Aquila-SmartWargames

You can use these to basically replace any mdr object in the game including flavor objects or vehicles. This means you can "fire and drive" flavor objects basically like shown here with the cargo ship:
This was just a quick test done replacing the BMP2 amphibious APC with the Cargo Ship. It doesn´t make much sense realism wise with such huge ships but could open some options for combined arms including armed forces supported by naval boats (torpedo/gunboats, destroyers). By shore marsh tile placement you could "lock out" the amphibious vehicles from coming to land and other solution for full naval action would be of course to mirror the terrain tiles i.e. turning land into water and vice versa. I`ll upload the ship for bmp testfile to the dropbox.
When replacing flavor objects its important to keep the draw distance of the original in mind. Replacing the crate1.mdr with the blackhawk isn´t a good idea as it will go invisible to quick. The biggest draw distance is provided by flavor objects such as "street (traffic) lamp" and "shelter" etc. It can also be an alternative to better replace an unimportant vehicle (taxi) and give it a destroyed condition, as vehicles have excellent draw distances.
When replacing vehicles with custom flavor objects (or other mods/vehicles), the associated .lod files also have to be replaced too. A quick fix is simply getting this done by creating copies of the main .mdr file and then add -lod-1 to -lod-4 to them. Not all require 4 of them, I think infantry even can have 5 lod files but I always do 4.
Missing picture from the Syrian Winter Minimod:

COMPILATION DOWNLOAD NEW DROPBOX LINK:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
 
Makeshift APC

Container (texture can be recolored)

 

The German FUCHS is probably the ligthest armed amphibious vehicle. It just comes with a hatch 7,62MG.

A list of amphibious vehicles for reference:
 
German Fuchs
Marines AAV7, AAV7C, LAV-M, LAV-M-A2, LAV-25, LAV-25-A2, LAV-ATGM, LAV-ATGM-A2
Syrian BMP-1, BMP-1P(4A), BMP-1P(4C) BMP-1PK(4A), BMP1-PK(4C), BMP-2, BMP-2K, BMP-3, BTR-60PB, BRDM-2, BRDM-2-AT3, BRDM-2-AT5
 
There are 21 seperate amphibious vehicle models to work with.
Every vehicle on this list can be seperately replaced. In other words for example you can replace the AAV-7C with something new while the AAV-7 remains unaffected. 
 

Perhaps you could use this for one of the H&E scenarios.

Not a beauty but simple and resource friendly and thus more can be placed. For editor interaction the original flavor object is located on the see floor. I resized it to test if the fov issues go away but then the model got catapulted out of bounds. However for medium sized objects that are not always in point black front of the player its not that noticeable. 
File is too big, I moved it to my dropbox. 

Thanks Aquila...   Keep up the amazing work you are doing!   

Deleting faces works like a charm I had a problem with deleting vertices, however I didn´t test if its still present in your new CM2T version as deleting faces is a pretty fine method for me.
 
Okay additionally to the written tutorial here is some footage of me working on stuff, everything is without commentary as usual. You see me struggle there with alot and some steps I wouldn´t do as I´ve learned more in the meantime. Alot goes now alot quicker and easier. Also the tools got updated and there are slightly differences now there. Most important the EXPORT METADATA option upon exporting (check written tutorial above): The videos are in chronology of how I found my way but you don´t obligatory have to watch them all or in order. The Blackhawk Video is the most vital one when it comes to designing new flavor objects and should work well alongside the written tutorial.
1) Design of a Makeshift VBIED (complete process, working with existing CM2 vehicles, NO CUSTOM models)
 
2) Design of the Humvee Wreck (working with EXISTING models, the model gave me alot of headache because i was moving the original CM primer flavor object around, which also results in the Humvee being abit afloat (use rubble or holes to mask it), today I would not touch the CM flavor primer object and simply turn it invisible with a blank texture (see written tutorial).
 
3) Making the Humvee Wreck look more destroyed (CUTTING FACES, working with EXISTING models)
 
4) Updating my Battle M2 Humvee V1 to V2 (involves CUTTING & SCULPTING Techniques, EXISTING models)
 
5) Complete Design of a DIY Syrian Makeshift APC (EXISTING MODELS, TEXTURE DESIGN TECHNIQUES in GIMP2) Shows the issues that arise when working with complex multi-part items like gun turret mounts. I tried to replace the track with wheels but as you can see in the end they look strange when driving thus I put  the track back.
 
6) Design of the downed Blackhawk Flavor Object, (WORKING WITH NEW FLAVOR MODELS, CUTTING) As texture I simply used existing CMSF2´s "concrete-black.bmp" as I had no clue what to do else. The video ends with the an export error. This was a day before sbobovyc updated his tools with the "EXPORT METADATA" option. By turning this off, the major breakthrough was achieved. Today I would use a SHELTER as original flavor "primer" object as I believe it has less FOV issues when being close to the new custom model. I also would move the helicopter parts into the primer and not vice versa and do not change the primer´s height. I would also keep everything at center (green red line intersection).
 

Yes the blank.bmp is an handy tool in many CM modding efforts. With Blender CM2 tools you can go a step farer and blank out specific model parts.

This is my "way and method" how I got to the finish. Perhaps there are steps that aren´t required or not best.
 
