Google SketchUp - pentagons and hexagons, attempt #1
The basic pattern on a soccer ball is a pentagon surrounded by five hexagons. I chose it as my next project, on Day 3 of using SketchUp.
Approach: I learned how to create components (modifications to a single hexagon would then appear on all hexagons in the model). I learned how to create additional axes so that I could align with the latest tilted object. I wrestled to understand the basics of the Move command (I settled on creating temporary lines and planes to enable the kinds of moves that I needed...and couldn't figure out how to do any other way).
My initial components were a plain pentagon and a plain hexagon (whose sides are the same length). It took hours for me to figure out how to get two hexagons to tilt away from the plane of the pentagon and touch each other. Lots of experimenting. I finally found a way that worked well enough, and then I labored to get the rest of the pieces you see in place.
Feeling enough success with six hegagons and a pentagon in place, I hid the pentagon and then made the base hexagon more ornate.