RE: Modeling Boeing's 747-8 in 3D
Hi everybody, Lots of new updates to this project at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/b747_8_09.html including volumetric exhaust effects, (including the thrust reversers) lighting, and some low-res animation tests. Still adding external details, too.
Posted on: 9/1/2012 4:16 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11213799

RE: Modeling Boeing's 747-8 in 3D
Hi Russ, Thank you! Since 2008, I've been using Luxology's "modo". ( http://www.luxology.com )
Posted on: 7/19/2012 5:23 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11161749

RE: Modeling Boeing's 747-8 in 3D
I've just finished the outboard main landing gear, and am moving on to the inboard mains. If you'd like to see what the outboards look like, here's a brief turntable-style movie. (about 8 MB QuickTime) http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/modo_media/modo_wip/b747_8/b747_8_087_outboard_gear.mov
Posted on: 7/19/2012 2:01 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11161521

Modeling Boeing's 747-8 in 3D
If you like big jets... I've just started a rather complex project, modeling Boeing's new 747-8 "Intercontinental" in 3D. If you'd like to follow along, the article starts at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/b747_8_01.html Here's one of the latest renders. Still a long way to go...
Posted on: 6/30/2012 10:01 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11131431

RE: Modeling Boeing's 747-8 in 3D
My 3D model of the Boeing 747-8 "Intercontinental" is coming along. Here's a brief tour of the model as it stands now. http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/modo_media/modo_wip/b747_8/b747_8_055_tour.mov
Posted on: 6/30/2012 8:34 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11137610

RE: Modeling Boeing's 747-8 in 3D
Thanks very much, guys. Added the fuselage liner now, so it has some thickness, for realism.
Posted on: 6/26/2012 5:41 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11133074

RE: Cessna Crane ( T50, Bobcat)
For those of you who are T-50 fans, here are a couple of good references: Terry Sullivan's site, supporting his own restorations as well as friends: http://www.cessnat50.org/ My article on building a scale T-50 in 3D (image attached) http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cessna_t50_01.html
Posted on: 6/10/2012 6:25 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11113750

RE: fabricating Fowler flap parts
Here are a series of articles on RC high-lift devices, including variations on Fowler flaps. http://www.nextcraft.com/highlift_index.html
Posted on: 6/9/2012 6:20 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11110848

RE: RE:
Thank you, Paul. "Modeling with modo, Volume Four - Details" is now available for pre-order, and will ship in the last week of September. ( [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/mwm_04.html]Preview here[/link] ) The Cessna 310K project is one of the main features on the DVD, illustrating scale building of the exterior, a structural interior, detailed cabin and cockpit, retractable landing gear with sequencing doors, and interior and exterior lighting. Here are a few of the latest renders. And... I still offer two CDs for RC modelers. "How to do Everything, Volume One" (Design & Fabrication) and "CAD for Modelers, Volume One". (Introduction to using 3D for RC Design) See the Products page for info, at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/products.html (Scroll down toward the bottom.)
Posted on: 9/30/2011 7:59 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10723206

RE: Cessna Bobcat
Thank you!
Posted on: 8/13/2011 5:02 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10669217

RE: RE:
An update on one of the tutorial projects included on the DVD... My Cessna 310K "museum scale" project. ( http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cessna_310k_01.html ) Here's where it stands right now, as I am starting on the cabin and cockpit detailing.
Posted on: 8/10/2011 5:18 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10664864

RE: Cessna Bobcat
Hi guys, Excuse me for butting in on your conversation, but in case it might interest you... I've built a highly-detailed 3D T-50 model, which includes the internal structure, cabin details, and even the cable/pulley control system. If you like, have a look at [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cessna_t50_01.html]http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cessna_t50_01.html[/link] I also do the web site for [link=http://www.cessnat50.org/]http://www.cessnat50.org/[/link] where you'll find a lot of info on the actual aircraft.
Posted on: 8/10/2011 5:11 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10664850

RE: RE:
Here's a peek at a couple of projects that will be included as 3D modeling tutorials, in "Modeling with modo, Volume Four". (Cessna 310K and Northrop T-38 "Talon" ) [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/slides/310_talon_preview.mov]Cessna 310K and Northrop T-38 project preview[/link]
Posted on: 7/3/2011 5:55 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10603705

RE: RE:
Hi Paul, Thank you! You know I love your work too, so it always makes me feel good to hear from you. Hope all is well with you and your family.
Posted on: 6/9/2011 6:25 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10565699