CUSTOM FLAVOR OBJECTS FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD:
1) Install Anaconda Python 3.X (Google)
2) Install Blender Software (Google)
3) Install a Photoshop Software. Free good Tool: GIMP2 (Google)
3) Check CM2Tools Plugin Authors Github page https://github.com/sbobovyc/CM2Tools for info and plugin download. Also his BFForums thread (1st post) Watch Plugin Author´s Import/Export Tutorial (1st Post)
4) Install Plugin like shown in these Videos
5) Take the original .brz files in data of your WW2 or Modern CM2 game and put it into "Input" of Combat Mission X/ModTools/Rezexplode and unpack them
6) Go and find a custom 3D Model of your liking in one of the Blender formats (advanced users may convert them). You can check comptatible formats in Blender under File/Import. Free 3D Databases in 1st Post and recent big post of me. Check that it comes with textures. 
7) Start Blender, delete the placeholder cube you don´t need it, with add/lamp/hemisphere in the lower interface you can make everything brighter. It is sometimes very dark.
8 ) I start with importing an original "primer" Cm2 flavor object. Without this step no custom models show up in CM2 (there is likely some essential info stored into them). They are located in your unpacked CM2 game files. Often under terrain/flavor objects/models. Import for example "shelter1.mdr" into blender with file/import/mdr. Check "import metadata" and "transform", I have 4 checkmarks there. May not be required for flavors but for standarization I always do this. For smaller projects you can use smaller stuff like crate1.mdr.
9) You see a CM2 shelter, there is a small ball dropdown in the lower interface, you can change to "materials" or "textures" so see it with textures
10) Now again file/import/ choose the format of your custom model download and import it aswell. Check if textures are shown, I am no 3d artists some models are riddles and I dismiss them because I can´t handle them. Easy model to start training was the fire truck and ambulance https://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/432872
11) You see it, it may be extremely gigantic, extremly small, you need to resize it and move it with these three colored arrows, some objects have multiple entities, use usual windows shift commands for multi selection to move all at once to keep them in cohesion. The original CM2 shelter is your orientation. Where the CM2 shelter is, is the center, where its fundament is, is the ground. Delete stuff you don´t want with right  click "delete hierarchy" in the right interface (I call it Order of Battle, first time is like a battle but don´t give up 😂) . You can move stuff into the space of the original Shelter, no problem but AVOID moving,modifying the box, its your center of the world. Use undo/redo under lower interface/object if you mess up. You can perhaps modify it but I don´t know how and it often leads to problems when exporting with flying models in the sky etc.
12) When you are done, move every custom entitity into the shelter´s folder in the right interface (pros call it make it parent), you can do that by simple drag and drop the symbol of the entitiy. (Author´s Tutorial shows this).
13) Textures of custom models most time come with wrong format. Start GIMP2, load textures into it, go to export, choose file extension "BMP", check 24bit and "do not write info bla" and export it. This is the required format for CM2. 
14) Now difficult part you need to replace the texture connections in BLENDER with new BMP. Its in the Right Interface looks like a chessboard ball and square. There you need to remove (x symbol) and to add the bmp. This is somewhat complicated and I to this day don´t know what I am doing. With Trial and Error you get everything show up with your texture.BMPs
15) (optional) you can turn models or model parts invisible with a blank texture (post attachment) in CM2. Also your primer shelter if it is outside the custom model for example.
15a) IMPORTANT: There is something I forget, some models need to be "triangulated". Sounds super complicated but what you just need to do is select the custom model entity, press TAB, and then SHIFT+T, done. If you ever see a "perforated" custom model in your CM game its this step you´ve missed.
16) When everything is textured you are now ready to export. In the right interface select the root entry (your shelter.mdr entitiy with all bells and whistles in it), right click, select hierarchy, everything gets an yellow outline. Check that you are on OBJECT MODE (lower interface) Go to file/export/mdr and do it, make sure that "export metadata" is OFF and do it.
17) create a folder with your new .mdr file and put all textures in it you´ve used. For reverse engineering and helping others I suggest you save an additional blender file (file/save) and put it into it so others can learn from this.
18) rename the untitled.mdr to an flavor object of your liking. Draw Distance is dependant on what you replace. Do not make a cargo ship and call it crate1.mdr, very bad idea it will pop out after 100m distance. Better draw distance comes from big stuff like shelter1,2,3.mdr and best likely are street trafic light or Black Sea monument or big WW2 shelter.
19) throw your ready folder into the Z mod folder
20) go into editor, map, flavor objects place the flavor object you just´ve replaced and check, first time errors will happen you WILL see nothing, you WILL see black models, process of learning but you will prevail.
 
CUSTOM VEHICLES FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD (just different step):
16) Turn "EXPORT METADATA ON", do not forget otherwise all tire and track wheels will look like you´re watching a Transformers movie. This on the other hand means there are difficulties replacing vehicles or vehicle parts with custom models as custom models require "EXPORT METADATA OFF" so if you want a custom ride with wheels or track wheels with current CM2 tools this seems not possible AFAIK but you can do surely do boats as these naturally don´t require wheels.
HOWEVER: You can mix/match several CM2 vehicles by importing them all and switching their parts. Its a bit like playing Car Mechanic simulator, no joke 😂. NEVER FORGET when importing set "IMPORT METADATA" and "TRANSFORM" and always "EXPORT METADATA" when working with vehicles, do alot of backups, if you once miss this and save info is lost, I lost an hour work because I forgot as you don´t notice that you forgot to import/export metadata. Since this I always stop breathing for a moment when I give my custom CM rides the first move command. 
You can also sculpt and cut parts by moving the vertices or selecting specific model parts in EDIT MODE (Tab) with Wireframe Model (Z) and deselecting (A) (pixels that connect everything) in edit mode. I always USE DELETE FACES not delete vertices as otherwise I got export errors afterwards. Check my Humvee V2 creation video, no commentary for doing this live. But sculpting completely new vehicles out of existing ones requires 3D Artist maestros and is alot of work. 
I had 5-10 lines of text in mind before writing this, very naive. Honestly now after writing this I see that a written tutorial wasn´t the best idea and I don´t know if this will make any sense but perhaps it helps one and somebody can come up with a decent video tutorial. Don´t get scared by Blender´s interface, for Combat Mission stuff you do not need 99,9% of it.
blank.bmp

double post

In the course of dozen playthroughs and experiments with Blender/CM2 Tools (http://community.battlefront.com/topic/118928-combat-mission-modding-tools/) several assets were created which I want to share with the community:
Big Cargo Ship

 
BF109

 
Radar Station

 
Downed Blackhawk

 
Fire Truck

 
Ambulance

 
Barricade + optional Smoke/Burn Stash (Wreck, an invisible alternative is created by 37MM)

 
Barricade (three sizes)

 
Humvee V3 Woodland (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V3 Desert (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V2 Geardo Desert (Permanent Full Gear) 

 
AFRICAN UNCON (now also including conventional African Forces conversion by 37MM, original work by MikeyD) 

 
Falklands War Scorpion, Scimitar, and Argentinian LVTP-7 conversion

 
Makeshift VBIED

 
Humvee Wreck

 
Uncaged M2 Stryker

 
Marines to Army Special Forces or Navy SEALS conversion skins (including work of mjkerner, Combatinfman, Blimey)

 
BMP1/2 to BMD1/2 conversion (with corrected hatches)

