BOWST (Boom Operator Weapons System Trainer) is a Computer-based, realtime training simulator for KC-135R Stratotanker refueling boom operators. Intended to provide an extremely high degree of realism, the specification for the 3D models of target aircraft was "near-cinematic quality". As this is a realtime system, the geomtery for the models is budgeted to 25k triangles per aircraft...but I was allowed to use textures of up 4k resolution. To give an idea of the texture sizes involved, see the image below, the front side fuselage I painted for the F-16C:

No Popup F16-C_Texture 67 KB 2064 X 255

Southwest Research Institute, the company initially awarded the contract for this simulator, sub-contracted me prepare geometry they provided (mostly bought trhough Turbosquid) to their specifications. 3 levels-of-details were created for each model, but only the LOD1 models are shown here. The aritst who did the original geometry for each plane, when known (I was not provided with this info though, in many cases, I was able to figure it out), will be noted along with each plane. In all cases, I was required to be sure the geometry was accurate and optimize the mesh to meet the project specification. Some models were rebuilt extensively while others were barely touched (the amount I rebuilt is noted for each airplane). I painted all the textures for these airplanes and the models all had to pass an accuracy review by U.S. Air Force personnel before being accept for delivery. Each model used 3 UVed texture maps, a 4k, a 2k and a 1k. Here's a comparison of how 2 of the models appeared as received from the client and how they looked after I modified them.

No Popup Original F16-C 67 KB 1280 X 1024

The original F-16C model was a 10K mesh and not really detailed enough for what the client needed...something like 14 cross-section divisions in the fuselage. Except for the wings, I built new geometry for the model.

No Popup Rebuilt_F-16C 111 KB 1846 X 943

No Popup Original KC-10A 67 KB 1280 X 1024

The original KC-10A model was about 133k faces and I pared it down to about 20k. On this one, I saved the fuselage (though the nose needed to be modified) and built new geometry for the rest.

No Popup Rebuilt KC-10A 96 KB 1886 X 852

These were 2 of the few models that came with any textures at all...most didn't have any. But since the requirement was that the textures be of a very high resolution, simple resizing wouldn't work as the result would be slightly blurry...so I painted new maps even for those models that came with textures.

On highly detailed models, I was able to save a lot of faces by discarding the landing gear and interior parts other than the cockpit (if any were present) since they won't be needed for this application. I did, however, need to add cockpits where they weren't present (as in the original KC-10A, for example) the refueling receptacles, and correct antennae, pitot tubes and angle of attack sensors; since these things could be damaged during the refueling process, they needed to be represented on the models.

The images with Boomer in the title correspond roughly to what the BOWST trainee would see...it was most important that the model look its best from this angle.