@AlexAndrieL: Thanks, glad you like it so far! The metal shader (on the gun I assume) is pretty simple, just broken up with a map 
Just a 4K render of the whole bird in it’s current state as my workstation wasn’t busy 
I spent a lot of time reorganizing all UV’s into a useable UDIM space, renamed all textures etc etc.
Click on image for 4K
Cheers
Andre
:surprised
+1 to your funs army
ps. about metal shader i meat the body.
In addition the glass is awesome too. This thin layer of dirt, oh man… it’s great!
love that beast !!
can’t wait to see it finished …
then may be would you want to take care of uv ? 
@AlexAndrieL: Thanks! Oh yeah the panels have only diffuse and bump/displacement at the moment with a bit of a very subtle soft reflection. Later with the proper maps it’s gonna look correct and better.
@xtrm3d: Thanks bud! Yeah man I can’t wait to wrap this thing up… The UVs of the panels taht are done can be moved into their udim position already. It’s pretty modular.
ok ok… My first question to you Andre…
That rust dripping from the bolts… you use like a stencil or a brush to do it in a separate layer?
…and do you use that layer to contribute to the specular map?
What about the grunge in the tires and rims… it’s painted or did you found a perfect photo texture match?
Thanks!
@utopia780: Most of that stuff is already from photo textures but when I place stains like that manually I extract some stains from photos and use them as stencils. The stains would affect channels like specularity for sure. The tire textures are a mix of photos I blended together. Still needs some work and shading though. Hope that helped a bit
That helped a lot Andre! Thanks!
It looks like my problem is blending things together without looking artificial.
I have to train my texturing skills.
When I get to my wip texturing part I will ask you some advice if you don’t mind.
I can’t even imagine how your MI-24 will look when the shaders are done!
@utopia780: Glad to help out! Yeah getting different things into the same look is just a matter of practise, it’ll work over time Sure ask me whatever you want.
Started working on the tail boom, center panel only atm. panel on top, bottom and other side still to come.
Making all those rivets work for displacement was… fun *K map from the “5211” tp the right.
Click on image for 4K render
Click on image for 4K render
Cheers
Andre
painting displacement for all those rivets was probably a… meditative experience 
Terrific to see the textures come together panel by panel… it’s almost done!! Can’t wait to see it fully textured 
Again Andre your skill is phenomenal, plus similar to @utopia780’s issue it is in texturing my creations where I usually come up short, so your insights are indeed gems and as others have alluded too, I’m drooling…heh at the prospect of seeing the completed textured ultra hi-res model.
Cheers 
@MFlemming: haha yeah VERY meditative Yeah I’m making a lot of progress recently even though it might not look like it. It’s just that every little piece needs a lot of attention.
@Thanks for the nice words, glad you like the stuff. I think one of the most important aspects of making good textures is observation on real world examples. While I am staring for so long onto these high res textures I discover a lot which I keep in my mind.
Woah you’re using Ridgecrest road as your hdri aren’t you? I could be wrong, but the cloud formations seem so similar after checking out the reflections in your glass.
@tewicks: Hehe yes I do but I tweaked the sun and some colors of it to get a bit more a a desert feel.
Updates soon, still scattering thousands of rivets onto the tail boom
Cheers
Andre
Hello! I stumbled across this thread by accident, but I have seen your work elsewhere; specifically with the blackhawks. I was thrilled to read through the this thread and see your workflow. I absolutely love the detail and realism. I can’t wait to see what progress you have in store for us.
I remember you’ve been struggling with scratches on main window. I think that last paper from this site might help you.
Here’s one way to achieve radial scratches with Vray and normal maps
http://viscorbel.com/microscratches-swirl-marks-spiderwebbing-vray-tutorial/
@GStaley: Thanks, glad you like my work so far! Those Blackhawks are ancient by now haha
@Tushkan: Thanks for the link! Yeah the most tricky part is finding a way that gives me ultra fine scratches but without killing the render time with high anti-aliasing.
@scrimski: Thanks for your link as well! Yeah I know that tutorial but I am still fighting to get ultra-thin scratches without killing the AA. Kinda tricky…
Still working on the tail boom which has a million rivets but I’m close to get that one out of the way. Then the tail fin, three panel sections on the fuselage, the two round turbine intakes and the outer hull of the bird has it’s paint
Cheers
Andre
Here it is, my first video tutorial fresh out of the oven.
It’s more of an overview and some general tips. Embrace the heavy German accent
[VIMEO]102439566[/VIMEO]
Please let me know what you think!
Cheers
Andre
I was very happy to see this tutorial and will probably watch it a few more times just to stare at the helicopter. I think I had a good idea of how you built the model, just from following your earlier posts, but it was still very interesting to hear what you had to say about the process. I am sure many people will find it very helpful. If you talked more about some things that were the hardest for you to do and some decisions you had to make along the way, I think that is what would be most educational. Anyway I would be glad to see any more videos you decide to upload.
P.S: This is an amazing and inspiring model and I can’t wait to see some final animations and stills of it.