 
Desert KAMAZ Skin

 
Marines frankensteined Armored MTVR Skin

 
New Syrian Special Forces and Woodland vehicles (based on the work of various modders)

 
Syrian Winter Mod (just terrain and partial "winterization" of vehicles, created for a Hasrabit Campaign playthrough)

 
PK Pickup to PK UAZ conversion

 
Russian Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
US Army & Marines Woodland Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
All these mods and many more can be found in this Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
Credits to modders, 3D-Artists, and Battlefront.
For better quality footage and more information about 3D custom models check out the recent videos & descpriptions here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK7fSyoEE8aorVLlVfNcAQ
The custom flavor objects have a "crate1" box placed into their center. Click it to interact with its placing. Zoom into the model if difficult. There are some FOV issues with bigger flavor objects can perhaps fixed by making the original "crate1" box bigger in Blender/CM2tools. Combine flavor objects with "visible/invisible" wreck objects to give them obstacle characteristics.
Good free library of 3D models you could use for importing. .max does not work with Blender. There are others.
http://www.cadnav.com/
Tutorials on Blender and CM2Tools can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbTOSIrNV0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVAMaELSao&feature=youtu.be
The main intent was to explore the possibilities of this method. As I see this as accomplished I´ll step back now and hope it will motivate others to get into it. Prior getting into custom CM models I had absolute zero experience in 3D modelling, Blender or whatever but found my way into it in a short period of time and once you figure out the specifics it is not that difficult. Give it a try.  Anyone interested in custom CM models can reach out on Discord.
Happy wargaming.

Deleting faces works like a charm I had a problem with deleting vertices, however I didn´t test if its still present in your new CM2T version as deleting faces is a pretty fine method for me.
 
Okay additionally to the written tutorial here is some footage of me working on stuff, everything is without commentary as usual. You see me struggle there with alot and some steps I wouldn´t do as I´ve learned more in the meantime. Alot goes now alot quicker and easier. Also the tools got updated and there are slightly differences now there. Most important the EXPORT METADATA option upon exporting (check written tutorial above): The videos are in chronology of how I found my way but you don´t obligatory have to watch them all or in order. The Blackhawk Video is the most vital one when it comes to designing new flavor objects and should work well alongside the written tutorial.
1) Design of a Makeshift VBIED (complete process, working with existing CM2 vehicles, NO CUSTOM models)
 
2) Design of the Humvee Wreck (working with EXISTING models, the model gave me alot of headache because i was moving the original CM primer flavor object around, which also results in the Humvee being abit afloat (use rubble or holes to mask it), today I would not touch the CM flavor primer object and simply turn it invisible with a blank texture (see written tutorial).
 
3) Making the Humvee Wreck look more destroyed (CUTTING FACES, working with EXISTING models)
 
4) Updating my Battle M2 Humvee V1 to V2 (involves CUTTING & SCULPTING Techniques, EXISTING models)
 
5) Complete Design of a DIY Syrian Makeshift APC (EXISTING MODELS, TEXTURE DESIGN TECHNIQUES in GIMP2) Shows the issues that arise when working with complex multi-part items like gun turret mounts. I tried to replace the track with wheels but as you can see in the end they look strange when driving thus I put  the track back.
 
6) Design of the downed Blackhawk Flavor Object, (WORKING WITH NEW FLAVOR MODELS, CUTTING) As texture I simply used existing CMSF2´s "concrete-black.bmp" as I had no clue what to do else. The video ends with the an export error. This was a day before sbobovyc updated his tools with the "EXPORT METADATA" option. By turning this off, the major breakthrough was achieved. Today I would use a SHELTER as original flavor "primer" object as I believe it has less FOV issues when being close to the new custom model. I also would move the helicopter parts into the primer and not vice versa and do not change the primer´s height. I would also keep everything at center (green red line intersection).
 

This is my "way and method" how I got to the finish. Perhaps there are steps that aren´t required or not best.
 
CUSTOM FLAVOR OBJECTS FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD:
1) Install Anaconda Python 3.X (Google)
2) Install Blender Software (Google)
3) Install a Photoshop Software. Free good Tool: GIMP2 (Google)
3) Check CM2Tools Plugin Authors Github page https://github.com/sbobovyc/CM2Tools for info and plugin download. Also his BFForums thread (1st post) Watch Plugin Author´s Import/Export Tutorial (1st Post)
4) Install Plugin like shown in these Videos
5) Take the original .brz files in data of your WW2 or Modern CM2 game and put it into "Input" of Combat Mission X/ModTools/Rezexplode and unpack them
6) Go and find a custom 3D Model of your liking in one of the Blender formats (advanced users may convert them). You can check comptatible formats in Blender under File/Import. Free 3D Databases in 1st Post and recent big post of me. Check that it comes with textures. 
7) Start Blender, delete the placeholder cube you don´t need it, with add/lamp/hemisphere in the lower interface you can make everything brighter. It is sometimes very dark.
8 ) I start with importing an original "primer" Cm2 flavor object. Without this step no custom models show up in CM2 (there is likely some essential info stored into them). They are located in your unpacked CM2 game files. Often under terrain/flavor objects/models. Import for example "shelter1.mdr" into blender with file/import/mdr. Check "import metadata" and "transform", I have 4 checkmarks there. May not be required for flavors but for standarization I always do this. For smaller projects you can use smaller stuff like crate1.mdr.
9) You see a CM2 shelter, there is a small ball dropdown in the lower interface, you can change to "materials" or "textures" so see it with textures
10) Now again file/import/ choose the format of your custom model download and import it aswell. Check if textures are shown, I am no 3d artists some models are riddles and I dismiss them because I can´t handle them. Easy model to start training was the fire truck and ambulance https://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/432872
11) You see it, it may be extremely gigantic, extremly small, you need to resize it and move it with these three colored arrows, some objects have multiple entities, use usual windows shift commands for multi selection to move all at once to keep them in cohesion. The original CM2 shelter is your orientation. Where the CM2 shelter is, is the center, where its fundament is, is the ground. Delete stuff you don´t want with right  click "delete hierarchy" in the right interface (I call it Order of Battle, first time is like a battle but don´t give up 😂) . You can move stuff into the space of the original Shelter, no problem but AVOID moving,modifying the box, its your center of the world. Use undo/redo under lower interface/object if you mess up. You can perhaps modify it but I don´t know how and it often leads to problems when exporting with flying models in the sky etc.
12) When you are done, move every custom entitity into the shelter´s folder in the right interface (pros call it make it parent), you can do that by simple drag and drop the symbol of the entitiy. (Author´s Tutorial shows this).
13) Textures of custom models most time come with wrong format. Start GIMP2, load textures into it, go to export, choose file extension "BMP", check 24bit and "do not write info bla" and export it. This is the required format for CM2. 
14) Now difficult part you need to replace the texture connections in BLENDER with new BMP. Its in the Right Interface looks like a chessboard ball and square. There you need to remove (x symbol) and to add the bmp. This is somewhat complicated and I to this day don´t know what I am doing. With Trial and Error you get everything show up with your texture.BMPs
15) (optional) you can turn models or model parts invisible with a blank texture (post attachment) in CM2. Also your primer shelter if it is outside the custom model for example.
15a) IMPORTANT: There is something I forget, some models need to be "triangulated". Sounds super complicated but what you just need to do is select the custom model entity, press TAB, and then SHIFT+T, done. If you ever see a "perforated" custom model in your CM game its this step you´ve missed.
16) When everything is textured you are now ready to export. In the right interface select the root entry (your shelter.mdr entitiy with all bells and whistles in it), right click, select hierarchy, everything gets an yellow outline. Check that you are on OBJECT MODE (lower interface) Go to file/export/mdr and do it, make sure that "export metadata" is OFF and do it.
17) create a folder with your new .mdr file and put all textures in it you´ve used. For reverse engineering and helping others I suggest you save an additional blender file (file/save) and put it into it so others can learn from this.
18) rename the untitled.mdr to an flavor object of your liking. Draw Distance is dependant on what you replace. Do not make a cargo ship and call it crate1.mdr, very bad idea it will pop out after 100m distance. Better draw distance comes from big stuff like shelter1,2,3.mdr and best likely are street trafic light or Black Sea monument or big WW2 shelter.
19) throw your ready folder into the Z mod folder
20) go into editor, map, flavor objects place the flavor object you just´ve replaced and check, first time errors will happen you WILL see nothing, you WILL see black models, process of learning but you will prevail.
 
