Not 1, but 2 P-38s! 18FG - 12FS "Billy's Filly" and "St. Louis Blues"

[Knite]

Hello everyone,

St. Louis Blues was always my planned bird after Bald Eagle, as I just can't get enough of shark mouth aircraft =P During research I found more info on Billy's Filly than St. Louis Blues, including the fact that Filly's a L, and Blues is a J, and I wanted to do an L... so after some deliberation, I figured, Why not both!?

Here they are, 218 - Billy's Filly, and 225 - St. Louis Blues. These are all new P38s and the only thing they really share with my other 3 P-38s is the panel lines. Everything else is brand new including a new metal method, shadowing, and painting. Hope you like. Please feel free to point out any way they can be improved, I won't be offended. =) (Trust me, I won't be offended. I often have a bunch of things I want to change/fix/alter, but have learned I need to "step away" and get a 2nd opinion at times... for instance, the OD green seems a bit bright to me.) So, without further ado....

The obligitory "this is closest to the profile view" view for Billy's Filly...


Underside, hopefully showing how the new metal coloration/shading is working with the new lighting system, as well as panel line/rivet detail!



She's a bit older (a J model), but looks meaner!


A top down view to give more view of the rivets and some of my "special effects" (blech. hahaha)



And of course, they are sister planes! Gotta fly them winging together! (warning, photoshopped content ahead =P )

[B4Buster]

I found a new 38J skin in St Louis Blues

maybe I missed it..have any pics of the real things?

[Knite]

Thanks B4Buster!

Here's a link to this very forum that has a few pictures. Don't want to take away from the people who were awesome enough to help me by posting them :
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,274797.0.html

[The Fugitive]

the blue is too bright. I think it has to muted a lot more. Other than that I thing they look really nice. Good metal skins.

[B4Buster]

yup blue is too bright, you need more of a turquoise.

[lyric1]

the blue is too bright. I think it has to muted a lot more. Other than that I thing they look really nice. Good metal skins.

Yep.

[5PointOh]

Really Really nice!

[Megalodon]

Nice Job!
pilot info on the filly in red you can see it here in front of the wing. prop tips are red?

[oboe]

Great looking skins!    I agree with the posters above about the too bright blue (try dialing down the saturation?).   Great job on the radiator housing checkerboard - thought that would be a real bear but looks handled well.

Would like to see Billy's noseart stand out more, and also check the nose gear door - weathering on lower fuselage needs to be carried onto the gear door cover.

One more detail - the antilgare green on the windscreen is darker than the nacelle and nose antiglare color - should/be same?

Great to see a couple of birds from the 18th!

EDIT: Did you remember to delete the dive flap panel lines from the 38J skin?   That's something I often forget when jumping back and forth between the J and L.   J will have a single recessed underwing landing light on the port wing.   Check out Fester's 38J for the best detail.

 

[Knite]

Thanks for all of the comments everyone. The color blue was definitely a "not sure" moment for me too. I'll tone it down / adjust the "blueness".
A couple of specifics...

pilot info on the filly in red you can see it here in front of the wing. prop tips are red?

Hey Megalodon, thanks for that pic. It shows Filly at a slightly different angle than I had, and I was really wondering about the Pilot info. Good, gives Filly more detail. =)  I'll double check my pics of Filly to double check on the prop color too, I THINK the other ones show it as yellow and it might just be a pigment fade thing with different photos, but better safe than sorry. =)

Great looking skins!    I agree with the posters above about the too bright blue (try dialing down the saturation?).   Great job on the radiator housing checkerboard - thought that would be a real bear but looks handled well.

Thanks! I'm going to go back in to make a slight adjustment, as while it wraps around the bottom ok, on the top it stretches. I'm not sure there's anything I can do about that, but have to check.

Would like to see Billy's noseart stand out more, and also check the nose gear door - weathering on lower fuselage needs to be carried onto the gear door cover.

Will do. Billy's noseart has been kind of annoying as it's such a small, lack of detail picture even in the original. I was thinking of going with a more "cartoonish" outline to make it stand out more. I see what you mean about the nose gear. It'll be a bear to clean up but should be doable.

One more detail - the antilgare green on the windscreen is darker than the nacelle and nose antiglare color - should/be same?

Hmmm... If I know what you're talking about (and that's no assumption =?) I think you mean the little piece at the very bottom of the front windshield vs. the OD panel fo the nose itself? I didn't even see that as there until you pointed it out. =P

EDIT: Did you remember to delete the dive flap panel lines from the 38J skin?   That's something I often forget when jumping back and forth between the J and L.   J will have a single recessed underwing landing light on the port wing.   Check out Fester's 38J for the best detail.
 

Delete... umm... sure... of course I remembered to....
 
poop.

 
Thanks for the advice on checking Fester's 38J on landing lights. I have them on the aircraft at the very tips, but I definitely might be wrong on the # / placement.

Thanks for your help everyone!  

[OOZ662]

Is it just me, or do they seem too "creme" colored? To me, it looks like they're bathed in a sunset. That's coming from an entirely inexperienced eye, however.

Regardless, beautiful birds.

[Plazus]

Looking forward to some more P38 skins! 

[oboe]

the wingtip lights are navigation lights (one red, one green, top AND bottom of wingtips)  not landing lights.   The landing light is a small spotlight, similar to a car's headlamp, that pops out and rotates foward, I believe, to illuminate the ground on landing approach.

glad to help out!

[StokesAk]

Holy Hell!!!

These are sweet!!!!!!!

[texastc316]

gimme gimme gimme I need I need I need!!!