The Milk Run Special

[Greebo]

Thank you to Lyric1 for finding me the info for this, my first B-26 skin.

"The Milk Run Special" was a 597th BS B-26B flown by Lt. George Overbey and his crew. Flying its first mission in April 1944 from the UK this squadron attacked enemy railways, airfields, depots and V-1 sites in northern France during the run up to D Day. After the invasion it continued to hit enemy communications, later moving to bases in France and then Germany. This aircraft eventually racked up over 100 missions and in 1945 was transferred to the 559th BS where it flew until the end of the war.

[Vraciu]

I like it.   I might suggest pulling some of the blue out of the metal.  Not much. 

Great job.

[whiteman]

Nice!

[Devil 505]

That's stunning.

I see what V means with the metal showing a blue/teal tint. It could stand a slight dialing back as long as it does not risk looking too gray or purple.

[lyric1]

 

[800nate800]

hella nice greebo 

[Greebo]

This is the same natural metal colour I used on the four NMF updates I posted a couple of weeks ago and that Vraciu said looked really good. If its now too green/blue it is a bit irritating as I have been gradually shifting the colour that way for a few months following this forum's feedback. Can I ask what RGB colours you guys use for bare metal?

[SIK1]

   Nice jugs. 

 
Sik

[Vraciu]

This is the same natural metal colour I used on the four NMF updates I posted a couple of weeks ago and that Vraciu said looked really good. If its now too green/blue it is a bit irritating as I have been gradually shifting the colour that way for a few months following this forum's feedback. Can I ask what RGB colours you guys use for bare metal?

I've noticed that even between the Mustang models (B vs. D) metal behaves weirdly.   The exact same metal looks different.    Are your Normal maps the same?

I would simply desaturate the metal on this one two to five percent.   It will pull the blue out and leave your metal the same.   Trust me, it will help.   I've had this problem before. 

I'll get back to you on the colors.   Do you have different noise or dirt layers between planes?  That could be shifting it. 

[Devil 505]

This is the same natural metal colour I used on the four NMF updates I posted a couple of weeks ago and that Vraciu said looked really good. If its now too green/blue it is a bit irritating as I have been gradually shifting the colour that way for a few months following this forum's feedback. Can I ask what RGB colours you guys use for bare metal?

Greebo, I've been noticing similar things with paint colors on my skins not perfectly matching across plane types. I'm not even sure if differences in weathering layers is the cause.

I get the frustration.

[Greebo]

There's probably less of a general brown dirt effect at work here than some of my other NMF skins and this may be affecting the overall colour balance. In June 1944 "The Milk Run Special" had only been on ops for a couple of months and had been flying from nice paved surfaces for all that time so I dialled back the grime a bit. I'll try Vraciu's suggestion of desaturating the metal a bit.

[Hajo]

Greebo, as always well done!

[Vraciu]

There's probably less of a general brown dirt effect at work here than some of my other NMF skins and this may be affecting the overall colour balance. In June 1944 "The Milk Run Special" had only been on ops for a couple of months and had been flying from nice paved surfaces for all that time so I dialled back the grime a bit. I'll try Vraciu's suggestion of desaturating the metal a bit.

Yup.  When I added dirt to Shomo's Mustang it altered the color away from blue pretty significantly.    I think you're onto it.

[Greebo]

OK, I've been playing with the metal colour on the skin, trying to get a balance between the red, green and blue that looks right. The following screenshots were taken at the same arena time and from the same viewing and sun angles to eliminate as many outside variables as possible.


First the original metal colour, too green/blue:- RGB 127/138/145




Next the colour shifted away from green/blue and towards red, possibly too purple:- RGB 130/135/140




Finally the in-between colour that looks to be the best balance to my eyes:- RGB 128/136/142

[Devil 505]

That in-between shade looks just right.