3rd BG 8th BS

[Serenity]

Well, I couldnt sleep tonight, my girlfriend was asleep, I didnt have my joystick, and my internet was really slow. So, long story short, I made this:

Douglas A-24 (Land-based SBD Dive Bomber operated by the Army). This is from the 3rd bombardment/Attack group, 8th bombardment/attack squadron in the pacific. These guys went on to fly B-25s against Japanese shipping. I only put about 2 hours work into this, and im not even sure if HTC will accept an A-24 on an SBD-5 but if its good enough for you folks, ill submit anyway.

[oboe]

I think its a great subject and a worthy start, but I believe every skin submission is worth more than two hours of effort.   If you post a profile of the subject, we can help point out things you might've missed.

You could desaturate the star and bar insignia - that blue seems much too light and bright - most often in the color photos I've seen the blue is so dark it's nearly black.   

Can't tell for sure, but it looks to me like you don't have a 2nd layer of white panel lines, offset by a pixel to give a 3d effect- if you are not familiar with this technique, please have a look at one of the skinning tutorials - Fester or Krusty have done them and they have alot of helpful technique tips.

And I'm not seeing any rivets at all.    The control surfaces should probably have a fabric-covered look to them.   How to do that is described in a tutorial here: http://www.simmerspaintshop.com/forums/photoshop/460-making-canvas-control-surfaces.html 

Finally, a layer of grime, dirt streaks, and oil smudges, smears, and leaks really add to the realism of the skin, and paint chipping along the panel section edges and access covers add alot of authenticity too.

I'd definitely keep after this one if I were you - its a good start on a skin alot of us will appreciate having in the game.   

<S>

[Serenity]

I think its a great subject and a worthy start, but I believe every skin submission is worth more than two hours of effort.   If you post a profile of the subject, we can help point out things you might've missed.

You could desaturate the star and bar insignia - that blue seems much too light and bright - most often in the color photos I've seen the blue is so dark it's nearly black.   

Can't tell for sure, but it looks to me like you don't have a 2nd layer of white panel lines, offset by a pixel to give a 3d effect- if you are not familiar with this technique, please have a look at one of the skinning tutorials - Fester or Krusty have done them and they have alot of helpful technique tips.

And I'm not seeing any rivets at all.    The control surfaces should probably have a fabric-covered look to them.   How to do that is described in a tutorial here: http://www.simmerspaintshop.com/forums/photoshop/460-making-canvas-control-surfaces.html 

Finally, a layer of grime, dirt streaks, and oil smudges, smears, and leaks really add to the realism of the skin, and paint chipping along the panel section edges and access covers add alot of authenticity too.

I'd definitely keep after this one if I were you - its a good start on a skin alot of us will appreciate having in the game.   

<S>

Heres the profile:



As far as the star. Its impossible to edit. Its not located on the skin itself, nor is it located in any file thats included with the default skin packet. I cannot find a text file other than the gunsight either to see if it has a path to locate the star file. You dont paint one on the skin, you just do everything else and a star magically appears.

Didnt add the white panel lines. I dont usually do it, and it looks fine to me. Ill do it now though.

Rivets... the default has not rivets on it, and I do not have a source to locate rivets. I can just guess a likely spot for rivets and add them, but I didnt think that would be a good idea.

Theres dirt there, lots, darkening the paint. I chipped away at the pain, but almost exclusively on the upper surface where its visible. You can see it on the horizontal and vertical stabalizers, as well as the wing in the first shot.

If you want me to do MORE of anything I already did though, let me know and ill be glad to! The reason I only put 2 hours is because I was just killing time until I fell asleep, lol.

[hammer]

The star is (I believe) the "marking.tca" file. Several people have it included in various skins. It appears the mossie, tbm, sbd and possibly more use it.

Regards,

Hammer

[Serenity]

The star is (I believe) the "marking.tca" file. Several people have it included in various skins. It appears the mossie, tbm, sbd and possibly more use it.

Regards,

Hammer

There is none. There is a marking.bmp, but it includes 3 american roundels, one canadian, and one russian. Ive changed all of the american ones to match that profile (Including no 'bars') and it didnt change a thing.

[hammer]

Raptor figured it out... is he still around?

[Serenity]

(Image removed from quote.)

Raptor figured it out... is he still around?

Im not sure... Ill PM him. I went through every single file and didnt find a think. Perhaps someone else might give it a look and see if I missed anything?

[Serenity]

Another problem that popped up: The inside of the flaps/dive breaks came out all red. Anyone know why?

[Serenity]

Fixed the roundel, I had to edit TWO files to match. Still dont get the red dive flaps, and the left inner flap still looks covered unless extended (even slight extension clears it).

[splitatom]

very nice skin needs the get beet up a bit and less shiny