F-16 C Build Thread

Boof69

Boof69

Well-known member
I am cautiously starting this project. It has been almost 7 years since my last model "The Compass Warp" and I haven't kept up on 3ds Max or photoshop, but It is coming back to me as I go. This may not have been the smartest choice for my first design challenge. The Fuselage is a complicated shape especially around the intake and wing fillet and it took me a few hours to generate this initial result.
This will be a slow burn due to working around a work schedule but I plan to dedicate a lot of what free time I have to this project. Even when the model is done I have to remember a lot of stuff about photoshop and then learn the new physics editor for Realflight 9.
I do feel it necessary to express what my intentions are with this and any subsequent build threads.
I want it to be clear that I am not doing this for kudos, compliments, or pats on the back. If they are offered that is very nice and it is encouraging. I enjoy contributing complete works to the swaps for everyone's consumption. Also I do these as journals of my builds that I can always visit later to reminisce or remember some forgotten technique.
I also appreciate help or suggestions when asked. Unsolicited critiques are just a distraction from the goal.
This was a big problem here 7 years ago and I got dragged into that quagmire more than a few times and do not wish to start fresh just to pick up where things left off.
If I ask for help and you are kind enough to help me It will be appreciated and I thank you in advance.
If I'm building a request such as this than it stands to reason that suggestions from that member are always welcome if not necessary.
If someone becomes a bother to this process I will not respond I will set them to ignored and move on as intended.
I hope this doesn't seem rude in any way as that was not my intent.

That said I enjoy conversation about my, or anyone's designing process and it is always welcome.

I'm posting shots of my progress. This is the fuselage only. Tri's are at 2842 as seen in the pics.
3DS Max has some weird in-viewport shaders so I thought I'd post the more interesting ones.
 

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Great to see you back Boof. Gotta say, I feel exactly as you have stated about things that happened in the past.

BTW, You've always had the cleanest lines on your builds. One day, I will have that as well.:cool: Looks great so far.
 
Very nice I'm glad to see you started something. I'll be watching this build all the time but per your guidelines I probably won't post each time I drop by and see an update. I think having a build thread where the modeler is able to just model and not get suggestions to improve something allows the designer to create his model the best.
 
abaser said:
Great to see you back Boof. Gotta say, I feel exactly as you have stated about things that happened in the past.

BTW, You've always had the cleanest lines on your builds. One day, I will have that as well.:cool: Looks great so far.
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Thanks abaser. It was and always was a tedious thing but the mapping comes out better and easier if edge flow is good.
 
Boof69 said:
I am cautiously starting this project as requested by MickeyMike21. It has been almost 7 years since my last model "The Compass Warp" and I haven't kept up on 3ds Max or photoshop, but It is coming back to me as I go. This may not have been the smartest choice for my first design challenge. The Fuselage is a complicated shape especially around the intake and wing fillet and it took me a few hours to generate this initial result.
This will be a slow burn due to working around a work schedule but I plan to dedicate a lot of what free time I have to this project. Even when the model is done I have to remember a lot of stuff about photoshop and then learn the new physics editor for Realflight 9.
I do feel it necessary to express what my intentions are with this and any subsequent build threads.
I want it to be clear that I am not doing this for kudos, compliments, or pats on the back. If they are offered that is very nice and it is encouraging. I enjoy contributing complete works to the swaps for everyone's consumption. Also I do these as journals of my builds that I can always visit later to reminisce or remember some forgotten technique.
I also appreciate help or suggestions when asked. Unsolicited critiques are just a distraction from the goal.
This was a big problem here 7 years ago and I got dragged into that quagmire more than a few times and do not wish to start fresh just to pick up where things left off.
If I ask for help and you are kind enough to help me It will be appreciated and I thank you in advance.
If I'm building a request such as this than it stands to reason that suggestions from that member are always welcome if not necessary.
If someone becomes a bother to this process I will not respond I will set them to ignored and move on as intended.
I hope this doesn't seem rude in any way as that was not my intent.

That said I enjoy conversation about my, or anyone's designing process and it is always welcome.