CUSTOM VEHICLES FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD (just different step):
16) Turn "EXPORT METADATA ON", do not forget otherwise all tire and track wheels will look like you´re watching a Transformers movie. This on the other hand means there are difficulties replacing vehicles or vehicle parts with custom models as custom models require "EXPORT METADATA OFF" so if you want a custom ride with wheels or track wheels with current CM2 tools this seems not possible AFAIK but you can do surely do boats as these naturally don´t require wheels.
HOWEVER: You can mix/match several CM2 vehicles by importing them all and switching their parts. Its a bit like playing Car Mechanic simulator, no joke 😂. NEVER FORGET when importing set "IMPORT METADATA" and "TRANSFORM" and always "EXPORT METADATA" when working with vehicles, do alot of backups, if you once miss this and save info is lost, I lost an hour work because I forgot as you don´t notice that you forgot to import/export metadata. Since this I always stop breathing for a moment when I give my custom CM rides the first move command. 
You can also sculpt and cut parts by moving the vertices or selecting specific model parts in EDIT MODE (Tab) with Wireframe Model (Z) and deselecting (A) (pixels that connect everything) in edit mode. I always USE DELETE FACES not delete vertices as otherwise I got export errors afterwards. Check my Humvee V2 creation video, no commentary for doing this live. But sculpting completely new vehicles out of existing ones requires 3D Artist maestros and is alot of work. 
I had 5-10 lines of text in mind before writing this, very naive. Honestly now after writing this I see that a written tutorial wasn´t the best idea and I don´t know if this will make any sense but perhaps it helps one and somebody can come up with a decent video tutorial. Don´t get scared by Blender´s interface, for Combat Mission stuff you do not need 99,9% of it.
blank.bmp

This is my "way and method" how I got to the finish. Perhaps there are steps that aren´t required or not best.
 
CUSTOM FLAVOR OBJECTS FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD:
1) Install Anaconda Python 3.X (Google)
2) Install Blender Software (Google)
3) Install a Photoshop Software. Free good Tool: GIMP2 (Google)
3) Check CM2Tools Plugin Authors Github page https://github.com/sbobovyc/CM2Tools for info and plugin download. Also his BFForums thread (1st post) Watch Plugin Author´s Import/Export Tutorial (1st Post)
4) Install Plugin like shown in these Videos
5) Take the original .brz files in data of your WW2 or Modern CM2 game and put it into "Input" of Combat Mission X/ModTools/Rezexplode and unpack them
6) Go and find a custom 3D Model of your liking in one of the Blender formats (advanced users may convert them). You can check comptatible formats in Blender under File/Import. Free 3D Databases in 1st Post and recent big post of me. Check that it comes with textures. 
7) Start Blender, delete the placeholder cube you don´t need it, with add/lamp/hemisphere in the lower interface you can make everything brighter. It is sometimes very dark.
8 ) I start with importing an original "primer" Cm2 flavor object. Without this step no custom models show up in CM2 (there is likely some essential info stored into them). They are located in your unpacked CM2 game files. Often under terrain/flavor objects/models. Import for example "shelter1.mdr" into blender with file/import/mdr. Check "import metadata" and "transform", I have 4 checkmarks there. May not be required for flavors but for standarization I always do this. For smaller projects you can use smaller stuff like crate1.mdr.
9) You see a CM2 shelter, there is a small ball dropdown in the lower interface, you can change to "materials" or "textures" so see it with textures
10) Now again file/import/ choose the format of your custom model download and import it aswell. Check if textures are shown, I am no 3d artists some models are riddles and I dismiss them because I can´t handle them. Easy model to start training was the fire truck and ambulance https://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/432872
11) You see it, it may be extremely gigantic, extremly small, you need to resize it and move it with these three colored arrows, some objects have multiple entities, use usual windows shift commands for multi selection to move all at once to keep them in cohesion. The original CM2 shelter is your orientation. Where the CM2 shelter is, is the center, where its fundament is, is the ground. Delete stuff you don´t want with right  click "delete hierarchy" in the right interface (I call it Order of Battle, first time is like a battle but don´t give up 😂) . You can move stuff into the space of the original Shelter, no problem but AVOID moving,modifying the box, its your center of the world. Use undo/redo under lower interface/object if you mess up. You can perhaps modify it but I don´t know how and it often leads to problems when exporting with flying models in the sky etc.
12) When you are done, move every custom entitity into the shelter´s folder in the right interface (pros call it make it parent), you can do that by simple drag and drop the symbol of the entitiy. (Author´s Tutorial shows this).
13) Textures of custom models most time come with wrong format. Start GIMP2, load textures into it, go to export, choose file extension "BMP", check 24bit and "do not write info bla" and export it. This is the required format for CM2. 
14) Now difficult part you need to replace the texture connections in BLENDER with new BMP. Its in the Right Interface looks like a chessboard ball and square. There you need to remove (x symbol) and to add the bmp. This is somewhat complicated and I to this day don´t know what I am doing. With Trial and Error you get everything show up with your texture.BMPs
15) (optional) you can turn models or model parts invisible with a blank texture (post attachment) in CM2. Also your primer shelter if it is outside the custom model for example.
15a) IMPORTANT: There is something I forget, some models need to be "triangulated". Sounds super complicated but what you just need to do is select the custom model entity, press TAB, and then SHIFT+T, done. If you ever see a "perforated" custom model in your CM game its this step you´ve missed.
16) When everything is textured you are now ready to export. In the right interface select the root entry (your shelter.mdr entitiy with all bells and whistles in it), right click, select hierarchy, everything gets an yellow outline. Check that you are on OBJECT MODE (lower interface) Go to file/export/mdr and do it, make sure that "export metadata" is OFF and do it.
17) create a folder with your new .mdr file and put all textures in it you´ve used. For reverse engineering and helping others I suggest you save an additional blender file (file/save) and put it into it so others can learn from this.
18) rename the untitled.mdr to an flavor object of your liking. Draw Distance is dependant on what you replace. Do not make a cargo ship and call it crate1.mdr, very bad idea it will pop out after 100m distance. Better draw distance comes from big stuff like shelter1,2,3.mdr and best likely are street trafic light or Black Sea monument or big WW2 shelter.
19) throw your ready folder into the Z mod folder
20) go into editor, map, flavor objects place the flavor object you just´ve replaced and check, first time errors will happen you WILL see nothing, you WILL see black models, process of learning but you will prevail.
 