"Modeling with modo, Volume Four" coming this summer
"Modeling with modo, Volume Four" is coming this summer. I've just posted a preliminary preview page at [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/mwm_04.html]http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/mwm_04.html[/link]
Posted on: 6/9/2011 7:06 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10564706

3D Design DVD's are now downloadabe
Hi everybody, I've just released my latest 3D modeling DVD, "Modeling with modo, Volume Three - Jets" (Info and previews available at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com ) The best news is that now, all of my DVD's are now available for direct download. Non-U.S. customers in particular will appreciate not having to wait on shipping. Of course, physical DVD's are also still available, for those who prefer them. This one covers modeling a variety of jet aircraft, including business jet types, (the Gulfstream G650) fighters (F-22 "Raptor") the B2 Bomber, and two major airliner projects from different eras. (the Boeing 727-100 and Boeing 787-8 "Dreamliner") A variety of details are covered too, including boolean tips, interior and exterior lighting, compositing for realism, cockpit detailing, and more. It's my best one yet, and I hope you find it useful.
Posted on: 2/20/2011 11:36 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10351928

RE:
"Modeling with modo, Volume Two" is finished on time, and shipping today! [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/mwm_02.html](Preview page here)[/link]
Posted on: 7/14/2010 10:43 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9865968

"Modeling with modo, Volume Two" is coming July 14th, 2010.
[IMG]http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/media/00_primary/css_images/mwm_02_logo.png[/IMG] Hello, 3d modeler/modo friends, July 14th, 2010 is the release date for [B]"Modeling with modo, Volume Two"[/B]. I've just posted the preview page, describing what it's all about, at http:// http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/mwm_02.html This one is a "Right brain/Left brain" DVD... A large part of the content comes from the six-month-long one I've just finished, for a company that trains "King Air" pilots. I created images and animations for them, which will become part of an FAA-certified flight training program. These range from cockpit animations, where gages move, and the crew takes action, to systems tests, de-cing, heating and cooling, fire suppression, fuel flow, valve operation, propellers spinning at different speeds, etc.. Along with a ton of video at 30 fps, 1280 X 720, (tutorial videos all have audio) several exterior aircraft models are included on the DVD, including a detailed exterior model of the King Air B200 created for these clients. (a twin turboprop business aircraft) There's quite a bit of precision aircraft and systems-oriented modeling, including simple animation methods, and my method for assembling those individual animations into a presentation for the client. (This is key framed action center-based animation, including morph maps, and the animation of various color and visibility channels... not IK or "mech rigging".) I used an interesting method for creating custom "paint" on the aircraft above, beginning with creating mesh shapes in modo. These dense meshes were applied to the plane using "Background constraint", and were then rendered (alone) at high-res with an orthographic camera. From there, they were imported into PhotoShop, colored, and exported as PNG files, which were then used with UV maps in various ways. It worked out great, and has become one of my favorite methods, due to it's flexibility. We could modify the paint shapes, or the colors, easily. I'll show that process. And... There's a large section on organic visualization work I've been doing for artists. You might be interested to see the process we used to document these organic figures for the engineers who actually plan the physical installations, since these are all large pieces. (Documentation was as important here as it was for any scale project.) More preview movies will be added during June, but the first one (modeling turbine fan blades) is already up. For those of you who might be interested in both volumes, I've created a discount package price for the two together, which you'll find on the same page. (Info on [B]"Modeling with modo, Volume One"[/B] is at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/mwm_01.html) You can pre-order if you like, but no orders will ship until July 14th. Hope you enjoy this one!
Posted on: 6/14/2010 6:27 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9802990

RE: Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD FAQ
of them, if you think they would be helpful. _______________ Edited to correct link to Mike's new website.- bcm
Posted on: 12/20/2009 9:17 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1945404

RE: RE:
The new DVD is finished, and ready to ship. You can buy it beginning now, via PayPal, on the preview page at [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cfm_03.html]http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cfm_03.html[/link]
Posted on: 11/29/2009 2:35 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9288650

RE: RE:
Hi everybody, For those of you who might be interested in "CAD for Modelers, Volume Three", I've posted a couple of preview movies on my site, at [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cfm_03.html]http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cfm_03.html[/link] Enjoy!
Posted on: 11/21/2009 10:26 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9271046

