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[rogeroger]

pre-64bit versions of payware 3Dmax present an install problem rather than a functional one with complicated authentication procedures that don't support the 64 bit os, whereas gmax is freeware. I experienced the same issue with Maya,with no upgrade patches available from the developers. Thank god for gmax and open source Blender.

As I have said before, learning Blender is worthwhile if you want to go beyond the features of Gmax in the future. With my cliff model shading issues in blender, I recreated the model with Gmax/3dmax to prove that the problem was not blender related and it was like riding a bicycle, you don't forget how to use it. 

[Mission_bug]

Hello Glen, that really is a pain, I intended to buy whatever version of 3dmax was available five or so years back, however, illness and unemployment hit what funds I had been setting aside so it was not to be, now you have to rent it and I have neither the finance or the need for it, so yes, thankful for what is actually still available.

If I was qualified as a 3d artist and earning a living freelance then renting would I suppose be considered the best option because updates would I think come as part of the package, however, for those who bought into the system prior to the change there should be a hassle free way of maintaining it especially if like us it is your hobby.

Gmax has given me and many others through the years the opportunity to try 3d and to be honest I like how it functions, so has Blender for many others and the stuff made with it looks excellent, I have Blender and a whole lot of tutorials available including one to build a P-40 but I just cannot seem to get into it, I need to clear my head of projects and actually sit down with it and force myself to try it again.  I looked around for courses local and online but nothing near and all too expensive, I doubt now with the pain I get I could sit very long in any classroom environment anyway, I should have done it years ago instead of more work related stuff I did at college, too late now for fomal training but at least I can still tinker at home when it suits. 

A great shame I am not qualified in 3d as it might give me a option to do some kind of work at home using the entirety of the week day and night and fitting things around the illness as and when possible, anyway, it is what it is.


Take care and be safe.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[rogeroger]

A friend of mine uses photoshop professionally, and she rents it . She gets upgrades at no extra cost whereas before she would have had to buy a full new complete version, so for professionals it definately works out cheaper to rent.

I initially didn't want to use blender because of the node system that it uses, but had to out of necessity. I use the later versions without having to use nodes to achieve what I want.

There are loads of video tuts on the net, you just have to sift through them to find one that explains it perfectly for you.

You have to start from scratch, learning the ui, and then creating and editing basic mesh  ect , leave aircraft tuts for later.

I'm sending you a Pm with some stuff that might help.

Glen

[Mission_bug]

Thank you very much for those Glen, really appreciated.

I have all kinds of tutorials for both Blender and Max, so much stuff it is difficult to know where to start, the beginning is probably best, basics first
for Blender as I already have some time in a Max program. 

My problem is I tinker too much, get a rough idea and away I go, not necessarily in the right direction, for me the classroom always felt the best place because
the course would be structured and take you through in a focused way and with others around it seemed the better environment, at home there are too many
distractions and too many ideas of what I would like to do, most likely missing important steps, learning by making a mess first.

Considering I live in major city I have yet to actually find any books on 3d modelling, magazines yes, no books.   I prefer to read a book sat in a chair with a cup
of tea by my side and then later take it to the P.C. and have a go, for the stuff in IL_2 it has meant glancing through various forums trying to bookmark the best, or
what appeared to be the best, funny thing with a book I usually get a idea of how I will take to it just by flicking through the pages to get a feel for the layout but
so far everything has had by necessity come mainly from video tutorials.

There does not even seem to be any type of course close to me in a University town of all places, we have always had colleges supporting the engineering side of employment in the region and in more recent years University courses have sprung up everywhere, I have yet to see any mention of 3d modelling though.

Is it art or computer technology?  I assume because there do not seem to be specifics that it is included in a broader course, certainly anything I have seen
tended to be for Universities which might imply students are streamed somewhere along the line, were exactly do you enter this skill set?

Anyway, thanks again Glen, I will take a look hopefully in the not too distant future.

Take care and be safe.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Shessi]

Hi Pete,
Firstly, thank you very much for taking the time and skill to make the Coles, a work of art, superb. Also adding to that for bothering to give us a 'diary' of the workings, very interesting and inspiring for me.

As said, love the tex choices, and am enjoying it as another emersion add-on in the sim.

I know even Gmax is limited up against 3ds and even Blender, but I think you and many others do pretty ok with it..lol   Adding in animation is good fun, and doesn't have to be complicated.

As for sim pilot/figures, although the standard ones are not bad, it would be nice to have a new selection. Bck in 2011 Wolfighter started some fantastic WWI and then WWII pilot figures, but they were never finished, I've PM'd him about them but....
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,40081.msg454060.html#msg454060
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,19662.0.html

Re-workings of newer CAD's, you prob already know, but FSdeveloper is a great place for info and help https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/.  I'll PM you with some info about 3dsmax 7 and 9.

