I'm sorry, it didn't occur to me that some background info would be helpful and slightly motivational D: so. let me splains yew someting.
i have tried doing this myself before, and I've come to find out that i cant manipulate models in the sense to make them stop using a texture

I've spend roughly 2.5 hours trying this myself.... with no avail...
what i need this for, is ..well, obviously its an egg for a phoenix
the hero goes through a volcano, does some stuff i haven't decided in stone yet (a maze followed by a huge guardian spirit bird maybe?) but the hero gains a choice in an egg. This egg is hatched into a companion phoenix for the player. Basically, a pet that grows with experience... a hero pet ^^
and i need those things taken off, because:
1.) there are multiple kinds of phoenix's ... therefore... i play with hex coloring D: (at the moment there are 4 -normal, golden, black, and nether)
2.) those two things ( the flame and swirly thing) do not change according to the model's hex... which tells me that they are attachments? possibly... I'm not quite sure how that works :/
but a glowing dark blue phoenix egg with a red swirly thing looks retarded D:
for someone knowing what they are doing, i don't suppose this would be very hard.. but for me... its been three Tylenol and a deterrent from warcraft for a day
if screenshots are necessary, i suppose i could whip a few up...