Can an FSX .mdl file be converted to a common 3D format for editing in 3DS Max?

Re: Can an FSX .mdl file be converted to a common 3D format for editing in 3DS Max?

Yes… but with some important caveats.

FSX (and FS2004) .mdl files are compiled output. They’re not meant to be round-tripped back into an editable scene the way a native Max file is. In practice you can sometimes extract geometry into a common format, but you’ll generally lose a lot of the “authoring” info (hierarchy/bones, animations, materials setup, mapping tricks, LOD structure, attach points, etc.), and you may end up with a model that needs significant cleanup before you can really work with it.

Practical options people use

1. If you can get the original source (Max/Gmax scene), that’s the clean solution. Anything else is basically reverse engineering.
2. If you only have the .mdl, you can look for an MDL decompiler/exporter workflow that outputs something like 3DS/OBJ, then import that into 3ds Max and rebuild what’s missing (materials, smoothing groups, animations/parts, etc.).

A couple of warnings

• If this is someone else’s payware or redistributed model, check permissions/EULA first. Even if it’s technically possible, it may not be allowed.
• FSX has two “generations” of MDL (FS2004-style vs true FSX MDL). Tools/workflows can differ depending on which one you’ve got.

Quick questions so I can point you in the right direction

1. Is the .mdl from FSX-native content, or an older FS2004 model used in FSX?
2. Is it an aircraft model or a scenery object?
3. Do you have the original source files at all (Max/Gmax), or only the compiled .mdl?