In this tutorial I will not show you how to build all type of missiles as this could take hundreds of pages. But I will show you how to build a generic air to ground non-guided missile so that through you practice and effort, you will be able to build missiles of much different type in the future.
This tutorial was written exclusively for The3dStudio.com by Rick Johnston of Dreamscape Studios (Member Link)
Building a Missile using 3ds max
Missiles range from small 1 or 2 inch non-guided air to ground and ground to ground short range missiles to large intercontinental ballistic missiles, surface to air missiles and air to ground cruise missiles.
Missiles have been in use since World War I in one form or another. World War II saw the expanded use of missiles including surface to surface and air to surface missiles. It wasn’t until the late 1950s when air to air missiles became feasible and were deployed. In the 1960s and since missiles have been developed that can intercept other missiles, carry the most powerful warheads around the world and place them on a target, or launched from aircraft fly for hundreds of miles to hit a target no bigger than a car.
In this tutorial I will not show you how to build all type of missiles as this could take hundreds of pages. But I will show you how to build a generic air to ground non-guided missile so that through you practice and effort, you will be able to build missiles of much different type in the future.
To complete this tutorial you will follow these steps.
Build the missile body
Build the missile nose
Build the missile forward fins or Stabilizers
Build the missile after fins or Stabilators
Attach supplied materials
Group the missile parts
Depending on your experience you should be able to complete this tutorial in 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Build the Missile Body
Build a cylinder with 32 segments around, 5 segments high, and 2 cap segments. The dimensions of the cylinder should be 6 inches diameter, 48 inches length. See Fig 1-1.
Fig 1-1
Image shows the cylinder with proper dimensions. Be sure to put 2 segments into cap ends, not shown here.
The end farthest from you will become the exhaust nozzle and the end closest to you will be the upper end of the body where the nose attaches.
Using the Modify, edit mesh rollout select the vertices to be edited. Hide the vertices at the nozzle end of the cylinder. See Fig 1-2.
Fig 1-2
Image showing cylinder in vertex editing mode with the rearmost vertices hidden.
Now edit the vertices of the Nose end of the missile. First using the uniformed scale tool, scale the vertices of the interior part of the nose end so that they are closer to the outside vertices on the sides. See Fig 1-3 and Fig 1-4.
Fig 1-3
Image shows the interior vertices of the nose end selected.
Fig 1-4
Image shows the cylinder with the faces highlighted in the next step. However you can see the relative position of the segments on the nose end of the cylinder in the front view of the display.
Now select the edit faces and extrude the inner faces toward the middle of the missile body a short distance. Then with the faces still selected, change the smoothing group to 2. See Fig 1-5.
Fig 1-5
Image showing the inner faces selected after extrusion inward toward the middle of the tube and the smoothing group being changed.
Now select all the faces that are between the recessed faces and the nose end of the tube and change their smoothing group to 3. See Fig 1-6
Fig 1-6
Now deselect the faces and unhide all vertices.
Now we need to build the tube joint. This is a small thicker band where the missile tubes are assembled. Not all missiles have this feature but I am using it here to show you how to edit the diameter of the tube and therefore give you more experience for the future.
Select the two rows of vertices on the outside of the missile tube and move them closer to the nose by a short distance. See Fig 1-7
Fig 1-7
Image showing the two rows of vertices near the middle of the cylinder selected and moved to the new position.
Now using the non-uniform scaling tool, pull these two rows of vertices much closer together. See Fig 1-8
Fig 1-8
Image shows the two rows of selected vertices moved closer together using the non-uniform scaling tool.
Using the uniform scaling tool, expand these vertices in the front view about 6 % as shown in Fig 1-9.
Fig 1-9
Image shows the two rows of selected vertices scaled outward about 6%.
Now move the vertices in the row closest to the nozzle end to a point near the two rows of expanded vertices. See Fig 1-10
Fig 1-10
Image showing the row of vertices closer to the nozzle end of the cylinder moved toward the two rows of expanded vertices. This is their final location.
Move the row of vertices on the outside of the tube closest to the Nose end, closer to the two rows of expanded vertices. See Fig 1-11
Fig 1-11
Image shows the final position of the last set of outside vertices moved closer to the two rows of expanded vertices.
Select the face editor and then select all the faces within the four rows of vertices you just edited. Do not select the faces outside of these vertices. See Fig 1-12
Fig 1-12
Image shows the faces of the area to be selected.
Change the smoothing group to 5.
Now select the faces in the middle of the three rows and change their smoothing group to . See Fig 1-13.
Fig 1-13
Changing the smoothing groups will define the edges of the faces and make the model more sharp and accurate looking.
Fig 1-14
Image shows faces selected and smoothing group changed to 6.
Now let’s move on to the Nozzle. Change the front view to the back view. Then select the vertices nearest the center of the nozzle end of the cylinder. See Fig 1-15.
Fig 1-15
Image showing the selection of vertices at the nozzle end of the cylinder
Scale these vertices outward about 20% as shown in Fig 1-16 below.
Fig 1-16
Image showing selected vertices scaled to increase diameter about 20%.
