Well got my first test model to run in the game... true it was back to front and upside down... BUT IT FLEW!
still can't seem to manage that with the Betty model yet... I think it might have something to do with scale and LOD ranges...
That was how I fixed the test model to display in game. I was using the HardCMP to get an idea, and Model Resizer to fiddle with it.
Textures still seem a little overwhelming, but I think I have an idea on what to do there now.
Hardpointing was eay, I presume texturing is hardpointing but on a bigger scale? basically select the points fiddle with them... group them and then assign that a texture.
This modelling is a lot easier than I first thought... it is tricky but satisfying when you see something you built in game.