my first steps in modelling objects - call for many help and patience

Dear friends, I hope, this forum section is the right one to get some support of the Trainz community
for object modelling. I didn't find any other section. for my request.

I will try to answer in English and German, because my English doesn't run smoothly.
I will try to mark the English answers and requests in blue colour, and the German in green.

English:
I want try to start modelling objects for Trainz, to contribute something productive for the community.
Unfortunately it became not as simple as years ago. Because of this I want to show my first steps here,
inclusive my requests
My first object will be a spline, witch I miss in Trainz. Granite stones, standing roadside and connected
with angle steel, in Germany so called "Leitsteine."

I ask for your patience with me, because I learn very slowly.
Is it okay for you, to answer my - maybe funny - questions?

My construction program is 3DS Max.

Deutsch:
Ich möchte gern selbst anfangen, Modelle für Trainz zu bauen, etwas für die Gemeinschaft beizutragen.
Da es nicht ganz so einfach ist, wie vor Jahren, möchte ich meine ersten Schritte, nebst den Fragen
hier in diesem Thread zeigen.
Ich möchte nicht gleich mit einem großen Objekt anfangen, sondern mit einer Spline, welche mir für
meine Zwecke immer noch in Trainz fehlt.
Es sind einfache (Granit) Steine, welche am Straßenrand stehen, teilweise mit Winkelprofilen verbunden
wurden und offiziell "Leitsteine" genannt werden.

Ich bitte um sehr viel Geduld mit mir, weil ich sehr langsam lerne.
Ist es in Ordnung für Sie, meine - teilweise merkwürdigen - Fragen zu beantworten?

Mein CAD Programm ist 3DStudio Max.

im more of a blender guy, but ive heard some good things about max, blender is a bit complex in a few ways, everything past making the model (texturing, exporting, etc.) is hell, i can tell you that. a spline might be easier​

Should I confess now I just sort of stumble on something that works then copy it.

I'll watch carefully maybe the material names mean something after all.

Cheerio John

This might help http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Material_Types

New extremely complicated and confusing PBR stuff at the top legacy materials lower down the page.

Need to consider that m.tbumptex, m.gloss, m.reflect etc are now legacy materials and don't work the same in TRS19, some don't at all.

for your spline with the legacy materials I'd just use normal mapping as in m.tbumptex for the stone and m.tbumpgloss for the metal bit, however not sure if m.tbumpgloss still works in TRS19, I'd hazard a guess that as gloss does it ought to.

m.gloss does still work as does m.tbumptex, specular appears to do nothing much in TRS19.

Splines must be modelled along the minus Y axis from zero this may help re splines http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Modeling_Splines

Thank you for your answer.

At first I forgot to write, I know some basics of modelling.
The modelling along the y-axis for example.

clam1952 said:

This might help http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Material_Types

Click to expand...

I know this site, but I couldn't extract some informations for my self.

I see the names, but they are not the complete names.
For example. What is the right full name?
- stone.m.tbumptex
- m.bhumptex.stone

You write my confusion. In this case I hope to see one example, who
contains the different material types. But I don't know any single object.

Not at least,
Thank You for your patience.

the important bit is m.tbumptex you can put whatever you like in front of that so stone would be fine as would material1 or 23gy64, its entirely up to you. specific names go in front of m.

as in stone.m.tbumptex I'd keep it simple using recognisable names.

THIS is a very important Information to me. Thank You.