Static Meshes are one of the foundational types of renderable geometry in Unreal Engine. In order to use these meshes to populate your worlds, the StaticMeshActor is used. StaticMeshes dragged into the level from the Content Browser are automatically converted to StaticMeshActors.
Though they are called StaticMeshActors, this simply refers to the mesh of the StaticMeshActor being static. A StaticMeshActor can be made movable so it can be an elevator or made to simulate physics so it can crush the player. See Making a StaticMeshActor Movable for details.
Placement
StaticMeshActors are placed in maps using standard Actor placement methods; either through the Right-click context menu of the viewports or drag and drop from the Content Browser.
Drag and Drop
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In the Content Browser, locate the StaticMesh you want to add to the map as a StaticMeshActor.
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Left-Click on the StaticMesh in the Content Browser and drag the mouse (while holding the Left Mouse Button down) from the Content Browser to the location in the Viewport where you want to place the mesh. The location does not need to be exact. You can always reposition, rotate, scale the mesh afterwards.
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Release the Left Mouse Button to place the mesh in the map as a StaticMeshActor, as seen in the Property window.
Context Menu
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In the Content Browser, select the StaticMesh you want to add to the map as a StaticMeshActor.
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Right-click in the viewport where you want to add the mesh and choose Place Actor: Selection from the Context Menu. The location does not need to be exact. You can always reposition, rotate, scale the mesh afterwards.
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The StaticMesh has been placed in the map as a StaticMeshActor, as seen in the Property window.
Making a StaticMeshActor Movable
In order to move, rotate, or scale a StaticMeshActor during play, you must first make it Movable by selecting Moveable from the top of the Details panel under Mobility when the StaticMeshActor is selected.
Enabling a StaticMeshActor to Simulate Physics
Material Override
The Material(s) applied to a StaticMesh can be overridden on a per-Actor basis. This allows a single StaticMesh asset to be used multiple times in a single map or throughout your game while giving each a unique appearance. The Materials property located in the Rendering category of the StaticMeshComponent of the StaticMeshActor is an array of Materials that directly maps to those applied to the StaticMesh asset through the Static Mesh Editor. Materials can be assigned to the array manually or they can be applied directly to the mesh in the Viewport by dragging and dropping from the Content Browser.
Manual Assignment
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In the Viewport, select the StaticMeshActor you want to assign.
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In the Details panel, under the Materials category, you will see all the materials assigned to the StaticMeshActor.
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In the Content Browser, select the Material you want to apply to StaticMeshActor in the map, and either:
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Press the
button for the corresponding item in the Materials array to assign the material. The mesh is now displayed with the Material applied.OR
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Left-click and drag the material from the Content Browser to the desired material slot on the StaticMeshActor's details.
Drag and Drop
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In the Content Browser, locate the Material you want to apply to StaticMeshActor in the map.
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Left-click on the Material in the Content Browser and drag the mouse (while holding the Left Mouse Button down) from the Content Browser to the section of the StaticMeshActor in the viewport you want to apply the Material to.
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Release the Left Mouse Button to apply the Material. The mesh is now displayed with the Material applied and the Materials array in the Property Window has been updated.
This will replace all materials on the StaticMeshActor.
Collision
By default, if a StaticMesh has Physics Bodies, either generated in your desired 3D authoring package (see: FBX Pipeline: StaticMeshes) or in the StaticMesh Editor (see: Collision Response Reference), it will have collision and it will be set to Block All. See the Collision documentation for more information on Collision Channels and adjusting Collision settings.