Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Custom Skins => Topic started by: Vraciu on May 02, 2018, 03:51:39 AM
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Thanks to all of you who helped me out on it...
This is Lieutenant Karl K. Dittmer's P-51D Mustang, "DOPEY OKIE" of the 352nd FG, 487th FS. It is another of Mus51's orphans. I redid the entire skin although I kept a small section of his metal work in it as a gesture of appreciation. In working on his skins I've learned a LOT about the subject. I would have liked to see what he would do using the current engine.
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Karl Dittmer was born on January 1, 1923, in El Reno, Oklahoma. He enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Forces on April 6, 1942, and was commissioned a 2nd Lt and awarded his pilot wings on April 22, 1943. After completing B-17 Flying Fortress training, he served as a B-17 aircraft commander with the 549th Bomb Squadron of the 385th Bomb Group in England from January to November 1944, followed by service as a P-51 Mustang pilot with the 487th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group from September 1944 to February 1945. During his time with the 352nd Fighter Group, he was credited with the destruction of one enemy aircraft in aerial combat.
He had an amazing career including service in Korea flying F-86s (three victories, five damaged) and Vietnam in O-1 Bird Dogs. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1969 and passed away in 2003.
(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29639)
(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29627)
(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29621)
(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29625)
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(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29637)
I like this one with the engine running for some reason...
I'm wondering if JPGs compress more in the upload than BMPs...
(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29633)
(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29635)
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Very Nice V...
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Excellent.
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Another fine skin. :)
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Very nice Vraciu, a great skin.
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Thanks everybody. :salute
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:aok
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:aok
Thanks! :)
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:aok
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:aok
Thanks, friend.
Here's one more shot of it. I tweaked the blue and sharpened up the nose art a tiny bit.
(http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=29644)
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Gorgeous! :aok
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Gorgeous! :aok
Thanks bruh!
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and nice job on the carbon side smudge and aluminum/riveting ...hard to do and it looks fantastic! :aok
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and nice job on the carbon side smudge and aluminum/riveting ...hard to do and it looks fantastic! :aok
Thanks buddy. I had a lot of help on this stuff. Greebo’s tutorials, Devil talking me step by step through techniques, etc. The light bulb really came on once I started redoing Mus51’s skins. The depth to his metal showed me what I was missing. I was able to take everything Devil taught me and combine it with the Mus-inspired metalwork to get the skin to pop.
It’s ultimately Oboe’s fault. His metal showed the potential in this graphics engine and motivated me to figure this stuff out.
I’m still perfecting my technique, but I’ve stumbled onto something that seems to work okay. I just hope they’re as fun to fly as I intend them to be.
:salute
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The stack exhaust look good. I know some the real world Mustang owners like to leave as is vs cleaning it off, Stallion 51 being one. Nice work.
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The stack exhaust look good. I know some the real world Mustang owners like to leave as is vs cleaning it off, Stallion 51 being one. Nice work.
Thanks, Puma. Slowly but steadily I'm getting there. :salute
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Quick and dirty update to the blue paint. I'll eventually redraw it but I wanted to try and nail down the coloring first... Sorry for the pixelated images. This is meant only to give a rough idea as it is not the latest metal I'm using. The original is at bottom.
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=33547)
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=33553)
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I like the new blue better.
:aok
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I like the new blue better.
:aok
Do I take it further?
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Looks good to me.
Check out this legitimate color photo from a P-39 recon squadron I found a couple of months ago. This is a perfect example of the medium blue. Seems to be a near perfect match for the lighter blue on your nose.
(http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/P-39/Bell-P-39-Airacobra/images/USAAF-42-18285-Bell-P-39-Airacobra-118TRS-USA-01.jpg)
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:aok
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Thanks guys.
D, my only concern is it still seems a bit opaque but maybe I'm just not used to it. Does it look painted on? If you are okay with it then I've found my color.
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The top screenshot colour looks to be closer to Medium Blue to me.
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Thanks, G. I'll go with it unless you guys have any further suggestions on tweaks.
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Thanks guys.
D, my only concern is it still seems a bit opaque but maybe I'm just not used to it. Does it look painted on? If you are okay with it then I've found my color.
It looks like paint to me.
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Thanks. I'll roll with that.
:salute
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very nice <S>
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Looking forward to the new blue V!
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Thank you, guys.
I'll redraw it soon but this was an easy fix to push out in the meantime.
