Maj. James A. Goodson - P-51D (VF*B) - 4th FG, 336th FS AH3 v2

[Vraciu]

A much-needed update to Maj. James Goodson's P-51D VF*B.   Special thanks to Oboe for his outstanding pilot figure which is the basis for this one.

Original:  https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,393915.0.html

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This is P-51D VF*B S/N 44-13303 flown by Maj. James Goodson of the 4th FG, 336th FS.   Maj. Goodson began his service with the RCAF and was a member of the 336th Eagle Squadron.   He remained with the unit when it was taken over by the USAAF, flying Spitfires, Thunderbolts, and Mustangs.   Known as "The King of Strafers" he remarked that he didn't strafe because he liked to do it, but rather because he felt it was the best way to destroy enemy airplanes.   This aircraft was shot down by ground fire on 20 June 1944.   Maj. Goodson bailed out of the stricken aircraft and became a POW, ending the war with 30 victories (15 Air, 15 Ground).  At the time of his downing he was Deputy Commander of the 4th FG and the 336th Squadron's Commanding Officer.




Compare the update (middle) to the original version:

[lyric1]

 

[Greebo]

Nice improvement to the original Vraciu.

[FTJR]

nice job B 

[oboe]

Great job - I think I'm seeing the more subdued markings layers allow the underlying metal texture and shading to stand out more?  Not sure, but its impressive - especially the large scale of the new screenshot gives the plane a beefier "presence".   Nice touch with the Stars and Stripes flying in the background!

Goodson must've been a modest fellow - all those kills and yet no nose art or decoration on his aircraft.  Strictly business, I guess?       

[Vraciu]

Thanks guys.

As for that technique, I got it from you, Oboe.   I remember long ago how you said to reduce opacity to give a painted effect.   

In this case I'm trying to control how much the white flares up in harsh lighting.   I'm also trying to make it look painted especially at the edge that touches metal on the outboard section of the wing.  The transition is too stark if you leave opacity at 100.   It's a tradeoff admittedly.   

The problem is that this plane has FRESH stripes in the photo evidence.  It's hard to reconcile that with blending them in. 

I have a painting of Godfrey and Gentile signed by Goodson.  He was quite the remarkable guy.   Always smiling it seems.   In all the books I've read by 4th FG guys he was highly regarded.

[oboe]

Yeah, everything is a trade-off, isn't it?  One of the things I do to try to control the white flare-up is make the white insignia star-and-bars separate from the blue surround and reduce their specularity fully down to pure black - x'000000'. 

To help create the illusion of fresh paint, you could reduce the opacity of the panel lines and grime within the white stripes slightly - don't eliminate, but make them somewhat lighter then the panel lines and grime in the adjacent bare metal.  It looks like you've already done this technique within the white star and bar?   

I also suppose if the D-Day stripes are fresh paint and the insignia star is older, the stripes white should be a bit stronger than the white in the star?  If you exchanged the white of the Star and Bar with the white of the D-Day stripes I think it would make the stripes look fresher and the star insignia older.

This is a real sharp 4thFG scheme.  Simple and looks just-right on the Mustang.  A real classic look.

[Vraciu]

Thank you kindly.  You may be onto something on the insignia white.   I'll look into that.   I did try to have more weathering on the insignia than the invasion stripes.  Perhaps it isn't obvious enough.

As for the edge where the stripes transition to metal on the wing perhaps I could use a line of white that is slightly more transparent as a transition border.   That may help it blend in.  I think one of my Bs has a good effect in that regard but I can't remember how I did it.

Here is the source photo.

[oboe]

That photo is a great example of the darker white of the star and bar versus the brighter white of the freshly-painted D-Day stripes.

I don't see much difference between the edge of the white stripe on the outer wing and the bare metal outside of that.  But it could be glare or over-exposure.

It looks to me like the tail serial number digits in the photo are taller and skinnier than what you show, and have greater space between them.   The '4' should be centered under that small access panel. 

I have been finding that in the standard font sizes of USAF Amarillo font, the weight of the letters is a little off.  I sometimes use a smaller type-size to match the correct thickness of the target digit, and then use the scale function to increase the height of the digits.  Or, I end up rebuilding the digits myself - using the 'scale' function sometimes distorts them too much.  So I'll break them apart and insert pieces myself to make them taller, wider, whatever is needed.  For example the loop of the '3' in the photo looks a little taller than it is wide...

[Vraciu]

Good catch.

Yeah, I have custom numbers myself for the same reasons you cite.  I apparently have not updated this one with the right ones (probably just didn't notice, to be honest).   I'll tweak that.   Thanks a lot.

Yeah, the white stripe demarcation issue only happens from a certain light angle and it is really jarring.   I can't seem to fully mitigate it as yet but I have a an idea or two left to try.

[oboe]

I think your idea of a 1px wide white edge stripe at 50% opacity would take the hard edge off the line.  And you could vary the opacity until it looks right to you.

[Vraciu]

Or perhaps two pixels and fade it. 

I'll try it since I have to fix the numbers any way. 

[Devil 505]

Fantastic. Just swap the whites like Oboe suggested and it's golden.

[Vraciu]

Thank you.  I'll post an update after I tweak it some more...

[Vraciu]

Hopefully this fixes everything...