I don't know has anybody wrote this before, but here it is:
You don't need to redo everything if you want to make your old Bf 109's skin to the new skin format. You can use about 90 % of your old skin textures only scaling, copying and pasteing them over the new skin textures. Here's an example with the Bf 109 G2 skin and Photo Shop.
The old skin textures were 109g2.bmp (fuselage texture) and 109g22.bmp (wings texture). At first you must switch the "Indexed color..." to "RGB color" so that all the textures are 24 bit bmp-files, also the new 109g21.bmp (new texture).
FUSELAGE:
1) Decrease the old fuselage texture (109g2.bmp) from 1024 x 1024 to 540 x 540 pixels.
2) Copy the fuselage's two parts (nose and tail) and paste them over the new texture's lower fuselage profile. Use the "Layer Style/Opacity" slider assigned to 50% and make the fine adjustments using "half visible" nose and tail layers. They are matching very good!
3) Cut the extra edges away using again the "Layer Style/Opacity" slider assigned to 50%.
4) Copy those two cleaned fuselage pictures to a new windows. Flip them horizontal and copy them back to the new texture over the upper fuselage's profile.
5) Make the necessary variations and changes: We have now both the right and the left fuselage profiles... what a progress!
WINGS:
1) Rotate the whole old wings texture (109g22.bmp) at first 90 degrees clockwise. Decrease the texture from 1024 x 1024 to 620 x 620 pixels (notice the different scaling than with the fuselage!)
2) Copy the left upper wing and paste it over the new texture's left wing. Use the "Layer Style/Opacity" slider assigned to 50% and make the fine adjustments and cut the extra edges away.
3) Copy the right upper wing and paste it to the new empty window. Flip the wing vertical and paste it over the flipped left wing to the new texture.
4) Copy the lower right wing, rotate it 180 degrees in a working window and paste it over the new texture's lower right wing. Follow the steps above.
5) Flip the old lower right wing (it's still there in a working window) horizontal and vertical. Copy and paste it over the new texture's lower left wing.
Some smaller parts in the old fuselage texture needs different scaling, for ex. from 1024 to 600 etc. Just try it!
It's very easy, I have done almost all scaling, rotating, copying and pasteing in a couple of hours. Now my old favourite Ilmari Juutilainen's MT-222 needs only finalizing and it takes about one evening.
This is the third time I am making this skin. Believe that I remember every rivet and scratch from it. But this is the easiest done version!
