pilot's eye view of the external model. When I eventually do a Virtual Cockpit this will all be entirely redone.

  13. #13
    When I eventually do a Virtual Cockpit this will all be entirely redone.
    fun doing the canopy and screen twice

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by sdsbolt View Post
    fun doing the canopy and screen twice
    More likely I'll make a new version which lines up better and is higher poly! My problem is that I made the canopy and windscreen using two different splines whose vertices don't line up so it looks kinda messy at the moment. According to the CDK vertices 5mm and closer get colocated, but when I made some experiments with 2 or 3mm Shell modifiers it came out perfectly when exported into CFS3? I'm wondering if the actual limit is <1mm. I guess this means I can make a canopy/screen for the VC with accurate/more realistic thickness. I think I'm going to focus on other details for now and come back to the canopy later.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by lythronax View Post
    More likely I'll make a new version which lines up better and is higher poly! My problem is that I made the canopy and windscreen using two different splines whose vertices don't line up so it looks kinda messy at the moment. According to the CDK vertices 5mm and closer get colocated, but when I made some experiments with 2 or 3mm Shell modifiers it came out perfectly when exported into CFS3? I'm wondering if the actual limit is <1mm. I guess this means I can make a canopy/screen for the VC with accurate/more realistic thickness. I think I'm going to focus on other details for now and come back to the canopy later.
    I certainly found the actual limit was much nearer 1mm than 5. It shouldn't be hard to check with a small experiment using mapped, textured mesh.
    Tom
    __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________
    Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7



  16. #16
    i have had no problem with distances down to 1mm.

  17. #17
    The Z bias resolution (bits) setting in the config utility also plays into this I think. And higher is not necessarily better on this setting as some strange things like bomb craters can disappear with too high of a setting, though there may be other factors involved there.

  18. #18
    Yes, I had to limit mine to 16 bits resolution, or a variety of graphics errors would start to show up in game.
    US Army, Major, Ret.

    Service To The Line,
    On The Line,
    On Time

    US Army Ordnance Corps.

  19. #19
    Getting on with some finer detailing this evening...
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	TQ8pLdD.jpg 
Views:	7 
Size:	594.7 KB 
ID:	88381
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	H8WofDM.jpg 
Views:	7 
Size:	428.5 KB 
ID:	88382

  20. #20
    ...and now a lovely set of ailerons! Animating them is going to be a pain.


  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by lythronax View Post
    ... Animating them is going to be a pain. ...
    Not really, the sim itself does most of the work here; IIRC you only have to name the part according to the SDK and set the correct pivot point (admittedly, that can be a bit difficult to find but if you have access to blueprints, it should be noted there). The limits (max. up/down angle) are set in the flight model text files. Looking good so far!!

    ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian

  22. #22
    Like Frosty says. Aligning the pivot itself can seem intimidating but if you’re struggling, drop me a PM and I’ll show you how Helper objects make it really easy.
    Tom
    __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________
    Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7



  23. #23
    Looking good. I like how you can see that the control surfaces are separate parts, gaps, hinges being modeled, etc. Great details.

  24. #24
    Thanks for the comments everyone! There's a fair way to go if I want to get this detailed to a level I'm happy with.

    Here are the C wing cannon fairings. The outer double-tapered section is actually the exact same part as in the Mk Vb.





    And here it is in the gorgeous four cannon arrangement:



    The actual length, shape and more minute details of these fairings has eluded a lot of people when modelling the Mk Vc and its derivatives. I'm aiming to be as close as possible. Modelling the blister for the feed motors and attaching it to the wing mesh with satisfying geometry is going to be a massive challenge; hell, attaching the barrels to the wing mesh so that they're not intersecting is looking to be a bother (I've not done it yet, though I've made unsuccessful experiments).
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails akDG5wT.jpg  

  25. #25
    This is so nice!
    I'm glad you're here sharing this, nice to see the progress,
    and you're in good hands with the modelers here that have
    been giving us top quality planes for CFS3 for years!

Members who have read this thread: 3

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •