Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Custom Skins => Topic started by: Vraciu on February 02, 2021, 07:10:14 PM
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A long overdue update to this one:
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,385287.0.html
I have more to do but am out of time for a bit. I’ll work on it again down the road. I think the overhead shot gives the best idea of how it looks.
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Major Edwin Walfred "Ed" Hiro
P-51D-5-NA, "Horse's Itch" (B6*D)
S/N 44-13518
357th FG, 363rd FS
Leiston, Suffolk - England
This is Major Edwin W. Hiro's P-51D-5-NA, "Horse's Itch" (S/N 44-13518, coded B6*D). Hiro was commander of the 363rd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group based in Leiston, Suffolk from June to September 1944. An ace with five victories, Maj. Hiro was killed in action on his final scheduled combat mission in a massive air battle against German Me-109s while providing air cover during Operation Market Garden.
https://obscureco.wordpress.com/tag/operation-market-garden/
c. 17 September 1944 - Maj. Edwin Hiro, on the last scheduled mission of his tour, dove into a swirling Lufbery of 25 planes. A Bf 109 broke from the circle, with Hiro on its tail; F/O Johnnie Carter followed and saw the 109 crash and burn. The Mustangs turned back toward the Lufbery, but Carter became separated from Hiro, who called on the radio asking where the rest of his flight was. Leutnant Richard Franz of 7./JG 11 saw Hiro destroy another Bf 109, but closed on Hiro and almost immediately hit the P-51D in the engine and cockpit. Lt. “Ted” Conlin had seen the attack on Hiro, and had gained position on Franz just too late; as the German pilot watched his victim go in, Conlin stitched Franz’s Bf 109G-14/AS across the engine and left wing, forcing Franz to crash-land in a wooded area. Hiro’s Mustang descended gradually until it slammed into the ground; Hiro was killed as a result.
Like his P-51B, Hiro's P-51D was named "Horse's Itch" for a type of mixed drink. It is modeled here after its hastily applied D-Day Invasion markings had been partly removed.
It is often (erroneously) depicted as having a white nose, but careful examination reveals it wore the standard iconic red and yellow markings of the 357th FG. A quirk of the film used for some of the photos of this airplane makes the checkers difficult to discern. While the white nose seems more fashionable to modelers, the checkered nose is accurate.
These photos are hosted offsite. If they disappear you can click on the links at bottom for those hosted here.
(https://i.postimg.cc/BQh30xs1/MODahss120.png)
(https://i.postimg.cc/kMv9T0ps/MODahss117.png)
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Comparisons still crack me up.
(https://i.postimg.cc/rFyT3h6k/MODahss118.png)
Here is the original:
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=402317.0;attach=33678)
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:aok
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Nice improvement.
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Yep, that is a definite improvement. :aok
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Thanks guys. More work to do on it yet, but this will do for now.
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Very nice - interesting to see the improvement in the comparison photos. The faded white invasion stripes look much more authentic.
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Thanks, Oboe. I'll tweak them some more later. Gotta go on the road for a bit and there's no telling how much time I'll have to do anything so I submitted it knowing I have more to do on it.
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Nice job on dirtying it up Vraciu, looks a lot better.
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Thank you, sir. I'll try to do more to it later.
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Nice :aok
:salute
Sik
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Thanks.
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Looks great but the fuse stripes have a shade of pink to them on my screen. :O
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I'll take a look.
Thanks for all the compliments.
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Lately I’ve taken a liking to OD birds instead of bare metal...so I switched my 51 to this one :rock
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Good to hear, man. Hope you like it!
I'll be updating it again this month to fix those white stripes. :)
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V - great skin. It's one of my most used skins for the D.
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I fixed the pink hue in the invasion stripes. Hoping to get this in before Hitech releases the update. Greebo if you get a chance to review this one I would appreciate it.
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=402317.0;attach=33851)
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I really dig this one. :rock
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That is a real stunner Vraciu. Great skin.
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Thank you guys. It is really humbling to hear that from two people I genuinely respect.
This skin was quite the ordeal and group effort. I'm glad it meets your approval. :salute
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Hoping to get this in before Hitech releases the update. Greebo if you get a chance to review this one I would appreciate it.
This begs the question, does Greebo even have to review updates or adoptions or are they "pre-approved"?
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:aok
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I can only accept or reject the new skins each month, I do quickly check over the updated skins though. I don't have any power to reject an update so if there was an issue I would just tell Hitech about it and let him decide.
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I have updated the nose art and tweaked a few other things on this one. During the discussion of the colors seen in photos of a 451st BG B-24 (https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,408227.0.html) I noticed during my examination of HORSE'S ITCH that the nose art is most likely yellow, not white. This is in keeping with the theme most commonly used by the squadron/group in this regard as well.
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=402317.0;attach=36987)
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:aok
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Nice improvement.
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Great job V. :aok
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Thanks. Minor tweaks. I have a lot more I want to fix on it but it'll have to wait awhile.
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Sharp!
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Nicely done Vraciu, a worthwhile improvement.
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Thanks guys. I just keep tweaking it here and there. Had a layer missing in that screenshot. I added and uploaded.
More to come.
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I added back the missing layer which contained canopy latches and some hatch panel lines as well as the metal border where the side windows are located. I also upped the sheen level just a bit on the S map. It shows up more in the game than in this screenshot but the effect makes a positive difference.
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=402317.0;attach=36991)
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Looks great!
What's the small grey patch on the trailing edge of the wing-fuselage fillet (below the '6')?
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Thanks man.
That is part of the invasion stripe that goes on the the wing-to-fuselage fairing. In the 3-D model, oddly enough, as you rotate around the skin that section of the wing moves/wiggles and gives it a really strange effect. From some angles it is lined up like it should be but as you rotate the skin it moves out of alignment. It's hard to explain but if you download the skin offline (I think it is P51D_30) into the skin viewer via SAVE TEXTURES and mess with it you will see what I mean.
I'm open to any suggestions as to how to hide that better but I think it is just the way it was modeled. There isn't a true fairing there it is more of a 90 degree junction.
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I thought it might be tape from a reference photo, or maybe somehow some of your texture got clipped and the background color was showing.
I'm not familiar with the effect you're trying to conceal (been a while since I've skinned a Mustang). But I do have one coming up soon so I'll watch for funny stuff in that area....
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Here's the other fun fact. Even though the striping is all the same color it is very difficult to match up because the light is hitting at different angles all over the place. There is a concave indentation along with the curves on the wing and the flat plate of the fuselage all coming together in one spot. It's a nightmare. LOL
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=402317.0;attach=36993)
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The game model has this wing-to-fuselage junction pinched INWARD but it is actually opposite that on the real plane.
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=402317.0;attach=36995)
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Oh I see now. Your illusion looks good from those angles. The color just appears more grey to than the white stripe, but I'll bet it changes with different aspect angles and lighting...
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Oh I see now. Your illusion looks good from those angles. The color just appears more grey to than the white stripe, but I'll bet it changes with different aspect angles and lighting...
That's the exact problem.