Complete Noob!! :)

Post by **DaveG** » 03 Jul 2006, 12:58

Which driver are you using in GMAX, Heidi, DirectX or OpenGL?
I quickly loaded the Whirlwind plan into Gmax and it displayed fine

It sounds like the plans may be slightly off. It happens quite often that the plan view does not match the side view for example.

I never make 2 wings. Why do things twice? Make one, get it right, then clone and add a mirror modifier. You can adjust the pivot point (anchor point) by selecting "affect pivot only" on the hierachy tab (I think)

You can use meshsmooth to smooth things out, but it adds an awful lot of polys.

The wing root is a pain to get right. I'm not sure what this part is like on the Whirlwind, but if it doesn't have a fillet, you can just model the wing straight through the fusalage.

TomNocturnal · Post by **TomNocturnal** » 03 Jul 2006, 13:07

I originally had it set on OpenGL. But then swapped it to DirectX to see if it made a difference. I reimported the pictured, but no difference,

I also changed the settings to the highest and ticked the little checkbox to match bitmap as close as possible (as per your previous post)

Restart and no difference!

Maybe I should reinstall GMax as I have a feeling something may be wrong somewhere! What with having no Tuts and help files etc.

steve p · Post by **steve p** » 06 Jul 2006, 00:05

Just a thought - is your background image a bitmap or a jpeg? I've had this problem before and converting my bitmap background image to a jpeg fixed it.

Best wishes
Steve P

steve p · Post by **steve p** » 06 Jul 2006, 00:26

This is the way I do the background:

I set the units of measurement to generic and put the entire plan on each of three planes, the same size as the plan (eg. if the plan is 1500x750 pixels, I make each plane 1500x750)

The aircraft can be resized later.

HTH
Steve P

Post by **DaveG** » 06 Jul 2006, 07:44

THat's pretty much what I do Steve, but I scale the plan planes down to the correct size before starting work on the aircraft as scaling the aircraft can cause headaches sometimes.
I've sent Tom a Gmax file with the Whirlwind plans applied like that which has sorted his problems.

TomNocturnal · Post by **TomNocturnal** » 06 Jul 2006, 13:10

:redface: Somebody always has to take the p*55 and go one better, dont they! :k:

A: How long didn't it take you to do that Whirlwind model!
Has it taken you a day or 2, or is this a project that you have been working on for a while and I have (by chance) picked the same plane to model!?

B: Is it just practice that means you get all the individual parts of the plane looking so smooth and, "Plane-looking". It takes me a hell of a long time to get everything looking that good - if at all!???

C: Can you forward me a copy of that GMax saved file so that I can see how that model is made up!

D: Thos plans (in Gmax) still look ALOT clearer than the ones I currently have in the Background.
The ones Dave supplied are about 30 times better than the ones I was originally using - but yours look better still (perhaps to do with the image resize for the forum)

I have tried converting the image to .JPG, and still it makes no difference.
I think it has something to do with the "error" I get when I import the plans in to Photoshop.
Something about Pixilisation!?!? (ill post a screen shot of what I mean)

Still annoyed at the quality of that model!??
Mine is sh*te compared to that!?

Gonna go and drown my sorrows in a pint now!
:sad:

Cheers again for the help lads.

steve p · Post by **steve p** » 06 Jul 2006, 13:59

Some points:

a) It's not a Whirlwind - its meant to be a Welkin :redface:

b) Its taken many hours and it is nowhere near finished, The main problem is finding accurate drawings of the various bits and bobs. I spent a day in the National Archives copying the maintenance manual a few weeks ago so I have got the project rolling again.

c)The Welkin is a pretty straightforward aircraft to model - there are no awkward shapes to model and things like the flaps and other control surfaces are far less complex than the Whirlwind. The stupid idiot tutorial (+the wing one referred to in the idiot tutorial) was enough to construct the basic shape. Rought times were - an evening for each of the main structures, eg. fuselage, wing, fin and tailplane, undercarriage etc., but that was after messing about with various tutorials to learn how to go about doing things. The canopy was easy to do in gmax, once I had learned about lofting from the wing tutorial mentioned above.

d) I had exactly the same problem with background drawings as you, and asked for advice here. Mr Garwood gave me exactly the same advice that to me as he gave you, so I have no idea why it worked for me and not for you.

e) You can get the source files for a number of great aircraft over at the freeflight design site. Far better to learn from one of the masters than looking at my bodged efforts.

f) A while ago I provided a link to a number of tutorial movies in the tutorial thread. Although the guy uses 3ds max, they are pretty useful for gmax. Download and watch them - they should help.

g) It will get easier, but you have to learn to walk before you can run.

Best wishes
Steve P

TomNocturnal · Post by **TomNocturnal** » 06 Jul 2006, 14:54

Yeah. I knew it wasn't a Whirland, really!

(Although the plans look very similar)

:think:

Callum · Post by **Callum** » 06 Jul 2006, 15:12

For the canopy and windows... engine inlets etc I would use the booleen tool, it is so simple to do and it gets fantastic results. Have a look for a tutorial on it at Aerodynamica... trust me.. it will be your best friend.. use it for everything involving cuts.

steve p · Post by **steve p** » 06 Jul 2006, 16:36

I used a loft for the canopy and frames - very quick and precise. :dance:

Used booleans for flaps, undercarriage doors and the radiator intakes.

Best wishes
Steve P