Romulan BOP [WIP]

[pepperman]

Hi guys,

I have been modelling in Milkshape for quite some time now but Mr. Vulcan's influence and his nifty SOD exporter has made me want to learn 3d Max. Basically, I forced myself to give it a try and I'd like to show the results, solict feedback as well as ask for some advice. The Romulan Bird of Prey has been done multiple times by multiple people but I figured what the heck. Plus, it seemed easy enought and it wasn't Federation. What I haven't been able to figure out is how to mirror the nacell and plyon to the other side. lol In Milkshape it was quite easy but I have yet to discover the secret in Max.

 

[Starfox1701]

Very nice BoP man good job

 

[Majestic]

Very awesome work Pepperman, after modelling so long in MS3D I can understand the transition would be difficult, a reason I have never managed to get into 3D Max despite having a copy of the program.

 

[MrVulcan]

Heheh, glad to see you giving 3dsMax a go with modelling something from scratch. Lets hope you don't get frustrated with some oddities in 3dsMax before getting hooked on it

Mirroring things isn't so hard, but a little unintuitive. There are also several approaches. I do the following:

First, select the part of the mesh you want to mirror and detach "as clone", and NOT as element. If mirroring the entire mesh, no need to do this.


Next, ensure that you are using the correct reference for mirroring. This is based on the transform center. For most symmetric models, you would want to use the the "Coordinate center", but if you are mirroring something locally (ei, half of a nacelle), you might want to use the "Selection Center" or even "pivot".


Lastly, if you detached a part of the mesh as a "clone", use the mirror function with "no clone"; otherwise, use "copy" to clone the original. You have a variety of choices for the mirror axis/axes


Cheers, can't wait to see how this one turns out.

 

[pepperman]

Wasn't too hard at all. Tried your method and then watched many vids on youtube before trying the symmetry modifier too. I learned a lot in this little exercise. For example, I modeled in the impulse engine slots using compound objects/boolean. The mesh inself has some errors, specifically where the pylons intersect with the nacells. I'll try to improve that the next go round. I may try to model in the observation windos and the sensors next time.

I threw a quick texture on the ol gal ....

 

[pepperman]

Well, I am loving Max. Quite different from Milkshape to be sure. I learned a lot in this little exercise and witnessed the power in the tool. This one won't make it in Armada but I had fun making it nonetheless. But I will say I got real sick and tired of making all those sensor arrays. At least I can now say I have my first ship modeled in Max and I feel pretty good about how it turned out. Maybe the BC group can find a place for it.

 

[Majestic]

Really top notch work, excellent modelling Pepperman.

 

[Avon]

Very nice indeed

 

[pepperman]

I think I’ll declare victory on this one and move onward and upward. I accomplished my goal of making a complete model in 3d Max. Being a Milkshape user for several years, I was intimidated by the thought of using Max but that fear has now been conquered. Without question, I learned a lot in the process. In many ways waiting this long to try Max was even more problematic. I’d watch a video on Youtube only to find out the version I’m using didn’t have that functionality. But even in this simple example, I got to experiment with arrays and the like. Once I got past the buttonology, things started to click.

While she’s not perfect by any means, the end result is decent quality. Granted, the triangle count is high (19,644) for such a simple model. But at the end of the day, I am satisfied with the effort and end result. Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.

 

[Majestic]

The model looks great, by chance did you make the bird pattern yourself?

Are you going to start making all your models in 3D Max?

 

[pepperman]

The bird pattern is straight off the blue prints. Multiple colored version exist on the web. lol

I am going to try and migrate my modeling over to Max at least until I have to upgade mt computer to Windows 7/8. I don't think 3dMax v5 will run on those versions, or so I have heard.

I am thinking about doing Atolm's version of the Romulan Bird of Prey as my next learning project. Haven't quite decided.

 

[Majestic]

The bird pattern is straight off the blue prints. Multiple colored version exist on the web. lol

I am going to try and migrate my modeling over to Max at least until I have to upgade mt computer to Windows 7/8. I don't think 3dMax v5 will run on those versions, or so I have heard.

I am thinking about doing Atolm's version of the Romulan Bird of Prey as my next learning project. Haven't quite decided.

I'd recommend against Win8. I run Win7, 64Bit. I used to run 32bit and 3D Max v5 worked without any issue. I haven't installed 3D Max 5 yet on 64Bit. When I do I'll let you know if it works.

I'm a bit fan of much of Atolm's designs would be good to see his BOP to come to life.

 

[pepperman]

An A2 version of this has been submitted via email. Sorry it took so long but 1) I sort of forgot about it and 2) been playing COD Black Ops II and crysis 3.