CUSTOM VEHICLES FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD (just different step):
16) Turn "EXPORT METADATA ON", do not forget otherwise all tire and track wheels will look like you´re watching a Transformers movie. This on the other hand means there are difficulties replacing vehicles or vehicle parts with custom models as custom models require "EXPORT METADATA OFF" so if you want a custom ride with wheels or track wheels with current CM2 tools this seems not possible AFAIK but you can do surely do boats as these naturally don´t require wheels.
HOWEVER: You can mix/match several CM2 vehicles by importing them all and switching their parts. Its a bit like playing Car Mechanic simulator, no joke 😂. NEVER FORGET when importing set "IMPORT METADATA" and "TRANSFORM" and always "EXPORT METADATA" when working with vehicles, do alot of backups, if you once miss this and save info is lost, I lost an hour work because I forgot as you don´t notice that you forgot to import/export metadata. Since this I always stop breathing for a moment when I give my custom CM rides the first move command. 
You can also sculpt and cut parts by moving the vertices or selecting specific model parts in EDIT MODE (Tab) with Wireframe Model (Z) and deselecting (A) (pixels that connect everything) in edit mode. I always USE DELETE FACES not delete vertices as otherwise I got export errors afterwards. Check my Humvee V2 creation video, no commentary for doing this live. But sculpting completely new vehicles out of existing ones requires 3D Artist maestros and is alot of work. 
I had 5-10 lines of text in mind before writing this, very naive. Honestly now after writing this I see that a written tutorial wasn´t the best idea and I don´t know if this will make any sense but perhaps it helps one and somebody can come up with a decent video tutorial. Don´t get scared by Blender´s interface, for Combat Mission stuff you do not need 99,9% of it.
blank.bmp

This is my "way and method" how I got to the finish. Perhaps there are steps that aren´t required or not best.
 
