P-51B "Ding Hao!" - James Howard

[Vraciu]

BTW pop quiz: Does anyone know which two AH planes actually did have different length left and right wings in RL?

202.  205.

[Vraciu]

Greebo and Vraciu, In working with the Ki-84 I have also seen wings not scaled the same left to right.

Ah, good. Then it isn't just me.  I will go back and do the ruler method mentioned by Greebo, but it appears that on the map the wings are off by a few pixels.  It could just be me.   Maybe I have something askew somewhere.   

[oboe]

Thanks man.   That was a great suggestion.  It makes a massive difference in how it looks. 

It still stretched some, but Oboe was right.  In this case attacking it from below was the best option.   It worked.

I will keep looking.   The wing stripes need to be wider based on the look of the gear door (and when compared to the gear bay internals).

I'm glad I was able to help - it makes a big difference I think.

[Vraciu]

I'm glad I was able to help - it makes a big difference I think.

Agreed.    Thanks again.   Now on to the cowling lines.  That also makes a difference.   I hope to have results tonight.

[Vraciu]

Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would.


Now the lines match the exhaust.   Much better look.

I can't seem to find a way to get the ........................... rivet lines to fit without looking obviously distorted so I just deleted them.


Now I need to figure out what to do with the OD paint.   For now it is random pixels.  My instincts say I need to use a low-level Gaussian Blur to make them smooth out.   Any thoughts?

[Devil 505]

Looks great so far.

You should be able to make decent rivets using the dotted line tool. Experiment with both aliased and anti-aliased dots.

[Vraciu]

Looks great so far.

You should be able to make decent rivets using the dotted line tool. Experiment with both aliased and anti-aliased dots.

Okay you gotta' 'splain that dotted line tool for me.  I am still using PSP 5.       

[Devil 505]

I'll have to use the GIMP terminology so your mileage may vary. Find the "paths" tool. it allows you draw lines and curves and such. after using the tool to mark the path you want the rivets to go select "stroke path" which will open a menu with options for line style and thickness. You want a 1 pixel dotted line. There must be a similar tool in PSP-5

[Vraciu]

I'll have to use the GIMP terminology so your mileage may vary. Find the "paths" tool. it allows you draw lines and curves and such. after using the tool to mark the path you want the rivets to go select "stroke path" which will open a menu with options for line style and thickness. You want a 1 pixel dotted line. There must be a similar tool in PSP-5

Thanks, man.  I'll take a look.


In the meantime, what do you think about the base paint layer?   It is pixels right now.   Is Gaussian Blur the best tool to smooth that out or should I leave it as pixels?

[Devil 505]

Thanks, man.  I'll take a look.


In the meantime, what do you think about the base paint layer?   It is pixels right now.   Is Gaussian Blur the best tool to smooth that out or should I leave it as pixels?

What do you mean?

the apparent graininess of the paint?

[Vraciu]

What do you mean?

the apparent graininess of the paint?

Yeah.

Here it is raw and with a Gaussian Blur added.   From a distance it is not all that noticeable.  But in the cockpit you can tell the difference.  I want it to have some grain to it.   I think a mild Gaussian Blur still gives it that effect.   But I only used about .60 to blur...I think that's probably enough, unless I should leave it raw.

[Devil 505]

Blur it.

[Vraciu]

Blur it.

        

[Greebo]

Definitely blur it, looks a lot better.

[Vraciu]

Definitely blur it, looks a lot better.

Will do.  Thanks!