Hi Steve,

> 1. Can I align text to a curve?

MoI doesn't currently have a function for that, but it is definitely something I want to add in the future.

Currently the easiest way to get text along a curve is to do it in a 2D illustration program and import it into MoI. There is one 2D illustration program called Expression which is available for free from here:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/5/d/a5d625a5-2e3d-4e9c-8608-6de48d7b569f/CreatureHouseExpression3_3.exe


> 2. Also the tread of the tyre. My thoughts are to create a
> boolean array of blocks or tubes depending upon the style
> of tread and then diff the array from the tyre. Are there any
> other ways of doing this?

One other technique is if you project some curves on to your object you can then do something like a sweep along them to make a tubular cutting object to use for the boolean difference.

Check out here for an example:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=817.8

- Michael