CUSTOM FLAVOR OBJECTS FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD:
1) Install Anaconda Python 3.X (Google)
2) Install Blender Software (Google)
3) Install a Photoshop Software. Free good Tool: GIMP2 (Google)
3) Check CM2Tools Plugin Authors Github page https://github.com/sbobovyc/CM2Tools for info and plugin download. Also his BFForums thread (1st post) Watch Plugin Author´s Import/Export Tutorial (1st Post)
4) Install Plugin like shown in these Videos
5) Take the original .brz files in data of your WW2 or Modern CM2 game and put it into "Input" of Combat Mission X/ModTools/Rezexplode and unpack them
6) Go and find a custom 3D Model of your liking in one of the Blender formats (advanced users may convert them). You can check comptatible formats in Blender under File/Import. Free 3D Databases in 1st Post and recent big post of me. Check that it comes with textures. 
7) Start Blender, delete the placeholder cube you don´t need it, with add/lamp/hemisphere in the lower interface you can make everything brighter. It is sometimes very dark.
8 ) I start with importing an original "primer" Cm2 flavor object. Without this step no custom models show up in CM2 (there is likely some essential info stored into them). They are located in your unpacked CM2 game files. Often under terrain/flavor objects/models. Import for example "shelter1.mdr" into blender with file/import/mdr. Check "import metadata" and "transform", I have 4 checkmarks there. May not be required for flavors but for standarization I always do this. For smaller projects you can use smaller stuff like crate1.mdr.
9) You see a CM2 shelter, there is a small ball dropdown in the lower interface, you can change to "materials" or "textures" so see it with textures
10) Now again file/import/ choose the format of your custom model download and import it aswell. Check if textures are shown, I am no 3d artists some models are riddles and I dismiss them because I can´t handle them. Easy model to start training was the fire truck and ambulance https://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/432872
11) You see it, it may be extremely gigantic, extremly small, you need to resize it and move it with these three colored arrows, some objects have multiple entities, use usual windows shift commands for multi selection to move all at once to keep them in cohesion. The original CM2 shelter is your orientation. Where the CM2 shelter is, is the center, where its fundament is, is the ground. Delete stuff you don´t want with right  click "delete hierarchy" in the right interface (I call it Order of Battle, first time is like a battle but don´t give up 😂) . You can move stuff into the space of the original Shelter, no problem but AVOID moving,modifying the box, its your center of the world. Use undo/redo under lower interface/object if you mess up. You can perhaps modify it but I don´t know how and it often leads to problems when exporting with flying models in the sky etc.
12) When you are done, move every custom entitity into the shelter´s folder in the right interface (pros call it make it parent), you can do that by simple drag and drop the symbol of the entitiy. (Author´s Tutorial shows this).
13) Textures of custom models most time come with wrong format. Start GIMP2, load textures into it, go to export, choose file extension "BMP", check 24bit and "do not write info bla" and export it. This is the required format for CM2. 
14) Now difficult part you need to replace the texture connections in BLENDER with new BMP. Its in the Right Interface looks like a chessboard ball and square. There you need to remove (x symbol) and to add the bmp. This is somewhat complicated and I to this day don´t know what I am doing. With Trial and Error you get everything show up with your texture.BMPs
15) (optional) you can turn models or model parts invisible with a blank texture (post attachment) in CM2. Also your primer shelter if it is outside the custom model for example.
15a) IMPORTANT: There is something I forget, some models need to be "triangulated". Sounds super complicated but what you just need to do is select the custom model entity, press TAB, and then SHIFT+T, done. If you ever see a "perforated" custom model in your CM game its this step you´ve missed.
16) When everything is textured you are now ready to export. In the right interface select the root entry (your shelter.mdr entitiy with all bells and whistles in it), right click, select hierarchy, everything gets an yellow outline. Check that you are on OBJECT MODE (lower interface) Go to file/export/mdr and do it, make sure that "export metadata" is OFF and do it.
17) create a folder with your new .mdr file and put all textures in it you´ve used. For reverse engineering and helping others I suggest you save an additional blender file (file/save) and put it into it so others can learn from this.
18) rename the untitled.mdr to an flavor object of your liking. Draw Distance is dependant on what you replace. Do not make a cargo ship and call it crate1.mdr, very bad idea it will pop out after 100m distance. Better draw distance comes from big stuff like shelter1,2,3.mdr and best likely are street trafic light or Black Sea monument or big WW2 shelter.
19) throw your ready folder into the Z mod folder
20) go into editor, map, flavor objects place the flavor object you just´ve replaced and check, first time errors will happen you WILL see nothing, you WILL see black models, process of learning but you will prevail.
 
CUSTOM VEHICLES FOR WW2 AND MODERN AQUILA METHOD (just different step):
16) Turn "EXPORT METADATA ON", do not forget otherwise all tire and track wheels will look like you´re watching a Transformers movie. This on the other hand means there are difficulties replacing vehicles or vehicle parts with custom models as custom models require "EXPORT METADATA OFF" so if you want a custom ride with wheels or track wheels with current CM2 tools this seems not possible AFAIK but you can do surely do boats as these naturally don´t require wheels.
HOWEVER: You can mix/match several CM2 vehicles by importing them all and switching their parts. Its a bit like playing Car Mechanic simulator, no joke 😂. NEVER FORGET when importing set "IMPORT METADATA" and "TRANSFORM" and always "EXPORT METADATA" when working with vehicles, do alot of backups, if you once miss this and save info is lost, I lost an hour work because I forgot as you don´t notice that you forgot to import/export metadata. Since this I always stop breathing for a moment when I give my custom CM rides the first move command. 
You can also sculpt and cut parts by moving the vertices or selecting specific model parts in EDIT MODE (Tab) with Wireframe Model (Z) and deselecting (A) (pixels that connect everything) in edit mode. I always USE DELETE FACES not delete vertices as otherwise I got export errors afterwards. Check my Humvee V2 creation video, no commentary for doing this live. But sculpting completely new vehicles out of existing ones requires 3D Artist maestros and is alot of work. 
I had 5-10 lines of text in mind before writing this, very naive. Honestly now after writing this I see that a written tutorial wasn´t the best idea and I don´t know if this will make any sense but perhaps it helps one and somebody can come up with a decent video tutorial. Don´t get scared by Blender´s interface, for Combat Mission stuff you do not need 99,9% of it.
blank.bmp

+1.  Thanks my friend.  Just subscribed.  

Here you can find all...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK7fSyoEE8aorVLlVfNcAQ

Aquila-CM's excellent work motivated me to release the metadata update. The infantry file format is different than static objects, and though I made some progress reverse engineering it I would like to finish up mdr first. 

Depending on model and practice some can be converted in a couple of minutes.
Ironically it was what seemed to be the easiest job that gave me the biggest headache - the CMA Kamaz ZSU which ends up with its gun shooting backwards when being model swapped for the Pickup ZSU.
1) What the finished model has to look like in the 3D editor

 
2) Sekrit Formula?
 
3) What appears ingame

In the course of dozen playthroughs and experiments with Blender/CM2 Tools (http://community.battlefront.com/topic/118928-combat-mission-modding-tools/) several assets were created which I want to share with the community:
Big Cargo Ship

 
BF109

 
Radar Station

 
Downed Blackhawk

 
Fire Truck

 
Ambulance

 
Barricade + optional Smoke/Burn Stash (Wreck, an invisible alternative is created by 37MM)

 
Barricade (three sizes)

 
Humvee V3 Woodland (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V3 Desert (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V2 Geardo Desert (Permanent Full Gear) 

 
AFRICAN UNCON (now also including conventional African Forces conversion by 37MM, original work by MikeyD) 

 
Falklands War Scorpion, Scimitar, and Argentinian LVTP-7 conversion

 
Makeshift VBIED

 
Humvee Wreck

 
Uncaged M2 Stryker

 
Marines to Army Special Forces or Navy SEALS conversion skins (including work of mjkerner, Combatinfman, Blimey)

 
BMP1/2 to BMD1/2 conversion (with corrected hatches)

 
Desert KAMAZ Skin

 
Marines frankensteined Armored MTVR Skin

 
New Syrian Special Forces and Woodland vehicles (based on the work of various modders)

 
Syrian Winter Mod (just terrain and partial "winterization" of vehicles, created for a Hasrabit Campaign playthrough)