Now switch to the face selection and select the faces in the center of the nozzle end. See fig 1-17.
Fig 1-17
Image showing faces nearest to center selected and the uniform scaling tool active.
Extrude these faces toward the middle of the cylinder about 6 inches. See fig 1-18.
Fig 1-18
Image showing the inward extrusion of the selected faces 6 inches.
Now using the active uniform scaling tool scale these faces to 50% of their original diameter. See fig 1-19.
Fig 1-19
Image shows extruded faces remain selected and are scaled to 50% of their original diameter.
With these faces still selected change the smoothing group to 6 as in Fig 1-20 below.
Fig 1-20
Image shows selected faces now on smoothing group 6.
Now select the faces created by the extrusion. These are located between the faces in the center and those at the nozzle end of the cylinder.
After selecting these faces, change their smoothing group to 7. See Fig 1-21.
Fig 1-21
Image showing faces created by the extrusion are selected and the smoothing group is changed to 7.
Now select the outermost segment of faces on the nozzle end of the cylinder and change their smoothing group to 8. See Fig 1-22.
Fig 1-22
Image showing the outermost faces of the nozzle end selected and the smoothing group changed to 8.
Now deselect the faces and deselect the faces modifying mode. With the cylinder still selected, collapse the body of the missile to an editable mesh. Your Missile body is completed and should look like Fig 1-23 below.
Fig 1-23
This image shows the completed missile body.
Build the missile nose
Change the back view to the front view in the top right window. Create another cylinder. This cylinder should have 10 segments in height, 1 segment in the caps and 32 segments around. It should be 6 inches in diameter and 15 inches in length. See Fig 2-1.
Fig 2-1
Image showing the cylinder created in the front view to the proper dimensions and segmentation.
Now modify the cylinder using the vertices sub objects and the uniform scaling tool. Scale each row of vertices from the front to the rear of the nose cylinder, scale the vertices inward. See Fig 2-2.
Fig 2-2
Image shows scaled vertices in the first two segments and the third segment is being scaled.
Scale these segments of vertices row by row until you get a really nice ballistic shape. Note: Do not scale the last two segments of vertices. These will be used to make the interface between the nose and the tube. See Fig 2-3.
Fig 2-3
Image shows the final shape of the ballistic nose of this missile. Only the rear shape of the ballistic nose remains to be edited.
Now scale the last segment at the rear of the nose using the uniform scaling tool to be flush with the inset space on the missile tube at the nose end. See Fig 2-4.
Fig 2-4
Image shows the rearmost segment of vertices scaled down to match the inset of the missile tube.
Now move this segment of vertices forward until they line up with the second to the last segment of vertices as shown in Fig 2-5 below.
Fig 2-5
Image shows the scaled rearmost segment of vertices has been moved to line up with the second to the last segment of vertices.
Now switch the front view back to the rear or back view. Select the inner most faces of the rear of the nose. See Fig 2-6
Fig 2-6
Image shows the innermost faces of the rear of the nose selected.
Now extrude these selected faces outward toward the rear of the model about the same distance as the inset in the front of the missile body. See Fig 2-7
Fig 2-7
Image shows the faces selected are extruded to the rear about the same distance as the inset of the front of the missile body.
Now with these faces selected, change their smoothing group to group 2. See Fig 2-8
Fig 2-8
Image shows the faces selected are now changed to smoothing group 2.
Now select the faces created by the extrusion and change them to smoothing group 3. See Fig 2-9.
Fig 2-9
Image above shows the faces created by the extrusion are selected and the smoothing group has been changed to group 3.
Now select the faces on the outermost rim of the nose at the rear and change them to smoothing group 5. See Fig 2-10.
Fig 2-10
The faces at the outermost rim of the rear of the nose are selected and the smoothing group 3 is shown, change them to smoothing group 5.
Now deselect the edit mesh and move the entire nose back so that it joins the tube exactly. See Fig 2-11.
Fig 2-11
Image showing nose is now repositioned to align exactly with the missile body.
Now collapse the nose to an editable mesh and name it nose or warhead. Then link the nose to the body of the missile.
Build the missile forward fins or stabilizers
The fins on missiles vary somewhat in geometry and aerodynamic shape. These variables will be determined by whether the missile is supersonic, trans-sonic, or sub sonic, and the purpose of the missile. Some missiles have two or more sets of fins depending on the mission of the missile and the capabilities required by that mission. We are going to use two sets of fins on this missile.
The rearmost fins will control the attitude and direction of the missile. The forward fins will stabilize the missile and keep it on track. The combination of the two sets of finds will allow the missile to turn and roll to follow its target.
We should start with the forward fins. These will be mounted in a set of four fins about the middle of the missile body.
Build a box with a length of 6.0 inches, a width of 6.0 inches and a height of.5 inches. It should also have 3 segments in length, 1 in width and 2 in height. See Fig 3-1.
Fig 3-1
Image shows a box with proper dimensions, segments and location has been created next to the missile body just about the midpoint of the missile body.
Now using the non-uniform scaling tool, select the vertices on the trailing edge of the box that will become a fin. Scale them vertically together and weld them into single vertices. See Fig 3-2.
