Today is a render of a question of choice I have.
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Irishman/media/New Enterprise WIP 18.png.html?sort=3&o=0
The image above shows the question I have about preferred practice. The impulse engine inset looks nearly-black in all the studio shots I've seen, like how I've depicted the block in this image. At first, I was going to use the block to boolean the impulse deck itself, creating a bit of an inset.
The problem I have is I'm concerned with creating mesh problems by using the boolean modifier here, as I've done a lot of pixel pushing to get the deck looking good. As a plan b, I thought about using the block to just push into the deck, leave it in place, and change the colors of the block to match the geometry. When I face select the backward-facing face and hit Y, it does separate that face from the rest of the block, but it doesn't let me assign it its own different color or material.
As a plan C, maybe I could shift-D the separated face, move it slightly outside the original face, and change the color then?
Or would it be simpler to just create a new block, delete all but the face I want, then assign it the color I want and maneuver it slightly outside the original block?
Thoughts?