Shinichiro Nishiya's Metasequoia LE Tutorials

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Let’s try to make an oval-shaped wing plane!

Download “starterkit” and change the shape with 3D graphic soft MetasequoiaLE.
You can download the plane in the site "Modeling for FMS with Metasequoia" or here.


Modeling
Change the view by pushing F2 key .
Confirm that“Fr”(front) is not checked that is in the upper menu-window.
Cut the wing by using knife at several points.
It seems making ribs in the wing.
The space between each rib is narrower towards wing tip.
You can arrange the position of the ribs later, so take it easy.



Make each rib smaller by dragging  xyz-expand-reduce button on the Edit panel, and make an oval-shaped-wing.
Arrange the size of ribs dragging xyz-expand-reduce button, and locate them using x-slide button.
If you want to make it smoother, cut the wing at some more points.


Next, round the corner of the stabilizer (h-tail)
Before this work, cut it horizontally as below, and make V-shaped end.
Select the corner and slide it by x-slide button.
 

Then, cut the stabilizer using knife on several points around the tip.
　

Arrange it by the same way that we did on the wing.
Reduce the rib length by using z-expand-reduce button to keep the surface flat.
　　　　

Change the viewpoint to the side view.
Change the shape as we did when we made the horizontal stabilizer.
　

Arrange the fuselage frames.
Change the view from the top by F2.
Cut the fuselage to make fuselage frames.
You need cut a few points at the nose part of the model to make the shape smooth.

 　 　

Change the view.
Arrange up-part shape and down-part shape.
Enclose the points and slide them by y-slide button
. 　


We are going to make a low-wing plane.
Move the canopy, horizontal tail and rudder to the suitable place.
When you reduce or enlarge the size o f the rudder, drag y-expand-reduce button and z-expand-reduce button .
X-expand-reduce button make the rudder thinner or thicker.
 
Vent the main wing as bellow.
Get the front view by F3 key.
Enclose half of the wing, rotate it x-rotating button, and slide it upward by y-slide button.
Enclose the whole wing and rotate it, the plane will be a typical V-form wing plane.
　

You can make it curving wing to slide each rib. Some time you need rotate ribs by z-rotate button.



We select a tail-dragger type.
Delete nose-gear, nose-tire and spring from the object panel.
Unlock main-gear and main-tire.
Rotate them together, by x-axis rotating button, slide them forward.
Unlock tail-gear and tail-tire put them at suitable position.


Move the end of main-gear. Push F3 button to get front view.
Enclose the end of main-gear, and then slide it by x-slide button.
Use y-slide button to move the part into the wing.


Coloring
You can color it without bmp-file. Enclose the wire-frame where you want to change the color.
If you need more frame cut and get the wire-frame.
Unlock wing, tails and fuselage, and then change the color into white.
Enclose them, confirm the wire color turn to green.
Select white in the material panel, select “set materials to faces”, and it will turn to white.


Confirm “Fc” is selected on the upward menu not to change the color of the reverse side of the wing.
Enclose the area that you want change the color. I selected red.
And you do the same work on the bottom side. (left:surface, right:reverse side)
　

I cut the rudder to get other wire that I need.


You don’t forget to change the color of the canopy. (no-glass part)
  Download :model  sk1
Easily you can make the plane smaller or bigger.
Open the all eyes and unlock the all keys.
Use xyz-expand-reduce button. It will become smaller or bigger.
Fix the position of each object dragging x-slide button, y-slide button and z-slide button.
There is another way to change the size and fix the position, that Mr. Sekiai taught me, I will show you later.


Notice
The crossing point of x, y, z-axis in Metasequoia is also the CG (center of gravity) of the planes in FMS.
Z-axis (blue line) in Metasequoia is not a surface of the land in case of planes.
After you fix the CG, your plane will do aileron-roll nicely.
And I think that the size of plane is one of the important factors of flying character.
Making a plane bigger seems flying slowly, making it smaller seems flying quickly.
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