 
PK Pickup to PK UAZ conversion

 
Russian Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
US Army & Marines Woodland Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
All these mods and many more can be found in this Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
Credits to modders, 3D-Artists, and Battlefront.
For better quality footage and more information about 3D custom models check out the recent videos & descpriptions here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK7fSyoEE8aorVLlVfNcAQ
The custom flavor objects have a "crate1" box placed into their center. Click it to interact with its placing. Zoom into the model if difficult. There are some FOV issues with bigger flavor objects can perhaps fixed by making the original "crate1" box bigger in Blender/CM2tools. Combine flavor objects with "visible/invisible" wreck objects to give them obstacle characteristics.
Good free library of 3D models you could use for importing. .max does not work with Blender. There are others.
http://www.cadnav.com/
Tutorials on Blender and CM2Tools can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbTOSIrNV0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVAMaELSao&feature=youtu.be
The main intent was to explore the possibilities of this method. As I see this as accomplished I´ll step back now and hope it will motivate others to get into it. Prior getting into custom CM models I had absolute zero experience in 3D modelling, Blender or whatever but found my way into it in a short period of time and once you figure out the specifics it is not that difficult. Give it a try.  Anyone interested in custom CM models can reach out on Discord.
Happy wargaming.

Yes as one of the last models I want to design out of initiative  is a WW2 Landing Craft as it often comes up and the described trick here with placing a bridge or terrain beneath a ship makes this even more interesting.
Beside this I try to get a simple civillian truck into the game like this one:
 
I am pretty sure this would be an great flavor addition for many scenarios and situations aswell.But I´m having troubles to find something easy to import.
I took a look and you are right the kiosk/shelter are probably the biggest flavour objects in game, there is unfortunately nothing very wide, but using a (invisible) shelter instead of the box as an primer in Blender will perhaps help with FOV. I have the feeling there is a better solution to be found by someone else.
Like already mentioned I want to step back a bit and if just take priority jobs from scenario designers, especially campaign designers as one who checked out my channel knows that I love campaigns and can´t get enough of them. My list:
1st) A Black Hawk Down-like scenario/campaign (historical/fictional)
2nd) Modern War on Drugs/Cartels, fictional US campaign in the mood of movies such as "Sicario"
3rd) Road to Bagdhad, Invasion of Iraq 2003 (Battle of Najaf, Karbala, Basra, Karbala-Gap etc.)
4rd) Anything in the African Theathre (historical/fictional)
5rd) Battle of Takur Ghar, Afghanistan - I would design a CH-47 Chinook for it, snow terrain check, special forces skins check, dramatized in players interest like it was done with the NEPTUNE SPEAR scenario, good scenario start would be when the Rangers QRF arrive after the initial engagement of the SEALs, I would design a CH-47 Chinook for it.
6th) Battle of Qala-i-Jangi, Afghanistan - a really controversial story but would give an interesting battle - I always was interested in the Taliban´s POV on that but for gaming purposes playing Dostum´s North Alliance alongside with the CIA Special Activities Division, UK Special Boat Service, and US Army Special Forces in an semi historical dramatized scenario would be likely more interesting for gaming purposes
7th) Operation Red Wings Battle of Abbas Ghar, Afghanistan
8th) 1st/2nd Fallujah, Anything from any modern conflict, anyhing about ISIS uprise and downfall no matter if historical/semi/fictional or what factions involved. Seeing the Russian Forces conversion would be nice, you can design a Red vs Red with Russian Forces fighting Syrian UNCON, however unfortunately the UNCON will also speak Russian.
For these I would extra extra help design whatever scen guys need. However I advice everyone with the slightest interest in doing own 3D objects in CM to get a hang of the tools. On the recent creations I´ve attached the blender project files for you for reverse engineering.
And yes it was brought up that you can also model the gear of soldiers in CM2 as it is stored in .mdr format. This opens also alot of opportunities like replacing helmets with new ones or something else. Weapons modelling is also very functional as done by the plugin author in his tutorial video.
Last one important thing: I personally installed "Anaconda" Python 3.x and Blender. I do not know much about this stuff but there are different Pyhton versions and something on the CM2 tools requirements page prompted me to go for this Anaconda special python version because it includes something that the normal one doesn´t have. Perhaps this a fix for the people that contacting me having issues setting up CM2 tools plugin in Blender. I also offering to have a chat, talk, or even a teamview if required on Discord for people with serious interest in getting this done. For this private messaging here is too inefficient. 
Free models repositories I´ve found:
http://www.cadnav.com/ (IMHO best)
http://open3dmodel.com/
https://archive3d.net/
Alot use the max format which can´t be imported into Blender. But there seems to be an free educational version of Max for access. One could then with it convert the .max work into .obj for Blender use. But with Google efforts and digging its almost always possible to find something free in one of Blender´s import formats.

Perhaps you could use this for one of the H&E scenarios.

Not a beauty but simple and resource friendly and thus more can be placed. For editor interaction the original flavor object is located on the see floor. I resized it to test if the fov issues go away but then the model got catapulted out of bounds. However for medium sized objects that are not always in point black front of the player its not that noticeable. 
File is too big, I moved it to my dropbox. 

In the course of dozen playthroughs and experiments with Blender/CM2 Tools (http://community.battlefront.com/topic/118928-combat-mission-modding-tools/) several assets were created which I want to share with the community:
Big Cargo Ship

 
BF109

 
Radar Station

 
Downed Blackhawk

 
Fire Truck

 
Ambulance

 
Barricade + optional Smoke/Burn Stash (Wreck, an invisible alternative is created by 37MM)

 
Barricade (three sizes)

 
Humvee V3 Woodland (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V3 Desert (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V2 Geardo Desert (Permanent Full Gear) 

 
AFRICAN UNCON (now also including conventional African Forces conversion by 37MM, original work by MikeyD) 

 
Falklands War Scorpion, Scimitar, and Argentinian LVTP-7 conversion

 
Makeshift VBIED

 
Humvee Wreck

 
Uncaged M2 Stryker

 
Marines to Army Special Forces or Navy SEALS conversion skins (including work of mjkerner, Combatinfman, Blimey)

 
BMP1/2 to BMD1/2 conversion (with corrected hatches)

 
Desert KAMAZ Skin

 
Marines frankensteined Armored MTVR Skin

 
New Syrian Special Forces and Woodland vehicles (based on the work of various modders)

 
Syrian Winter Mod (just terrain and partial "winterization" of vehicles, created for a Hasrabit Campaign playthrough)

