Good one mate!

Excellent. it got a real art deco look to it.. well i think it has. 

 Thanks Mark. I don't know if I want to go that dirty, but I now know if i do. cheers.

 Thanks guys for the help.
Would these ways you've described give me (if i wanted) thick clumps of mud hanging off ? or would i have to do something different to get that effect?

cheers

And yes it was all modeled in Carrara 7pro.

cheers
Steve

Here is a bigger pic with no texture. I've tried to be as accurate as i can using various references. 
Next will be the horse team to pull it!!  maybe!
 cheers
Steve

Thats great, thanks.  Totally clear, maybe because I've had too much coffee today!!!

I guess this one is quick to make  but the time and skill is in the positioning of the links/chain to get the realism.  
I am finding out that, like most software, Carrara has a  lots of ways to get to the end result, but you have to know which method will work best and have a very clear idea of the end result before you start.

loads to learn but its fun!

Thanks again for a  very comprehensive answer to my simple question. I am sure I will have many more question as travel down this long road that is... learning Carrara.
Cheers
Steve

I think I've got what I wanted...a hanging chain! I rigged a skeleton to the links and added an IK chain as you said.  Simple once you know how! 

Just a couple more questions... when I bend the chain into a tight loop some of the links bend, twist and distort. On shallow curves this is not so obvious, but is there a way to stop this happening? 

Second... on another forum someone suggested using Physics to get the effect I wanted. I tried it and the links started to hang right, then they shot off all over the screen. Is this a good, bad or just another way to do it? Any advantages?

Here it is anyway, I need to tidy a few things up like making the links touch each other,  but this is what I wanted. Thanks for your help.

 Thanks Mark and Airflamesred.
I will give it a go and let you know how i get on

cheers 
Steve

 Thanks  Mark and a great easy to follow tutorial in the mag too.   I guess the content on a subsequent issue gives me a good excuse to buy it!!!  

 yep thats the shape... manually!  oh my... lets  hope the software has moved on since then. cheers for the reply

 Being in Australia we've still got a few months to wait for that issue of 3D world so i got my copy of Carrara 7 on 3d artist, but the mac version comes without the 'native content pack' so no shaders or content and the landscape wizard does not work. Is there a way i can load the shaders etc from Carrara 6 pro?