Chapter 01: Preparation

Creating Templates:

The basis for the entire model and perhaps one of the most important aspects to getting the model accurate and a bit of extra work here can save you a lot of time thinking "Why doesn't this line up with that? etc".

1b: You too can have a crumpled mess of plans just like me by carrying them with you everywhere you go for a few months!

The TAMIYA blueprints are and excellent base for the project because they are very accurate and detailed. The box art is also very detailed for extra reference…

I scanned these blueprints very high resolution, so that I could get as much detail out of them as possible. Once they were scanned I created a document in photo shop at 2461 X 1208 (the numbers are irrelevant, it's the shear size that is important), I put the side, top, rear and front layered on top of each other, and lined them all up to the center and with themselves. I inverted the images with an adjustment layer so all of the images looked exactly the same and saved out each layer as its own file… It is important that each image is the same size so they align properly, even though the actual size that an image such as the "rear" diagram only takes up a small about of space in the image.

It pays to check their alignment in the MAX's view port back ground and fix them in photo shop as needed… I did this often.

1d: Make sure "Match Bitmap" and "Lock Zoom/Pan" are checked

Eventually you should end up with something like this in max

1e: Sometimes more complex than you think, accurate maps for guides are very important, try to get them pixel perfect... or else!