 
PK Pickup to PK UAZ conversion

 
Russian Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
US Army & Marines Woodland Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
All these mods and many more can be found in this Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
Credits to modders, 3D-Artists, and Battlefront.
For better quality footage and more information about 3D custom models check out the recent videos & descpriptions here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK7fSyoEE8aorVLlVfNcAQ
The custom flavor objects have a "crate1" box placed into their center. Click it to interact with its placing. Zoom into the model if difficult. There are some FOV issues with bigger flavor objects can perhaps fixed by making the original "crate1" box bigger in Blender/CM2tools. Combine flavor objects with "visible/invisible" wreck objects to give them obstacle characteristics.
Good free library of 3D models you could use for importing. .max does not work with Blender. There are others.
http://www.cadnav.com/
Tutorials on Blender and CM2Tools can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbTOSIrNV0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVAMaELSao&feature=youtu.be
The main intent was to explore the possibilities of this method. As I see this as accomplished I´ll step back now and hope it will motivate others to get into it. Prior getting into custom CM models I had absolute zero experience in 3D modelling, Blender or whatever but found my way into it in a short period of time and once you figure out the specifics it is not that difficult. Give it a try.  Anyone interested in custom CM models can reach out on Discord.
Happy wargaming.

In the course of dozen playthroughs and experiments with Blender/CM2 Tools (http://community.battlefront.com/topic/118928-combat-mission-modding-tools/) several assets were created which I want to share with the community:
Big Cargo Ship

 
BF109

 
Radar Station

 
Downed Blackhawk

 
Fire Truck

 
Ambulance

 
Barricade + optional Smoke/Burn Stash (Wreck, an invisible alternative is created by 37MM)

 
Barricade (three sizes)

 
Humvee V3 Woodland (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V3 Desert (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V2 Geardo Desert (Permanent Full Gear) 

 
AFRICAN UNCON (now also including conventional African Forces conversion by 37MM, original work by MikeyD) 

 
Falklands War Scorpion, Scimitar, and Argentinian LVTP-7 conversion

 
Makeshift VBIED

 
Humvee Wreck

 
Uncaged M2 Stryker

 
Marines to Army Special Forces or Navy SEALS conversion skins (including work of mjkerner, Combatinfman, Blimey)

 
BMP1/2 to BMD1/2 conversion (with corrected hatches)

 
Desert KAMAZ Skin

 
Marines frankensteined Armored MTVR Skin

 
New Syrian Special Forces and Woodland vehicles (based on the work of various modders)

 
Syrian Winter Mod (just terrain and partial "winterization" of vehicles, created for a Hasrabit Campaign playthrough)

 
PK Pickup to PK UAZ conversion

 
Russian Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
US Army & Marines Woodland Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
All these mods and many more can be found in this Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
Credits to modders, 3D-Artists, and Battlefront.
For better quality footage and more information about 3D custom models check out the recent videos & descpriptions here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK7fSyoEE8aorVLlVfNcAQ
The custom flavor objects have a "crate1" box placed into their center. Click it to interact with its placing. Zoom into the model if difficult. There are some FOV issues with bigger flavor objects can perhaps fixed by making the original "crate1" box bigger in Blender/CM2tools. Combine flavor objects with "visible/invisible" wreck objects to give them obstacle characteristics.
Good free library of 3D models you could use for importing. .max does not work with Blender. There are others.
http://www.cadnav.com/
Tutorials on Blender and CM2Tools can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbTOSIrNV0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVAMaELSao&feature=youtu.be
The main intent was to explore the possibilities of this method. As I see this as accomplished I´ll step back now and hope it will motivate others to get into it. Prior getting into custom CM models I had absolute zero experience in 3D modelling, Blender or whatever but found my way into it in a short period of time and once you figure out the specifics it is not that difficult. Give it a try.  Anyone interested in custom CM models can reach out on Discord.
Happy wargaming.

In the course of dozen playthroughs and experiments with Blender/CM2 Tools (http://community.battlefront.com/topic/118928-combat-mission-modding-tools/) several assets were created which I want to share with the community:
Big Cargo Ship

 
BF109

 
Radar Station

 
Downed Blackhawk

 
Fire Truck

 
Ambulance

 
Barricade + optional Smoke/Burn Stash (Wreck, an invisible alternative is created by 37MM)

 
Barricade (three sizes)

 
Humvee V3 Woodland (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V3 Desert (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V2 Geardo Desert (Permanent Full Gear) 

 
AFRICAN UNCON (now also including conventional African Forces conversion by 37MM, original work by MikeyD) 

 
Falklands War Scorpion, Scimitar, and Argentinian LVTP-7 conversion

 
Makeshift VBIED

 
Humvee Wreck

 
Uncaged M2 Stryker

 
Marines to Army Special Forces or Navy SEALS conversion skins (including work of mjkerner, Combatinfman, Blimey)

 
BMP1/2 to BMD1/2 conversion (with corrected hatches)

 
Desert KAMAZ Skin

 
Marines frankensteined Armored MTVR Skin

 
New Syrian Special Forces and Woodland vehicles (based on the work of various modders)

 
Syrian Winter Mod (just terrain and partial "winterization" of vehicles, created for a Hasrabit Campaign playthrough)

 
PK Pickup to PK UAZ conversion

 
Russian Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
US Army & Marines Woodland Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
All these mods and many more can be found in this Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
Credits to modders, 3D-Artists, and Battlefront.
For better quality footage and more information about 3D custom models check out the recent videos & descpriptions here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK7fSyoEE8aorVLlVfNcAQ
The custom flavor objects have a "crate1" box placed into their center. Click it to interact with its placing. Zoom into the model if difficult. There are some FOV issues with bigger flavor objects can perhaps fixed by making the original "crate1" box bigger in Blender/CM2tools. Combine flavor objects with "visible/invisible" wreck objects to give them obstacle characteristics.
Good free library of 3D models you could use for importing. .max does not work with Blender. There are others.
http://www.cadnav.com/
Tutorials on Blender and CM2Tools can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbTOSIrNV0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVAMaELSao&feature=youtu.be
The main intent was to explore the possibilities of this method. As I see this as accomplished I´ll step back now and hope it will motivate others to get into it. Prior getting into custom CM models I had absolute zero experience in 3D modelling, Blender or whatever but found my way into it in a short period of time and once you figure out the specifics it is not that difficult. Give it a try.  Anyone interested in custom CM models can reach out on Discord.
Happy wargaming.