Thanks BurrMan

The blend of the fuselage into the cockpit is quite a soft and subtle which needs to be handled by a variable fillet radius. As MoI does'nt have the option you would need to create it manually via a swept surface. There is also a subtle chine along the spine of the fuselage which adds to the complexity of shape.
I'll post up my attempt at it over the next couple of days when I have time to work on it. I always try and minimise surface joins as much as possible as they often result in messy mesh joints that need to be cleaned up in the polymodeller.

Look forward to the outcome. Details, details! :)

Thats kindof what I was getting at. Mine is kindof cheesy but if you know the direct shape you want , it should be fairly simple.

>>I always try and minimise surface joins as much as possible as they often result in messy mesh joints that need to be cleaned up in the polymodeller.

MoI's surface mesher is second to none! Looking forward to a great model!

BurrMann

Here is my first attempt tackling the shape which is the logical way to model such a thing. But I get pinching at the back of the cockpit due to the hard joint in my curves.



As Michael has stated with nurbs my method above is flawed because with nurbs it is best to do the overall shape then cut out the cockpit opening. However the problem with that approach is what shape do all my cross sections need to be so that when the cockpit is cutout it looks right in side and plan view ?

So my next attempt will be the way you show which results in more surface joins and more messy mesh joins but looks like it might be the only way. However creating the blends from the fuselage to the canopy will probably still result in the pinching shown above but I'll give it a go anyway.

Hi Kevin, thanks for the image - it is a bit small though and only from one angle.

Since you're trying to very exactly match the profile from different directions, do you have images zoomed in on just the canopy from different directions (like front view, side view, etc..) ?

That would definitely help otherwise it will probably be many more rounds of just trying different shapes that then you'll say are not quite exactly right...

Maybe NURBS is just not a good fit for your project or the way that you like to work.

Trying to do contoured surfaces tends to be a more difficult area since they are not as totally clearly defined by side profiles as a purely mechanical shape. So it is pretty natural that things like aircraft and automobiles are some of the more difficult shapes to work on.

- Michael

Hi Kevin,

> Here is my first attempt tackling the shape

Could you please post the .3dm model file and also those blueprint background images? That should help...

- Michael

>Could you please post the .3dm model file and also those blueprint background images?

I'm at work now but will do later tonight when I have access to those files. As far as close up photos of the canopy area goes, no I don't have any. I do however have many slightly distant photos of the aircraft from different angles and will post some of them up as well. It will be enough to get the fuselage canopy blends close enough.