I'm posting shots of my progress. This is the fuselage only. Tri's are at 2842 as seen in the pics.
3DS Max has some weird in-viewport shaders so I thought I'd post the more interesting ones.
Click to expand...
GREAT to see you back Boof, GREAT opening statement, It says it all..(without being rude at all BTW) ;) ;) :) :),... If I can build the plane I did (PZL-P1) as a first time model/modeler, having never modeled before, jumping into the deep end, so to speak, THEN you got this..!! Be clear, I`m very grateful for all the help YOU and Andy, and others gave me, but it was you two that helped me the most in order for me to complete it, and get it to swaps. It was literally a dream come true for me, and I have been and always will be very grateful for all that help, I`ve never forgotten that. Looks like your off to great start with the F-16, just like Andy is with his Pitts. ...Now, I`m not sure if you`re looking for opinions regarding the shots you`ve posted, but in the event you are, I`ve always like the wire frame and the flat grey (in this case, because it is a jet afterwards) the most...... I could go on and on, but I`ll spare you, Just want to say, it`s great to have YOU and Andy back, and looking very forward to watching yours and Andys progress with both of your builds, It`ll be just like the good ol` days...;););););)
 
Nice to see you modeling again. Although we've not known each other I've flown your models including the Compass Warp. The guys that stuck around here the last few years always spoke highly of you.
 
uncle twist said:
GREAT to see you back Boof, GREAT opening statement, It says it all..(without being rude at all BTW) ;) ;) :) :),... If I can build the plane I did (PZL-P1) as a first time model/modeler, having never modeled before, jumping into the deep end, so to speak, THEN you got this..!! Be clear, I`m very grateful for all the help YOU and Andy, and others gave me, but it was you two that helped me the most in order for me to complete it, and get it to swaps. It was literally a dream come true for me, and I have been and always will be very grateful for all that help, I`ve never forgotten that. Looks like your off to great start with the F-16, just like Andy is with his Pitts. ...Now, I`m not sure if you`re looking for opinions regarding the shots you`ve posted, but in the event you are, I`ve always like the wire frame and the flat grey (in this case, because it is a jet afterwards) the most...... I could go on and on, but I`ll spare you, Just want to say, it`s great to have YOU and Andy back, and looking very forward to watching yours and Andys progress with both of your builds, It`ll be just like the good ol` days...;););););)
Click to expand...
Yeah helping you on that project was fun. It was obvious how much you enjoyed the process. I hope I can get through this project without too much problems. If it goes well I'm sure I'll be doing more. Thank for the support UT. ;);):):)
 
technoid said:
Very nice I'm glad to see you started something. I'll be watching this build all the time but per your guidelines I probably won't post each time I drop by and see an update. I think having a build thread where the modeler is able to just model and not get suggestions to improve something allows the designer to create his model the best.
Click to expand...
I totally agree. You can't please everyone and I don't even want to try.
 
More work done. Flying surfaces are added and separated. I still want to go through the fuselage deleting un-needed edges to get back more Tri's. The count on those is 3,881.
Things are coming back to me pretty quickly. I'm really enjoying this.
 

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They are going to be difficult for sure, but I've found a lot of resource so far for how they told.
 
Good deal. I think once I finish my current one up I may try and bring back my Mustang. I’ve got a good file, I just don’t feel up to that gear quite yet. Not to mention trying to learn how to even make it work in RF. That was the big thing that slowed that project to a halt back when I was going strong on it.
 
Just got the nozzle figured out. It was fun and I thought I would add the process to the thread.
The fuselage was made from a cylinder with 32 sides. The nozzle is comprised of 14 blades on the outside. So divide 14 blades into 32 sides and you get 2.28. So each blade will use 2 .28 polys of the circumference, or roughly 2 and one third. So using the cut tool I draw the blade shape. I delete the unused polys then shape the blade further and extrude to add a thickness.
Now I need to copy these blades using 3ds max's handy shift+rotate feature. So I can now divide 360° by the 14 blades I need and get 25.71 or roughly 25.75°. By making each blade an instance I can modify one and all follow suit. Therefore I tuck the lower edge under the upper edge of the next blade and all of them fit together nicely. This can now be animated in the sim after the pivots are set correctly.
 

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LookingGreat so far. I actually ran across a modifier plugin that’ll do about the same thing as the shift +rotate, but only downfall is they all come out as one object so wouldn’t work for your application here. If you’re interested I’ll try and find the link for you. I just made a softball and used it to create the stitching. Made one stitch and duplicated 90 others along a path in a matter of seconds. I can see it being handy in more ways than one.
 
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