Modeling an Airplane

In this tutorial, you explore Editable Poly surfaces further by building a model of a fighter airplane.

The aircraft is a Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, a heavy-duty fighter used extensively by the Allied forces in World War II. For information about the history and technical details of this aircraft, do a Web search for “P-47”.

NoteUnlike the irregular meshes used in the tutorial Using Photos to Model Façades, the mesh you create in this tutorial has consistent quadrangular faces. Although the airplane is not meant to be deformed, this is the kind of mesh you should create when you model a deformable character.

Skill level: Advanced

Time to complete: 5 to 6 hours

Preparation for This Tutorial

If you have not already downloaded the tutorial files (MAX scenes and other assets), download them now and unzip them into a project folder called \Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 tutorials. See Where to Find Tutorial Files.
On the Quick Access toolbar, click (Project Folder) and set your current project to Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 Tutorials.

Pointers on Setting Up a “Virtual Studio”

When you build a 3D model from scratch, often it helps to set up reference or “blueprint” images to use as a guide to the 3D geometry. Typically these images are plans that show the side, front, and top of the object to model.

Virtual studio for the P-47 model

You might find such plans on the Web, you might scan them from a book or the instructions for a scale model, or you might draw them yourself. Here are some pointers for how to set them up so you can use them in 3ds Max:

If you need to resize the images, resize them as a set, so the dimensions match in all three images.
Many image-processing programs have guidelines or rulers that can help you align the images to a common center, and make sure their dimensions match.
Make the images square.
Square images are easier to align when you apply them to 3ds Max geometry.
Use color for the images.
For this tutorial, we chose shades of blue: This nostalgically recalls paper blueprints, but more importantly, in 3ds Max it is impossible to see white selection boxes against a white background.

In 3ds Max itself, you can set up three planes in the virtual studio arrangement. For this tutorial, we used Generic units (1 generic unit equals 1 inch), and set the reference planes to the pixel dimensions of the blueprint images: 800 x 800.

Map the images to the planes, using these guidelines:

Set Self-Illumination to 100 percent.
If your scene uses lights, the blueprint images will always be visible.
Select all the planes, right-click, and choose Object Properties. On the Object Properties dialog, turn on Backface Cull.
This way, when you look at the model through one of the planes, the image doesn’t get in the way.
Also on the Object Properties dialog, turn off Show Frozen In Gray.
Freezing the planes lets you work on the model without worrying about selecting the planes by accident. By default, frozen objects are gray: Turning off this option lets you freeze the planes and still see their blueprint images.
Freeze the planes.
Set all four viewports to Smooth + Highlights display (F3).

Now you are ready to begin modeling.

Creating the Fuselage
The fuselage begins as a geometric primitive. You modify the shape of the primitive, and then convert it to an Editable Poly object. For most of this section, and the remainder of the tutorial, you will use Edit Poly tools to shape the airplane.
Completing the Tail
To complete the tail, you add horizontal stabilizers on either side of the vertical stabilizer.
Adding the Wings
The wings are shaped extrusions as are the horizontal stabilizers. Once more, the wing on the right side is provided by the Symmetry modifier.
Creating the Cockpit
The cockpit includes a canopy, which becomes a separate object. It also includes part of the hollow interior of the aircraft.
Refining the Aircraft
To complete the aircraft, you make various adjustments to both the fuselage and the cockpit canopy.

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