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Alright this is a little crazy to me, Karl Dittmer was my grandfather. I was looking around online and came across this page. I made an account to tell you that this is something super cool to me and to thank you for memorializing my grandfather in some way.
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Alright this is a little crazy to me, Karl Dittmer was my grandfather. I was looking around online and came across this page. I made an account to tell you that this is something super cool to me and to thank you for memorializing my grandfather in some way.
Our pleasure to honour him. :salute
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Our pleasure to honour him. :salute
I second that.
Rad, your grandfather had an amazing career. A true hero. I enjoyed learning about him while doing the research on his skin. There is a gentleman out there who did a profile of Col. Dittmer's Mustang. You may be interested in purchasing one for yourself.
https://fstudiosweb.com/p-51d-mustang-dopey-okie-487-fs-meyers-maulers-fine-art-aviation-profile-prints
Click to Enlarge
(https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5818bcf6b8a79b7beff1c852/1602431861419-0JYDO3AWUIVS9VZAEG89/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kCxpIDlJpX5cB54ab6gRkFoUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYy7Mythp_T-mtop-vrsUOmeInPi9iDjx9w8K4ZfjXt2dnWyFDzDwjGB7aIpSBGe6CjxR6zZOPhDeZ-9bLS6W0kkCjLISwBs8eEdxAxTptZAUg/Dopey+Okie+Blueprint+Full.png?format=1500w)
I will be updating this skin to make it look better. In the meantime the skin page, with some photos of your grandfather, and more details about his career, is here:
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/skins/index.php?skobj=p51d&display=P51D2022508&skinname=352FG/487FS%20by%20Vraciu
I'll message you when the skin is updated again.
In my original post I did not include his post-World War Two career. Here it is.
Post WWII career highlights:
Capt Dittmer left active duty and joined the Air Force Reserve on October 9, 1945 and was recalled to active duty with the Air Force on March 10, 1951.
B-29 Superfortress pilot with the 24th Bomb Squadron of the 6th Bomb Wing at Walker AFB, New Mexico - March to December 1951.
F-51 Mustang pilot with the 39th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the 18th Fighter Bomber Group in Korea - December 1951 to May 1952.
Capt Dittmer transferred to the F-86-equppied 335th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Group - May 1952 to December 1952. Credited with 3 MIG-15 fighters destroyed in aerial combat, plus 5 more damaged, for a total of 4 destroyed and 5 damaged in two wars.
F-86 pilot with the 417th Fighter Bomber Squadron at Clovis AFB, New Mexico - December 1952 to May 1953.
Staff of the 37th Fighter Bomber Group at Clovis - May to August 1953.
Major Dittmer served as an F-86 pilot with the 389th Fighter Bomber Squadron at Alexandria AFB, Louisiana, from August 1953 to January 1954.
Lt. Colonel Dittmer deployed to Southeast Asia in February 1966 where he served as an O-1 Bird Dog pilot and Tactical Air Liaison Officer with the 505th Tactical Control Group at Tan Son Nhut AB, South Vietnam - February to April 1966.
22nd Tactical Air Support Squadron at Can Tho AB, South Vietnam - April 1966 to February 1967.
Retired from the Air Force - October 1, 1969.
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Alright this is a little crazy to me, Karl Dittmer was my grandfather. I was looking around online and came across this page. I made an account to tell you that this is something super cool to me and to thank you for memorializing my grandfather in some way.
Just a quick update on the progress with your grandfather's airplane. I think you will agree it is a lot better with the new metal! I'm still trying to nail down the blue but I'll probably put this in as an update and tweak it more later.
NEW:
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=35057)
OLD:
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=35061)
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Looking good.
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Thanks. More tweaks for RADMH to see (low resolution though, sorry):
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=35071)
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:aok
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Can I get some feedback on this shade of blue? The nose art panel is from a different (earlier?) shade. What should I aim for here?
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=35078)
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I think the blue looks great as it is.
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It looks fine but maybe it could be a touch more saturated than it is currently.
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Okay. I'll try that. Do I simply increase saturation with the tool the same way I desaturated it?
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(Deleted Post. See Below.)
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Is this closer to it?
(https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=392875.0;attach=35084)
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That looks good to me and yes you can use the same tool to saturate a colour as you use to desaturate one.
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That looks good to me and yes you can use the same tool to saturate a colour as you use to desaturate one.
Thank you, sir. :salute