Subject matter

Right Then. Lets get to it. What shall we model? The subject needs to look interesting, have sex appeal, and be reasonably easy to model. In addition, it should be a subject that is popular enough that someone wanting just that extra bit of detail, can find additional reference material in books & on the Web.

Here's what I propose.... Let's make a North American F-86E "Sabre". It was used by many nationalities, and can be dressed up in a variety of garish colour schemes. The shape is simple, it's a jet, but it still retains the charm of WWII era designs such as the Spitfire & Mustang.

Photo of an F-86E

Know thine enemy

Again, this may seem glaringly obvious, but it does seem to escape some people. Not you of course, since you are reading this tutorial. Here goes anyway. Try to learn about your subject. If you have decided to model a popular aircraft such as a Spitfire or F16, then there should be no problem in finding out what makes it tick. Try to learn a little about construction of the real thing & components that are used, such as the type of engine or propeller. If you are creating for your own pleasure, then fine, cut a few corners, but if you intend to show your work to others then my advice is to try and model a type correctly. For example. If you know that an aircraft has full span flaps (such as the Tornado, or F14 Tomcat) then you won't make the mistake of making them animate like ailerons. If you don't know what I'm talking about then I think I have proved my point.

If you can understand just a little about how these beasts are put together, then you will be able to make educated guesses where hard evidence is lacking. One example is how the undercarriage is connected to the inside of the aircraft. Details such as these are rarely photographed, and are hard to see at the best of times. Unless you buy a really detailed model kit, which can be expensive, or get to see the real thing at close quarters, you are going to have to make a guess.

Cutaway drawings abound in the various aviation magazines, and I encourage you to start collecting these puplications. This leads us neatly on to the next topic. One word of warning though. Don't get too carried away with detail. If you need close up shots of a particular area, then go to town on that area, or make a separate scene & mesh for that shot. Don't get carried away, and start modelling details that will never see the light of day. Believe me. No one will notice that you haven't made the mountings bolts for the battery tray.