The Gunfighter Test Phase...

[Cobra412]

I'm testing the waters on the "Gunfighters" skin.  Seems only a few areas might be a pain.  For starters the forward portion of the canopy is green but the lower half is natural metal.  So I have to search for that area and get it cut out properly.  Not to big of a deal considering I've got a partial line from the Flying Undertaker skin on two of the three, possible four lines that indicate the lower portion of the canopy.



One other thing is the red stripe that runs from the nose to the aft portion of the wing is gonna be slightly off up near the nose area.  The skin map wants to grab the red line and drag it across so I have to pin point the exact arc near that area before it starts grabbing and dragging.  What does this mean?  Well it means the arc won't be as historic.  It will have to go a bit lower than normal on the front fuselage where it terminates at the checker board.  Which if someone really looks they'll notice it's a bit closer to the exhaust stacks than it should be.

I'll also be adjusting the checker board so it's a bit smaller than it currently is.  The individual blocks are slightly larger than they should be.  

I've also made my own stallion for the tail so it's not exactly like the one on the real bird.  I took a real photo of a rearing stallion and mapped the outter lines of him and then converted it to a red stallion for the tail.

[TBolt A-10]

I saw this image when it was uploaded to the Picture Hangar and thought, "Kick ass!"  

I hope this skin gets published in the arena before too long.  Nice paintin' Cobra.  

[Cobra412]

Thanks for the reply TBolt. Here's a Gunfighter Update.  Still working on it but the red stripe is now properly layed out, checker board is the right size and the canopy seal is now natural metal all the way around the lower lip.  I've also added the Gunfighter Logo to the side of the fuselage.

[TBolt A-10]

Cobra,
Did you draw the red horse and gunfighter logo?  Or, did you rip those from real images of the plane?

(just curious about how you skinners do it...)  

[Cobra412]

The red stallion I did from a real photo of a black stallion.  The Gunfighter Guy I got from a website.  I could have gone over the top and traced it too.  I may still do it to make it better in the end.

[TBolt A-10]

Originally posted by Cobra412
The red stallion I did from a real photo of a black stallion.  The Gunfighter Guy I got from a website.  I could have gone over the top and traced it too.  I may still do it to make it better in the end.

cc.  thnx for the answer.  looks great.  i can't wait to fly it.  

[Kweassa]

Cobra, the plane looks stunningly beautiful! Can't wait to see it in the Main.

[glenmorangie]

Cobra

Any Gunfighter shots you need, I've got.

I'm on the Ground Crew.

FYI, A 55th FG Crew Chief from WWII said the top is British Green, not OD, otherwise Insigna Red, Insignia Yellow.

Gunfighter is painted silver, the real birds were aluminum.

I have a very few color shots from WWII, although they are after this scheme was removed.

[TBolt A-10]

Originally posted by glenmorangie
I have a very few color shots from WWII, although they are after this scheme was removed.

any chance we could see these pics, glen?  

[Cobra412]

Glen I'd really appreciate it if I could get a few of the WWII photos.  The greens I've used are for the current Gunfighter paint scheme.  I haven't seen any color WWII photos of it.  I've tried some of the British Greens and they all seem to dark or to extremely light.

The green I've used is actually a is a darker version of Olive drab.  Not sure what else to try considering I only have the photos that can be found on the net.  All of these are with it in it's modern years.

I've been working on trying to get a better aluminum color but it's just not getting there.  I wish I could do better but right now this is about the best I can do for the metal.

[Cobra412]

Glen are you talking about British Dark Green such as this photo?

[glenmorangie]

I'll try to post some tonight.  My last attempt to post pics failed, I guess I need to put them on the web site and serve them from there.  Anyone got a tip on how to do this?

The green in the screen shot looks OD to me, but you've done a great job!  I was typing too fast before, the color was reported as "British Medium Green".  I'll post a picture of Gunfighter as she sits, my understanding is the modern color is very close.  OD is yellower, not just lighter, depending on which OD you're talking about.  Early war OD is very brown, later war is more green.

The metal looks good to me.  Aluminium oxydizes very quickly, and although everyone seems to like the "polished" look, particularly the really rich guys who've restored Mustangs and have 5 or 6 guys on hand that can spend their entire day polishing the airplane, the real birds rarely show much reflectivity.  They are not exactly dull gray, but they are certainly not shiny like mirrors.  

Also, Mustangs do not leak much, but that is a very relative term. There can be oil leaking from panel lines from the prop back and from the exhaust down, and from the outboard edge of the gear doors in.  The exhaust also dulls almost the whole side of the airplane, even when it's not really visible.  This will dull the fuselage and the nose and center of the belly in a subtle way, making it not shiny.

Talk to you guys tonight,
Mongol

[TBolt A-10]

Originally posted by glenmorangie
I'll try to post some tonight.  My last attempt to post pics failed, I guess I need to put them on the web site and serve them from there.  Anyone got a tip on how to do this?

Mongol,
Set-up a free account at http://www.picturehangar.com.  
This tutorial (tutorial: http://www.onpoi.net/ah/tutorial.php?=SID ) will show you everything you need to know.

If you have any problems, email me tbolt@onpoi.net.

Looking forward to seeing those WW2 pics.  

[glenmorangie]

More to come..

One other note... as delivered the wings on the Mustang were filled and painted sliver, but I've never found a reference for the color, while the fuselage is natural metal.  The Invasion Stripe painting/removal and any camouflage painting/removal would surely have left the wings natural metal.  Best guess is good enough.

Notice how green the glare panels are on the 55th Mustangs, even allowing for the tint of the photo.  That one is scanned full size, btw, it's small in the book.  With a loup and the book it can be seen that every pony is different and in a different position. Another item of trivia...the pony represents Pegasus, even though it has no wings... that from a former WWII 55th FG Squadron Commander.

[Cobra412]

Glen thanks for the replies.  I may just have to send you the current test bitmap file so you can see how it looks in the game.  The original picture was OD green or very close to it.  So was the second one.  I only shifted off slightly on the color to a bit darker green.  Now the last photo I put up is actually a bit darker than the two originals. I believe I actually used British Dark Green for this particular paint.

I can't seem to find Insignia Yellow anywhere.  I've found ID Yellow and Yellow Orange but no insignia Yellow.  I have got Insignia Red though.  Also I'm curious about the WWII shot and the paint itself.  It looks gloss to me is that true?  I used the British Green but I gave it a dulled affect opposed to gloss.  Up close it actually has a slight hint of being possible green primary opposed to gloss overcoats.  

I've noticed a few things with your bird too.  The Gunfighter Logo is almost the full panel size.  The Gunfighter writing has absolutley no black outlines compared to some photos I've seen.  I'm sure these may have been adjustments over the years and if so is the current paint scheme more historic?  

Also since I don't have any close ups at the moment of the actual kill markings I may have to dig deeper for those.  I also have to get a good shot of the Pilots name and such on the canopy rails.  Also is there something just left and lower of the kill markings?  I'm also gonna do more research in my books for the typical markings for "no step" type items around the airframe.  I always notice manufacturer info on the side and on the wings ect...  

Thanks again for your insight.  It is extremely helpful and appreciated.

Oh and according to my books the wings were chromate yellow base and gloss silver over the top.