Fig 3-2
Image shows the trailing edge (rear) segment of vertices has been squeezed together using the non-uniform scaling tool. They are squeezed only in the vertical. This is best done in the left view.
Now select the vertices on the top and bottom of the leading edge of the box and move them toward the rear a couple of inches. Then squeeze them together vertically just a bit. See Fig 3-3.
Fig 3-3
The image above shows top and bottom vertices of the leading edge have been moved back a couple of inches and then squeezed a bit.
Now squeeze the vertices nearest the trailing edge together vertically just a bit. See Fig 3-4.
Fig 3-4
This image shows the vertices defined above have been squeezed vertically just a small amount.
Now select all the vertices on the outside tip of the fin and squeeze them closer together using the uniform scaling tool. Scale them about 50%. Then move them toward the rear of the fin until the trailing edge is straight. See fig 3-5.
Fig 3-5
Image shows the outside vertices have been selected, scaled to about 50% and then moved to align the trailing edge of the now completely shaped stabilizer.
Now collapse the box to an editable mesh and name it stabilizer 01. Move the stabilizer to the left until its inside faces are just inside the missile body. See fig 3-6.
Fig 3-6
This image shows the repositioning of the stabilizer so that the inner-most surfaces are just inside the missile body.
Select the hierarchy rollout and affect pivot only button. Move the axis of the stabilizer 01 to align with the exact center of the missile body. See Fig 3-7.
Fig 3-7
Image shows the location of the moved axis of the stabilizer. Accuracy here is a must if the copies of the fin will line up correctly in the next step.
Deselect the affect axis and the go back to the modify tab.
Using the rotate and copy tool rotate the fin 90 degrees and copy it 3 times as shown in Fig 3-8.
Fig 3-8
This image shows the rotate and copy tool in action with the popup window inquiries correctly defined to make 3 copies of the original and all rotated 90 degrees from the previous copy.
Build the missile rear fins or Stabilators.
The Stabilators or rear fins are the controlling fins of the missile. On real missiles these fins will alter their angle of attack and make the missile turn, roll or fly straight. On this tutorial we will not worry about this. We will just build static fins for the rear of the missile that will represent these Stabilators.
Make a copy of Stabilizer 01 and move it to the rear of the missile body. See Fig 3-9
Fig 3-9
This image shows Stabilizer 01 is copied to the rear of the missile body in the correct location.
Now scale this copy to about 125% of its original size. See image 3-10.
Fig 3-10
The near rear fin or Stabilator is scaled to about 125% of its original size.
Now move the modified Stabilator in toward the missile body until the inside faces are just inside the missile body. Then switch to the hierarchy rollout and click on the affect pivot only. Move the active pivot of the Stabilator to align with the center of the missile body as you did earlier with the stabilizers. See Fig 3-11.
Fig 3-11
Image showing the alignment of the pivot axis of the Stabilator being correctly aligned with the missile body
Now using the rotate and copy tools rotate and copy the Stabilator 90 degrees and make 3 copies. See Fig 3-12.
Fig 3-12
The above image shows the copy and rotate tool in operation and the pop up window inquires correctly defined.
The final result of you modeling can be seen in fig 3-13.
Fig 3-13
Image showing the model has been completed except for materials and mapping.
Attach supplied materials
There are two materials supplied with this tutorial. You are welcome to use them or create your own. The two materials included in the downloadable tutorial are MisBdyDif.jpg and MisOSDif.jpg. They are shown below in Fig 4-1 and Fig 4-2.
Fig 4-1
Fig 4-2
Now in the material manager, select the first material box and then select the maps rollout. For the diffuse material click it on and select none beside diffuse. The material map browser will pop up. Select bitmap at the top by double clicking. Now browse and find the file MisOSDif.jpg and select it. This material should be displayed in the first sample box of you manager.
See Fig 4-3
Fig 4-3
Image shows material manager with the material now in 1st box of the manager.
Now attach this material to the nose. Apply a UVW and select cylinder for type of application. Then select to fit. Set the specular highlights as follows:
Specular level at 124
Glossiness at 10
And soften at.01
See Fig 4-4 below for results.
Fig 4-4
Image showing material applied to the nose with a cylindrical UVW to fit.
Now open the material manager again and select the second material box. Follow the same procedure as before and set up the MisOSDif as the diffuse map. Use the same settings and apply a cylindrical UVW to fit. You may have to flip the U axis of the map. The result is shown in Fig 4-5 below.
Fig 4-5
Image shows the attached material and applied cylindrical UVW.
Go back to the material manger a third time. This time select the third box and define a color material as shown below in Fig 4-6.
Fig 4-6
Image showing the third material color definition and application to all the stabilizers and Stabilators.
Apply this material to all the stabilizer and Stabilators as shown above in Fig 4-6.
You model is finished. Now try out your rendering techniques and render it from different angles. Your rendering product should be something like Fig 4-7 below.
Fig 4-7
Good luck and Good modeling
7/22/2007
3D Studio Max: Building a Missile using 3ds max
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