of course many thanks guys. Jay 'll redo the body in polys. The wings are polys, at spakooggie's suggestion. Just looked at mikes 'estrude tool' tut. makes life easier understanding the 'split poly tool.'

back to the drawing board. Should i import the jpegs on the image plans into maya projects or is it OK to leave them in the 'textures libary' on my other drive (d) where they live.

thanks again,