Bent Wing Birds

[Saxman]

Ok, like I did on my Birdcage skins, thought I'd start a new one for all the Hogs I'm working on.

First off, Vargas Cowgirl (White 8)



Side view, final fading/weathering.



Top view. Still need to fix the guns, but otherwise done.



Bottom, showing off the Zinc Chromate Yellow landing gear wells. If anyone wants to use it let me know. I have it as a separate layer that can be easily cut-and-pasted in to any skin.

And a first look at Ike Kepford's White 29, c.1944:



Obviously I haven't started weathering on this bird yet. The roundels also need work and the prop spinner is still the wrong color. However the markings are all in place (excluding tail number).

[Guppy35]

VF-17 guys gonna be in heaven of you and Fencer get your birds in to go with the default

[Fencer51]

Maybe we shouldn't submitt them, we wouldn't want to populate a specific plane type with a specific fighter group's aircraft (cough 38s) would we Guppy ...  

[Saxman]

Lol.

And now, the shot from the photo:



I couldn't get the angle quite right as the aircraft appears to be tilted up on its side (one wheel landing? Starboard gear collapsed?) But I think the black-and-white shows that I got the coloring and general weathering pretty close.

Cowgirl is now complete. Fixed the gunports, and added more shadow to the area behind the cowl flaps--I THOUGHT I had that done already, but for some reason it didn't keep on the last update.

[Saxman]

Some more of Kepford. Wings and horizontal stabs weathered.



The paint on Kepford's bird is in a MUCH better state  than Vargas. The paint is faded but nowhere near as heavily, with little chipping on the wings except for the upper surfaces of the oil cooler.

Do need to tone down the smoke/powder streaks along the left wing. The roundel also needs to be faded some.



As above, the roundel is too bright and needs fading. The exhaust stains on the horizontal stab need evening out, and the smoke staining for the shell eject ports needs to be lightened up on the left wing.

[Saxman]

Ike Kepford, provisional final version:



Fixed the spinner color (finally). This aircraft, as mentioned above, has paint in surprisingly good repair. This may be because VF-17 DID have individually assigned aircraft, so they may have had better maintenance opportunities. The killboard IS repeated on the starboard side, as well (there's a photo that shows it quite clearly)



The propeller blades, on the other hand, DID experience heavy wear, both on the leading and trailing surfaces (so the worn blades are visible from the interior, as well).



Top view, showing the fading on the roundel



Underneath, showing the heavy exhaust staining this aircraft experienced.

[Saxman]

Next up...



VERY early. look.

Much like Vargas Cowgirl, Marine's Dream has a large, heavy "mystery stain" stretching along the fuselage (in this case the port side).

It's very light in color, to the point that many color plates mistakenly interpret this as part of the camouflage pattern!

Marine's Dream was also the prototypical grungy and banged-up South Pacific Corsair, so expect a lot of HEAVY weathering on this one.

[Saxman]

Got a question about this one. This is for an F4U-2 night-fighter, however we technically don't HAVE the F4U-2. On the other hand, the only difference between the F4U-2 and the standard F4U-1 birdcage was the addition of the radome.



What exactly are the rules on substitution in regards to skins? Some cases it seems "close enough" is allowed, while others are rejected. What's the story?

[Saxman]

Updates on Marine's Dream!



This aircraft was epitomizes the South Pacific land-based Corsair. She was a really quite heavily banged up. The photo I have indicates heavy oil/exhaust staining along the upper fuselage on the port side. In addition, a VERY heavy, light-colored "mystery stain" along the fuselage on that side has been mistakenly interpreted by many decal manufacturers as a high demarcation line in the camouflage.



Starboard side. Note the "natural" demarcation between the two camo colors. Once again, heavy weathering is readily visible on all areas.



Many areas of this aircraft have been over painted in colors OTHER than the original non-specular blue-gray. Other than the original modex number, it's known that the upper wing surfaces had at one point been over-sprayed by a darker color. My reference indicates either in intermediate blue or non-specular sea blue. I went with the latter. The canopy frame also appears to have been repainted in darker colors, and intermediate blue was used throughout for touch-up areas.
 

Another view of the port side, showing the long oil/smoke stain extending back along the fuselage.



The color of the vertical is a point of some contention. Even though my primary reference indicates the aircraft was well-documented, I've found photos of the ACTUAL bird surprisingly difficult to come by. Most searches turn up the completely incorrect restored F4U-1D (not only the wrong model Hog, but they attribute her to WALSH, who never flew those markings!)

Secondary sources (color plates, decal sheets, etc) are split. Some give her the light gray tail, others the standard blue-gray. The vertical stab is missing in the photo I have, however close study of the remaining root appears to indicate that the vertical stab was a lighter color than the rest of the upper fuselage. So, either it was INDEED in the light gray, or the entire upper fuselage may have been over-sprayed in a darker color blue than the stab.

So unless someone can turn up inviolate proof that Marine's Dream had the blue-gray tail it's staying as is (for now. Obviously pending HTC's position).

[Stoney74]

I might tone down the white tape used to tape the fuel tanks.  Looks awfully bright.  Same thing with the numbers on the fuselage and the fuselage insignia.  Don't need to be dirty, but maybe a little faded?

Some very interesting looking paint variations, especially on the upper surface of the wings.

[Saxman]

I'll take a look at dirtying up the tape. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to fade white.

[Stoney74]

Just turn down the opacity if its on its own layer.  Fades nicely that way.  Or, try a more off-white or cream color.  Personally, I just turn down the opacity.

[Krusty]

I like a slightly yellow/cream tinted grey. Very pale, but it makes a subtle difference.

[Saxman]

Will take a look. Somewhat more difficult to fix since sometime back in December I accidentally saved it with all the layers combined.

Incidentally, Stoney, it's not so much a paint variation in the case of the upper wing surfaces. Rather, it's a part of the extensive over spraying and touching up the aircraft was subjected to due to weathering. At the time the upper wing surfaces were over sprayed they were likely out of non-specular blue-gray so used whatever they had available. This was near the end of 1943, when the USN/MC began changing over to tricolor, so they probably only had stocks of intermediate and non-specular sea blue to work with. Even though the intermediate blue would have been closer, they may have gone to sea blue instead since that part of the plane was due to be repainted that color, anyway.

[Krusty]

Originally posted by Saxman
Somewhat more difficult to fix since sometime back in December I accidentally saved it with all the layers combined.

Same thing for the gradients used on my B17. Very hard to work on it after the fact.


Best suggestion would be a magic wand selection and a "Variations..." applied.

EDIT: By the way, is Marine's Dream a -1 or a -1A?