How to create a 3D-file for an AFP Model!
This workshop is just to improve the quality of the models. Prerequisite is a rough fuselage and wings. Like with the “Gö-9” I will now and then post the current situation. Then you can follow the building steps.
I have to say, that I am quite impressed by Metasequoia. I normally have worked with “Lightwave”, where you need more polygons.
For RC-Sim model I meanwhile use only Metasequoia because you can work very quickly with it.
At first I will only built the left side, but not all parts. The small things like the tail-wheel I do completely now.
For the wings I also do the left side first.
When I have added the texture later, I make a “Freeze” (in “objects” Menu). With this the right side is not only displayed, but also created with polygons automatically. It is like copying a mirrored area.
Then I copy the right wing with “Move face to new Object” into a new object and name it “Rightwing” etc.
Sometimes, where it doesn’t matter like at the “Corsair”, I built the basic fuselage without mirroring.
Only when it gets complicated like at the canopy, I delete the right side of the fuselage and work only with the left one.
Later I mirror it again with “Freeze” and use “join close vertex” to join the left and right part (Important!!)
I have made a screenshot where it can be seen how it works. I load a true to scale 3-view in the background and move the part I need behind the model.
Here a picture where the horizontal stabilizer can be seen in more detail.
Very easy:
Normally I build the wings out of cylinders. This means you need a 14- or 16-sided cylinder. I rotate it to horizontal position and use the “edit panel”. I press it flat to an oval shape that has app. the thickness of the wing.
Then I elongate it, so that is has exactly the needed chord length at the root.
Most of the times I scale the front part of the wing a little smaller. This narrows the points at the front. The points at the trailing edge I pull to the back to get a nice symmetrical airfoil.
Then I select only the points of the wing-tip and scale them to get the basic geometry of the wing. Of course I pull the points of the wingtip to match the background picture of the original model.
Sometimes you must move the whole wing-tip a little to the front or back. This can all be done with the “Edit Panel”.
When the wing matches the drawing (it is still trapezoid) I use the “Knife” tool to cut the wings from the front and the back. I do this several times to get some kind of stripes of polygons and points around the tip area. Then I scale the single stripes to align them with the drawing in the background.
Our outstanding wing with tip is finished.
At wings with real airfoil I draw the airfoil with the “Line” command instead of using cylinders and extrude it with the “Pull” command.
It is important to bring the polygons to the same direction using the “Align” tool.
The rest is the same as with using cylinders.
Ok, after we have finished the basic form of the vertical stabilizer we come to the cockpit. This is one of the most detailed parts.
It can not stay like it is now. It’s much too rough and misshapen. If you have reached this point you should prepare yourself mentally to modify and create many, many points manually by hand. You will need some patience.
To avoid confusion I delete the right part of the fuselage (don’t delete too much or too less!!).
Go to “View > Set background image > Load” and select the folder where you have stored your reference (only .jpg, .gif will not work).
In the upper left corner you will find a button named “Img”. Press it and if you can see your background image you can switch the “BkImg” button in the command panel. Then you can move your background image with the mouse until it matches your model. Then deselect “BkImg” by pressing another button.
If you change the view with F1, F2 etc. you unfortunately always must adjust the background.
