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In this Section:
Making the Tail
Making the Canopy Frame
Cutting out the Cockpit
Other Details
This is pretty similar to how we made the wing. However, to demonstrate a slightly different way, I'll use Edge/Cut to attach my vertical stabilizer to the fuselage instead of using Shape/Merge. You'll see how I started this at right by making Create/Line to make a Spline in the shape of my vertical stabilizer, then converting this to Editable Poly, using Poly Create to link all the vertices, then Poly/Extrude to stretch out the vertical stabilizer.
Now, to attach the vertical stabilizer to the fuselage I'll Select the Fuselage Object and use Edge/Cut to cut out the area where I want the vertical stabilizer to attach. Again, I'll use Snap/Edge and Snap/Vertex to assist me as I do this. Unfortunately, to get a good shape on my fuselage I'll need to cut more edges that I really should. However, once I'm done, I can go back in and use Edge/Delete to remove these extra edges. You can then delete the polys that would be in the hole where the vertical stabilizer will go.
I extruded another section in the vertical stabilizer and then used Snap/Vertex to attach the based of the vertical stabilizer to the fuselage. Then I Edge/Cut between the base and the first section. The vertices made by this newest cut can be adjusted to make a smooth flow between the vertical stabilizer and the fuselage. You may need to make more than one of these cuts to get a smooth transition between the two objects.
Once this is done we'll use the methods of sub-object manipulation we've learned to shape the vertical stabilizer and cut out the Rudder.
Making the tip: I'm going to show you a different way to make the tip than the Left Method we used for the wingtip. Extrude the top polygon two times, then collapse end vertices into a point. Use Edge/Cut (or Slice/Plane) to make a new section, then move this new section up slightly to help round the tip. Repeat as required. You'll find this method is much faster and works fine on smaller objects that are less noticeable than the wingtip.
Cutting out the Rudder: I did this the exact same way I did to Make the Control Surfaces on the Wing: After Edge/Cutting out the rudder and Detaching the polys into a new object, I Made and aligned an 8 sided cylinder in front of the rudder, delated the polys on the rear half, then shaped and attached it to the rudder. Rather than re-explain it in detail here, just see the section on the wing.
There are a few ways to do this. A common way is to make a cylinder then shape that to look like your canopy. You can Shape/Merge this to your fuselage, then go back and cut out the "Plexiglas" to make the canopy frames. However, I've found it difficult to get quality canopy frames that are consistently the same width and thickness using this method.
In fact, the shape of your canopy frames are what define the canopy as a whole, so we'll concentrate our efforts frames first, then go back later and add the "Plexiglas" to fill in the area between the frames. To get the proper width and thickness we'll make the frames using the Loft technique. We've used this before in Making the Wingtip.
To make the Paths to loft, we must used Splines. One way to make these would be to make and shape a cylinder as you did above, then align the edges within the cylinder to match your canopy frames. You could use Edge/Select select the edges that follow the path of your frames, then click on Create Shape to make a Spline out of your Selected Edges (you could also turn on Snap/Vertex and simply Create/Line to follow your edges). I've found this technique work well on aircraft where the canopy is part of the overall shape of the fuselage, such as in a B-29 or a Ju88.
However, the Me334 is like many single seat fighters, where the canopy sits on top of the fuselage. Here we'll draw a series of Splines and adjust them to the shape of our canopy frames, then Loft them until them into the frames. We can easily scale & twist the lofts until they are positioned correctly, then we'll then convert them into Editable Mesh to join them together. So, let's get started!
We'll start with the path where the canopy touches the fuselage. First, we'll set our 3d snap to Snap/Faces. Then we'll Create/Shapes/Lines we'll draw out Line so it follows the path where the canopy and fuselage come together. I find this easiest to do in the 4-view screen while drawing in the Perspective Viewport. This way you can see the line in the other three viewports as you add it in. You must have a vertex everywhere the line crosses an edge on the fuselage, or else your line (and loft) will go "through" the fuselage at some points. You can see in the screenshot at left that my background images don't quite line up. In this case you can go ahead and complete the line as close as possible, then go to back later in Modify/Line/Vertex and move the vertices. You can even add a new vertex in the Modify Tab by using Segment/Break.
