a family P51 skin request

[Vraciu]

The C looks red to me, especially when compared to the tail letters of the planes behind it.

That would match "MARIE" which exists in a color photo.

Here is blue and black to compare.  

- The Q is not the right size or shape.   Presented here for color comparison only.

- The C is half BLUE and half BLACK for comparison.   I think it should probably be red.   Knowing the squadron Bill was in would likely solve that riddle.  

- 'WEE WILLIE' is moved but is too small.    Again, will get to that later on.

[Vraciu]

Another shot without the proper spec or bump maps to compare black to blue for the letter codes.   THE Q IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

[Dragon Tamer]

Defiantly black, though the black you have looks a bit dark. USAAF standard black was RGB: 44/41/38. It's a lighter shade of black and has a bit of gloss to it.

[Vraciu]

Defiantly black, though the black you have looks a bit dark. USAAF standard black was RGB: 44/41/38. It's a lighter shade of black and has a bit of gloss to it.

The QP *AND* the C?

It does have some gloss to it but straight on like that it isn't showing.   Will lighten it to the 44/41/38.

[Dragon Tamer]

I would stick with red for the "C", we know that it was used in the squad so it was probably a standardized thing. Though in the photo it does look like it's faded a bit, was it sent on missions by itself or as part of a small group I wonder?

[tmetal]

2nd FS 52nd FG, I believe

[Vraciu]

2nd FS 52nd FG, I believe

If that is the case then it is likely all the letter codes are RED.

http://www.ww2incolor.com/us-air-force/P51-MARIE.html

[Vraciu]

I think the red lettering rings true.  

- I forgot the bottom (asymmetrical) hash lines on the Q.  Will fix that.  
  EDIT IN: Fixed in the third picture.   Also shows new nose art.  Needs to be darkened, sharpened, and rotated.

- The bottom yellow stripe is in the wrong place.   I am moving it from the BASE to the MARKINGS layer later.

As you can guess, this is a process and you work your way through it.  I am not as fast as the experten like Greebo, Saxman, Devil505, etc.

[tmetal]

Just got confirmation from Bill's son (the real wee willie) that he was in the 2nd Fighter Squadron 52nd Fighter Group known as the "american beagle squadron" a parody of the famous "american eagle squadron"

Thanks a bunch Vraciu and everybody else who also weighed in. My dad and I are really looking forward to blazing around digital skys in a family warbird.

[Vraciu]

Just got confirmation from Bill's son (the real wee willie) that he was in the 2nd Fighter Squadron 52nd Fighter Group known as the "american beagle squadron" a parody of the famous "american eagle squadron"

Thanks a bunch Vraciu and everybody else who also weighed in. My dad and I are really looking forward to blazing around digital skys in a family warbird.

That would make the red lettering plausible.  I will stick with that barring evidence to the contrary.  It also differentiates it from the other 52nd FG skin I already have in the game (different squadron).


Will try to make the next release, if not, should be no problem for the September update.   No sense rushing if the time can be used to improve the skin.   I can send you the files once I am done to fly it offline if we miss the coming release.

[Vraciu]

The problem is that the none of the colors appear to match in the photo. If we look at the tail, we know that it's supposed to be a yellow, but it's a dark color so it's probably a flat yellow instead of gloss. This makes it look in the photo like it's actually a shade of orange or possibly a light shade of red. This makes it hard to tell but I'm certain that the nose is red. I'm going to say that the "WEE WILLY" is a shade of black simply because that was the most common color used when just painting letters on the nose. Even when there is more complex art the letters are usually black. It's too hard to tell if it's a gloss or flat black so I'll leave that decision to you.

Edit: I made this quick reference with the colors that I usually use. The OD colors on the right were flat so they would appear much darker than what is actually shown.

(Image removed from quote.)

Dragon, which Green/OD for the glareshield?    To me it looks very dark even in the pictures.

[Dragon Tamer]

RGB 85/79/68 was the darker of the OD colors used for glare shields with 95/94/78 being the lighter.

[Vraciu]

I would also put a black mark around the prop spindle near the back to simulate a gap there. This will keep the spindle from looking like it's fused with the rest of the aircraft.

I tried this and I can't get the effect right.  The offset (wobble) of the prop spinner is making it look bad.    Are you talking about a continuous line on the spinner base or just a black mark in a random spot?

[Dragon Tamer]

Here is a screen shot of one of my 51B skins. The spinner for the 51 textures are not straight for some reason so it was a bit challenging to get it right.

[Vraciu]

Here is a screen shot of one of my 51B skins. The spinner for the 51 textures are not straight for some reason so it was a bit challenging to get it right.

(Image removed from quote.)

Bless you, sir.  (They're not straight on the D Pony either.)  I will try to implement this.  


Hopefully I didn't miss any other critiques....  Gonna' try to get this in before the update.  Will need to post some shots for a final review from the gang before I do though, so this will probably be a bridge too far this go...


(Looking forward to flying in formation with the OP in "Jo-Baby" -- two yellowtails in formation...  Should be a nice picture)