Maybe it's just me but: I feel like this is the main problem, not only on those types of shapes, but also on the way you did your control edges over the whole model. Left part it's actually smoothing out over the whole length, almost turning it into an oval, right one with the proper control edges controls the rounding to…
Also, one more thing, this may be a little late in the process seeing that you might now want to go back, but when it comes to weapons, always think about where the camera is and what is going to be seen the most and how up close. For example your tri-count for the iron sight and everything that is close to the camera,…
Agree with all of the above people about the texture. The old was fine, just needed to push it a little further. Use as many references as you can (scratched and worn metal). Also references of your actual weapon and others too just to get an idea of where exactly the gun will wear. For good examples of peoples work, take…
Guys, I'm having a serious wtf problem with max... I started working on the bolt and am having serious smoothing issues. It started as I was reparing a few accidentally deleted faces. I was toggling the turbosmooth to check for missed welds and what not, and noticed some inconsistent smoothing: Here is what the verts look…