For my studies at Staffordshire at university, I created a Cannon in 3dsMax with base colors being applied and rendered in Marmoset. When creating the Cannon, I put more of a focus on references with my own moodboards in Photoshop which helped to add smaller details such as padding and handels. I also experimented with using lots of independent objects to create the model which was then attached as one at the end for better handling of the model.
These models alongside the Cricket bat, SNES, and phone netted me 82% and first honours in 3D modelling.