Capt. Frank Bertciel - P-51D "Miss Velma" (CY-D) - 55th FG, 343rd FS - AH3 Rev

[Vraciu]

My eyes have gone crossed so I am going to post this and see what you guys notice that I've missed.

This skin was originally created by Mus51.     While working it over I was really impressed with some of the techniques used to draw it.   Whether or not I can translate these ideas into my own work remains to be seen but I have learned a thing or two regardless.   I also redrew numerous items with a more detailed eye than I had before thanks to what I saw on this skin.   

In any event, Mus51's influence is visible here.   This was by design.   A lot of what he drew cannot be improved upon so I kept it.   I look at this as more of my vision of what he would have done using today's engine.    Let's call it the 2017 Dodge Challenger compared to the 1970.   The inspiration is definitely there.   To convert this skin fully to my style for the P-51D would be a downgrade.  He simply did things on a much higher level than I can in many ways.   Still, I've gone over just about every pixel, cleaning up, adjusting, moving, creating layers, etc.    Wow.

The NO-STEP red border on the flap has two versions.   I am still debating which to keep, hence they are both shown.    I may also go back and tweak the upper wing where the stripe was removed so it shows a slightly different metal effect.

As for Capt. Bertciel...   He had an interesting career.

http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/Pilots/343rd%20Pilots/Birtciel%20Frank%20E%20Capt.htm

http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/birtciel.html

Sorties: 121
Aerial Victories: One shared (Me-262), One Damaged (Me-262)
Aircraft Destroyed on Ground: 5 Destroyed, 1 Damaged

He met his future wife on leave.   When he returned to the theater he named his Mustang(s) after her (ultimately flying two of them).   They had three children.

He fought in Korea and retired in 1969 with the rank of Lt. Colonel.

[lyric1]

 

[Greebo]

It looks good but I think it needs more contrast in finish between the olive drab and bare metal areas. Have you done the effect maps yet, its hard to tell from the lighting angle?

[Vraciu]

It looks good but I think it needs more contrast in finish between the olive drab and bare metal areas. Have you done the effect maps yet, its hard to tell from the lighting angle?

I have but they probably need tweaking.    I've tried two or three different ways and this is the least satisfying of them.  I don't know if it is the Power Map or the Spec that is the main issue. 

Would you go flatter on the OD or shinier on the NMF?   The yellow needs to be flatter for sure.   

[Greebo]

To my eyes the yellow looks a little too saturated on the diffuse texture and the OD a bit light and washed out. I'd have thought you could simply make all the painted areas the same shade of grey on the effects maps, rather than different for just the yellow or OD.

It is hard to tell about the lighting effects because the lighting angle in the screenshot doesn't show much in the way of specular reflections. What I noticed before was that the painted spinner looks to have a fairly sharp specular reflection for a painted surface so my best guess is to make the painted areas of the skin darker on the power map to diffuse the reflections. But I'd really need to see a shot with the specular reflection running across a larger area of paint/NMF to get a better idea, maybe from side-on rather than three quarter. What base grey levels are you using for paint and NMF on the three effect maps?

[Vraciu]

To my eyes the yellow looks a little too saturated on the diffuse texture and the OD a bit light and washed out. I'd have thought you could simply make all the painted areas the same shade of grey on the effects maps, rather than different for just the yellow or OD.

It is hard to tell about the lighting effects because the lighting angle in the screenshot doesn't show much in the way of specular reflections. What I noticed before was that the painted spinner looks to have a fairly sharp specular reflection for a painted surface so my best guess is to make the painted areas of the skin darker on the power map to diffuse the reflections. But I'd really need to see a shot with the specular reflection running across a larger area of paint/NMF to get a better idea, maybe from side-on rather than three quarter. What base grey levels are you using for paint and NMF on the three effect maps?

I will get back to you on those grays.

I need to break out the yellow stripe as it's own layer.  As of now it is still merged wth the OD. 

The OD is a problem for me as I don't know what color it should be.  Is it the same as the horse blanket or different?   If it is different then the blanket needs to be darker for sure. 

Here are some samples...

[Devil 505]

The OD paint on the real plane would be similar to the OD on Horses Itch when newly painted, but weathering would affect them to varying degrees and the color could look very different in the end. OD green is notorious for great changes based on age and exposure.

Your best bet would be to darken the OD a little on Miss Velma to increase the contrast.

[Vraciu]

The OD paint on the real plane would be similar to the OD on Horses Itch when newly painted, but weathering would affect them to varying degrees and the color could look very different in the end. OD green is notorious for great changes based on age and exposure.

Your best bet would be to darken the OD a little on Miss Velma to increase the contrast.

Checkers, too?  Are we assuming they're essentially the same color?

[Devil 505]

All the OD should be the same on Miss Velma.

Also I think the stripe between the OD and bare metal is red, not yellow.

Note that the stripe matched neither the dark shade of the OD or the light checkers, which are yellow.

[Vraciu]

That brings up another issue.   The pilot insisted the stripe was yellow.   Let me dig up that photo. 

[Vraciu]

http://www.crazyhorseap.be/Mustangs/Mustangs/N251RJ%20Miss%20Velma/N251RJ.htm

[Devil 505]

That brings up another issue.   The pilot insisted the stripe was yellow.   Let me dgg up photo.

http://www.crazyhorseap.be/Mustangs/Mustangs/N251RJ%20Miss%20Velma/N251RJ.htm

Sorry, but the photo evidence does not support this. The page you provided indicates that all these colors were painted at the same time. The stripe does not match either the yellow or the green. Therefore, the stripe must be red. Bertciel is probably incorrectly remembering an ancillary detail.

[Vraciu]

Sorry, but the photo evidence does not support this. The page you provided indicates that all these colors were painted at the same time. The stripe does not match either the yellow or the green. Therefore, the stripe must be red. Bertciel is probably incorrectly remembering an ancillary detail.

Cross post.  See above.  Red and yellow were around at the same time.  Red stripes were changed to yellow as well. 

Lyric do you have any pics of this plane that might support a yellow stripe?

[Greebo]

The two RH photos of G-CY appear to show a dark stripe on one and a light one on the other. So maybe they changed the colour on Miss Velma for some reason, perhaps different flights had different colour stripes as an ID aid?

The colour I use for olive drab is RGB 83/79/61.

[Devil 505]

Cross post.  See above.  Red and yellow were around at the same time.  Red stripes were changed to yellow as well. 

Lyric do you have any pics of this plane that might support a yellow stripe?

You have one photo of the plane you are skinning. In that photo, the stripe is darker than yellow and lighter than camouflage green. It is closest to the shade of the horse, which is red. The stripe is red. To me, there is no debate here.

Yes, other planes in the squadron had yellow stripes. Miss Velma may have had yellow at another time, but you are making a guess based on nothing more than the distant memory of the pilot.

If you are aiming to have the most accurate skin possible, then paint it like it appears in the photo - Red stripe and over-painted D-Day markings.