Mandrake7062: Polygon selections are your friend with BodyPaint! Especially with a detailed model such as these Eagles.

Ahh, Totally forgot about assigning those for painting..
So you can make a few extra cuts, and even though you adding some polys it's just tag tag tag and paint.

I'm pretty think sometimes, I follow Wolfgang's tut and he talked about that and bing, in one ear and out the other. That's why I need to practice practice practice!!!

Mandrake7062: Well, you shouldn't really have to add cuts to make polygon selections. Most time I complete a sub assembly and make as many polygon selections that I think will be needed for UV mapping in Bodypaint. ie: each of the Eagle side pods has over 50 polygon selection tags. Time used making them is more than offset when UV mapping.

This aircraft tutorial by Bazze is great for anyone wishing to get the basics of Bodypaint - the only thing missing is using the relax tool (when required) but that's easy enough to get the hang of.

I forgot to post the link to Bazzes' tutorials! http://www.colacola.se/wip_p47.htm

That's a cool render with the cross hatching background. :)

Beauty!!

The outer 'bell' surface was made from two lathed b-splines. I find this type of spline for obtaining a nice curve with just three control points. I find that bezier splines are not that satisfactory for making these engine 'bells'. A few extra steps are required using my method but the final result will speak for itself.

The inner 'bell' surface was remade in the same manner as the new outer 'bell' surface.

A panel from the Tamiya Leopard kit has also been made and added to the side of the front walkway.

Various pipe valves have also been added.

I'm making those surfaces first and then forming a Cinema4D's hypernurbs to fit rather than cut the window/black areas out of an hypernurbs. The curved edges are particularly useful in helping the overall shape of the command module to be accurate.

Nice sky too! Looks just like the show.

Very nice!

Very informative, too, which is very much appreciated! I must remember that "edge to spline" trick. Simple but effective to get those UVs from the modified bells.

I'd like to learn a bit more about the way you are modeling the command capsule, your approach sounds both interesting and useful for building objects like these. That first screenshot shows simple polygon objects defining the rough shape, right?

You say that you then used B splines to create the actual curves. I'm not quite sure how exactly you do that to get the shape shown in the second screenshot. Do you build a spline cage to get that object? Could you describe that part in more detail, and maybe post a couple more explanatory screenshots? 

Cheers,
contrafibbularities

Mandrake: Thank you. Looks like a better version of that red sky will feature in a proper render. You've probably noticed that reflections do not match the sky. That's because I'm using another image for reflections and refraction and it doesn't seem worth changing the setup for preview renders.

contrafibbularities: The edge to spline is very useful - when selected (in point mode) the new spline should have a smooth colour graduation. If it doesn't a quick optimise usually sorts things out.

The window area rough object is my main part for the command module :-) Without the overall dimensions being accurate then the whole command module will fail. Those added curves are easier to do than explain but hopefully over the weekend I will be able to do a 'brief' description of the process - it's a bit more involved than using a hypernurbed plane (for instance) but I found trying this has given me more accuracy with points where I wish them to be rather than hypernurbs running the show. 

Becco
Please do take your time. If you don't have the time, or the patience, I understand. It's just that people hardly ever present their projects the way you do. Threads like these are a great source of learning, and I can't help but bug you a bit and tap into that source, if possible. :-)

Cheers,
contrafibbularities

Ohhhhh Point mode, that's why I failed to get a gradient...

Mandrake7062: Yes, have a look at a spline in point mode and you will see it is coloured. For making problem free UV maps, from a lathed spline, the colour graduation should look smooth. If it doesn't try optimising the new spline. If that doesn't do the trick optimise the base mesh before using edge to spline. Broken colour graduation usually come about when a model is formed from several parts. As always, it's easier to do than write about.

Back to the Command Module a couple of modified cubes inside a HyperNURBS are being used to form the overall front and rear shapes. Control points are kept to a minimum which helps in creating a bump free mesh. Points are moved about so that the mesh fits the window area.

Seems a bit pinched up front Becco. Maybe slide that third control line back and add one more.
Pull them out a bit. 
The hardest shape I've ever worked on.

Mandrake7062: Thank you. The overall dimension is very accurate - it still has to have the panelling added so that will change its appearance. The window guide I made is making this easy enough to do but I've had an idle day today :-)

Those plans that Chris once linked too are not that accuarate in some areas - all my mesh has been developed from the Season 1 plans and measurements direct from actual kit parts.

Yes looks good, you know I got so tuned in on the II, and I think the shape is a bit different.

If this command module turns out as I wish it too then it will be 3d printed to form the basis of a proper mould for a command module.

I will more than likely end up with two meshes - one for 3d printing and one for this Cinema made Eagle.

Definitly the longest work in progress thread ever!

Now the Window/Black area has been cut out of the command module mesh and all the edges where the cuts were have been tidied up by hand. The mesh is about 1mm out in one part so that will be adjusted before the panelling gets added. This particular mesh will be the one used for 3d printing and another version with details made for this 3d Eagle.