Maj. Jack L. Reed - P-38J "Curly Six" (08L) - 367th FG, 393rd FS

[Vraciu]

Maj. Jack L. Reed
P-38J-25-LO “Curly Six" (08L)
S/N 44-23569
367th FG, 393rd FS
Stoney Cross UK, 1944

P-38J-25-LO "Curly Six" 08L (S/N 44-23569) was the personal aircraft of Captain Jack L. Reed of the 393rd Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, during the summer of 1944, based at Stoney Cross and later at Ibsley, Hampshire, before the Group moved to France.  Excerpts from his diary during his combat tour spanning April to October 1944 provided an interesting insight into the life of a P-38 pilot in the ETO.

http://www.thenewforestguide.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Extracts-from-Captain-Jack-Reed.pdf

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I'm not really happy with this one, but I will keep tweaking them as I go searching for something I can live with.   I just realized I forgot the NO STEP is in black not white on red based on the source photos so I'll have to fix that before I submit.

The original is with the old shape is here: https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,399545.msg5296547.html#msg5296547

Click to enlarge.

[Vraciu]

OLD SHAPE: 




NEW SHAPE:






OLD SHAPE:




NEW SHAPE:

[lyric1]

 . Stripe looks pink on my phone. Will look on my PC later to compare.

[Greebo]

It's a fantastic skin Vraciu, really nicely done. I think some of the colours do look slightly off though. As Lyric1 said the red stripe is a little washed out and pink, but to my eyes the metal also looks too dark and blue-tinted.

[oboe]

One of my favorites of your '38s, Vraciu.  Metal is so tricky, but these overhead shots with the sun glare and nicely done grime look fantastic.  I'll go along with Greebo and lyric here with comments about the red looking slightly too faded toward pinkish orange, and the metal seeming a bit dark/bluish (when not in sunlight).   The new fuel caps look more realistic as well, with bare metal centers and muted dark red border.

But it's a beauty for sure, and a nice improvement to your original submission.

[Vraciu]

Thanks guys. 

That stripe has been driving me CRAZY.  When I make it more red it seems to hover over the metal.   When I desaturate it then it looks pinkish.

I'll see what I can do to tweak the metal.   Are we thinking a color balance shift reducing the blue and raising the brightness?   Is that the method I'm going for?

[Devil 505]

Looks good, but I agree with the others. You want to both lighten and desaturate your metal colors.

As for your red marking, do you still do that thing when you turn down the opacity of the paint layer a little? That might be your problem with the "hovering"

Try RGB 135,54,47 at full opacity. That's my U.S. insignia Red from my P-39 template.

[Greebo]

You could either desaturate and brighten the metal or increase the amount of red and green in the metal colour, the effect would be the same. The red just needs to be a bit darker I think.

[Vraciu]

Thanks,  G.  I'll try that. 

D, the opacity doesn't seem to matter.  It always looks too bold.  I'll try it again.

[Vraciu]

Quick hit on the metal.

Man you guys were right.  It was very blue before.   No wonder I hated it.







This one was taken at a distance so it doesn't quite have the fidelity of the two pics above.   But you can see the reflections and metal tone any way.

[Devil 505]

Yeah, you got it nailed now. 

[Vraciu]

Thanks for all the help.   

[Greebo]

That looks much better Vraciu, great job.

[Vraciu]

That looks much better Vraciu, great job.

Thanks for the help.