Using this method, Create/Line to add the remaining lines in to trace you canopy fames and adjust them in the modify tab until they look correct. Each of these lines will be a Path when we loft the canopy frames. Now we need the shape for the loft.
Making the "Shape" for the Loft: Now, in top view, using Create/Line I'll make a Spline to use as the "Shape" when I loft my canopy frames. You need to draw this to scale; Don't try and draw it large and then scale it down as the "loft" will "remember" the original size. Once your shape is done, you need to use the Hierarchy Tab/Affect Pivot Point Only to move the Pivot Point to the side of the shape (see Moving, Hiding, and Pivot Point). When you loft the canopy frame, the pivot point will follow this path. I've found--after trail and error--the canopy frame goes together better when the pivot point is on the side because I have my "path" lines following the "outside" of the canopy frame. However, you might find leaving it in the center may work better for you.
I'll actually make four different shapes; one to hold the heavier "armored" windscreen, another for the lighter Plexiglas, and two for the "edge" frame where the fuselage and the canopy meet and for the two frames that make each half where the canopy opens. You'll see how it fits together after we loft.
Lofting the Frames (See also
Making the Wingtip for information on "Lofts"): Now we'll use the Shapes you made above to Create/Compound Object/Loft your frames. Make sure you start with a Selected Path Spline (the lines you made above that follow your frames) and use Pick Shape. Don't worry if they're not rotated correctly. We'll fix that next. Go ahead and loft all of the paths you made using the appropriate Shape If your path won't allow you to "Pick Shape" then it's become corrupted somehow. Hide everything around it, then use Snap/Vertex to make a new line that follows it exactly.
Rotate Shape and Twist: Once you've lofted all your canopy frames you'll need to get them situated correctly. The first thing I do is to rotate the shape until the frame is pretty close.. To do this go to the Modify Tab and select the sub-object shape. Then, using the Select and Rotate tool, select the shape (It'll be at the "Start" of your path line) and rotate it until it's close to matching the position you'd like for your frame.
You'll probably be able to get one end of the frame to match, but not the other. If this is the case we'll use a Twist Deformation (this works the same way as the Scale Deformation did back in Making the Wingtip). Twist each loft, adding new Control Points as needed to get everything positioned correctly. I find it easiest to work on this while in the perspective view.
Note that by expanding the Loft you can still go down and manipulate the Shape and Path (and even the Vertex, Segment, or Spline of each) as sub-objects to help in placing the frames.
Resizing the frames: Once you've lofted and adjusted everything, you might find that your canopy frames are too big. Or too small. If this is the case, then let me give you a shortcut to fixing this. Select a frame, and then select the sub-object Shape. Then make sure you click on the shape in the viewport. Now, click the Select and Uniform Scale button, then Right-Click it to bring up the Scale Transform Type-In. In the right hand column under Offset Local enter a new scale. In this case "75%" (if you don't want to change each all three axis you can use Select and Non-Uniform Scale. This will let you change each axis individually). If your entire frame is rescaled, then you didn't have the actual Shape selected. Hit Undo and try again. The key to resizing is to keep the thickness of your frames consistent.
Convert to Poly and Joining Together: Once you have all the Lofts lined up close to where you want (and after backing up your files!) you can convert them all to Editable Poly, which will allow you work with each vertex. The best way I've found to do this is with the 3d Snap set to Vertex or Edge (right-click on the snap button and check "Vertex" and/or "Edge" in the menu). Use Edge/Cut to create new polys where two frames meet. Delete the "new" polygons that won't show. Then use the Snap tool to snap the Vertices of the adjoining frame to cover the "hole" left by the deleted poly. You can try this different ways, or join/detach objects together to see what works best for you.
This is a fairly simple procedure. You've already learned everything you need to know on yow to do it. We'll go ahead and take the line you made to loft the base part of your canopy frame, and simply use it to do a Spline and Shape Merge, a technique we used to cut the wing root out of our fuselage.
Once that is done we'll need to Collapse or Weld the Vertices down to a number that is manageable. Once this is done you can Unhide the canopy frame, and then use Snap/Vertex to adjust the fuselage to the canopy frame to ensure a smooth fit.
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