"CAD for Modelers, Volume Three" coming in late November, 2009
Hi everybody, For those of you interested in 3D modeling, I've got a new DVD coming out at the end of this month. It includes a variety of tutorials on aircraft modeling, using various methods. Like previous disks, this one includes a great deal of text/image content, in the form of HTML pages. New though, is quite a bit of screen-capture video/audio, so you can actually see the details of how things were done. The entire DVD was done using the "modo" software package, from [link=http://www.luxology.com]Luxology[/link], but since it's similar to several other modern 3D tools, (like LightWave, Maya, etc.) users of those software packages might also find it useful. Latest preview page is at [link=http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cfm_03.html]http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cfm_03.html[/link]
Posted on: 11/2/2009 7:19 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9223515

RE: Piaggio
Hi everybody, Thanks to the release of modo 401, I was able to add some detail, and improve the renders. The first image shows the nice windscreen seal (black) I was able to make, thanks to the improved background constraint. The next two use modo's new environments, along with a (4 pixel) motion blur done in PhotoShop. ( Full article begins at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
Posted on: 6/23/2009 4:00 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8873449

RE: Piaggio
I spent some time cleaning up the details in the cockpit area, which you can see in the first image. I was preparing to bridge the interior window areas with the exterior skin, and realized that I wasn't getting the fit I wanted, especially around the forward cabin door and emergency exit. So, I rebuilt the interior liner, then bridged all the window areas. It looks more realistic now. Aside from a few details, the biggest part of the modeling is finished now, and it's on to paint and textures.
Posted on: 6/16/2009 2:27 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8854241

RE: Piaggio
Thank you, ps2727! The first image is just for fun... Couldn't resist doing a takeoff shot. New... I've installed offset hinges on all of the fuselage doors, added a color map for the instrument panel, finished the canard, wing, and tail tip fairings, and did some cleanup of the cabin interior. I'll do as much in the cabin as memory allows. We'll see... The other renders here use Global Illumination, and show off the landing gear areas. ( Full article begins at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
Posted on: 6/14/2009 4:50 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8850369

RE: Piaggio
Hi everybody, Got the main gear sorted out and installed, and also got all the doors open. (cabin door, nose gear doors, main gear doors) Still have to add the hinges. I've started to detail some of the various vents and hatch lines around the plane too. At this time, it's all geometry. There are no texture maps (except for the instrument panel) - All the hatch lines and paint lines are just colored polygons. ( Full article begins at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
Posted on: 6/11/2009 1:17 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8843023

RE: Piaggio
Hi everybody, I built a slightly larger hangar than the one in my previous project, and put the P180 in it. It let me easily light the model more realistically. The main landing gear is pretty tricky, but I've finally got it figured out. Lots of small details to add, but the major parts and pivot points are correct. (Red markers indicate where I have to add hinge pins and bolts.) Having the gear worked out means that I can start opening all the doors that were cut in earlier. That's next. Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
Posted on: 6/8/2009 1:45 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8834435

RE: Piaggio
Thanks very much, Sam. I've been involved with researching this aircraft, and building 3D models of it, since 1995, and am amazed that no one has gone to the trouble of building a large scale version. At scales of 1/6th or larger, (due to the foreplane size... Reynolds number issues) it should fly very well, and in a scale contest, could really wow people with it's shape. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone making scale plans. In about 2000 or so, I seem to recall someone building a one-of-a-kind RC model in Germany, (I think) but I haven't heard about it since then. It's a beauty, and it's fast.
Posted on: 6/6/2009 1:10 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8830415

RE: Piaggio
Hi everybody, A couple of images mapping out the instrument panel, and showing some of the new cockpit parts. There's a brief "assembly" movie at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/modo_media/modo_wip/p180_09/p180_09_128_060509.mov Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
Posted on: 6/6/2009 3:40 AM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8829704

RE: Piaggio
Hi everybody, More work on the landing gear, and some new furnishings in the cabin... The P180 landing gear has two things that make it a bit intricate, compared to others I've modeled. First, it has a unique, rear-folding mechanism, somewhat like the main gear on the F-16. It also has "sequencing gear doors", meaning that after the gear comes down, two of the gear doors close, to reduce drag. I've already finished the doors, but am using some proxy geometry to help me work out the lengths of the components, and their hinge points. These are nearly correct. Once they are, I'll accurately model the shapes, based on other drawings and photos I have. In the meantime, I'm also gradually replacing all the old (Carrara) parts in the cabin, cockpit, and lavatory, with new ones. Here are the new seats and lavatory.
Posted on: 6/5/2009 7:05 PM by Author "Mike James" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8828736