Cheers

Shessi



 

 

[Mission_bug]

Hello Shessi, hopefully in the next two weeks this particular vehicle will be done.

It has been a long road but glad you and others are happy with it, not bad for a amateur me thinks.

Strange thing is with gmax it came as a S.D.K. for one of the Microsoft flight series, I have F.S.X but have not actually made anything for it
but many of the best tutorials out there for gmax are by those that do/did make stuff for it, maybe one day I might have a go, I added things
in to mine but very rarely used it.  I have bookmarked the link, thank you very much, really appreciated.

Making a few figures is on the list but when I know not, getting the vehicles done is the main priority the figures I used are excellent so as they
were available in IL_2 it seemed to be the best option just modifying them slightly to fit the cab.

We have been blessed to have many individuals come and go from IL-2 over the years who enhanced things in many ways, sadly Wolfighter has not
been here for some time so I doubt now we will see his work brought to fruition, sad but there you go, we all move on at some time, I fly very little
but making stuff for IL-2 is my go to therapy.

Sometime I will take the plunge with Blender, it is so much more up to date than gmax and practically on a par with 3ds that even games companies and film
makers use models from a very talented club of individuals who have made the application their own, Glen has kindly added to my collection of tutorials so sooner
or later I will sit and study it and make a few simple things.

The conversion of the Thorneycroft to tow a trailer might be next up because I have already started the add on parts for it but they need mapping and it will get a simple flat bed trailer, I will then move on to tackle the Queen Mary and its tractor unit so I will stay with gmax for those, once I finish this particular project then it might be time to branch out further and see what Blender has to offer.


Take care and be safe.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Hello guys, as of today I now consider the Thorneycroft Amazon, Coles crane combination of this project finished.

I have added the release candidate into the vehicles page with links to the latest update:

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,67604.0.html


All previous download links have been removed from the first post but the thread will remain open for future work and updates
on the other vehicles mentioned through the thread.



The model now includes all LODs for the moving vehicles and the static objects.

Moving vehicle and its stationary will show a damaged version when the game decides they are destroyed.

Static objects also have a damaged version included, however, the static objects do not actually have a
working damage model, the player uses either intact or destroyed versions in their missions.



Still to do:

Possible additional objects such as slings and chains for the crane and maybe a roof rack for the Thorneycroft.


Take care and be safe.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[rogeroger]

Well done Pete 

See you back here soon with your next project.

[Andy H]

I'm far from mechanically minded, but it's been absolutely fascinating watching this project and appreciating the work that's gone into it. Good stuff! 

[Mission_bug]

See you back here soon with your next project.

The next is a skin.

I'm far from mechanically minded, but it's been absolutely fascinating watching this project and appreciating the work that's gone into it. Good stuff! 

Considering I have always made things more or less, I think many of my former employers might feel the same about me.


Glad you guys have found it interesting, I have, the project will continue as I want to still build the Queen Mary and the Bedford
tractor unit, however, first up as far as the build goes is this because I already made a start:





The real vehicle had a different shaped radiator and no bumper, maybe I will just leave what I have as is, I do not want to
make it a major project just a little add on, I will try not to get carried away.





I do not have much in the way of good visible information for these so it will be a case of trying to interpret
what I can see, there will be much artistic license me thinks.

The trailer will be just a simple flat bed I think utilizing existing axle parts and again much more imagining than
actual reproduction of any particular one.


Take care and be safe.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Hello guys, this build has now been split and the Bedford and Queen Mary will go to their own thread.


Take care and be safe.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Mission_bug]

Hello guys, with work progressing on the Bedford I dug out the Thorneycroft to try and finish off the articulated unit
I put on the backburner to see if I could get it somewhere near finished.

So with a few extra bits made I began the mapping:




Without a complete set of drawings it was just a case of add what could be seen in the few photographs I have
so the green parts look to be connected together but how exactly I could not see so just made it up as I went on:



They connect to what appears to be some sort of gauge maybe for checking the pressure of the fuel and helping
to transfer it but to be honest they might not have anything to do with each other but I just connected them all
together rather than leave them hanging as separate items with nothing to attach to:




That is about all I could discern from the photographs so building stopped there, maybe I should add a spare but that
can wait:




Painting complete:




Into the sim for a quick look at the work:




I borrowed the trailer from a Russian tank transporter and shrunk it down a bit in gmax so I could see how it might
look, I have seen a scale model of the unit attached to a Scammell trailer but whether that was a WIP or based on
something actual I don't know but try it I have:



I used all the existing folder for the Thorneycroft and Coles combination and swapped out what was not needed
so I could set them up for military use and so testing began with each iteration moving and stationary, desert:








Winter:







And all the collection in the buildings folder:





The additions still need lods when I can get around to it, I cut up all the existing lods to remove anything that was part
of the previous vehicle combination so just need to do lods for the new parts and try and either attach them to existing
meshes or just keep it as it is now as a separate add on.

Take care and be safe.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.