Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Custom Skins => Topic started by: Cobra412 on August 22, 2004, 03:07:04 PM
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Here's my next project. I'd like to first give thanks to Fester and his P-40 template. It's saved me alot of time having this template available.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093203981_dikamdeath.jpg)
This skin is actually based off of a P-40N flown by Lt. Robert N. Gale, the uncle of RingUp in the 412th Braunco Mustangs. Lt. Robert N. Gale flew for the 88th "Screaming Banshees" in the CBI. He is alive and well living not far from Ringup. He may even join the Aces High community.
During a mission on the 9th of July 1944 from the jungle airfield Shingbwiyang Lt. Gales flight of P-40Ns took off for a routine bombing mission. During climb out the flight lead spotted multiple enemy contacts high above them. The flight of four released their bombs and headed for cover. The enemy contacts dove on the flight shooting down one of the P-40s and Lt. Gales aircraft took hits around the tail section of his plane. As the fight continued Lt. Gale darted in and out of the clouds looking for enemy aircraft. He popped out of the clouds only to find an unsuspecting victim. Lt. Gale open fired spraying a hail of bullets into the Zero. The Zero caught on fire almost immediately and Lt. Gale watched as the Zeros pilot released his canopy and tried to get out. The last he saw of the aircraft it was in flames and headed for the ground.
His second Zero kill started much like the first. He could only get a short burst off and landed hits on the Zeros wing. The Zero then did a split s and tried to maneuver away from Lt. Gale. Lt. Gale didn't follow as the two aircraft were only about 500 to 700 feet from the ground. The Zero ended up crashing trying to avoid Lt. Gales attack.
These kills were the last credited to the 80th FG in Curtiss P-40s before thier switch over to the P-47 Thunderbolt in the summer of 1944. These kills raised the 80th FG total kills while operating the P-40 to 40 air to air kills.
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I LOVE IT! I hope it gets published in the MA!
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Thanks TBolt..It took awhile to get the skull correct. I've still got alot of work on it to do but this is the basic scheme. Basically I've got the US Insignia to do and alot of weathering.
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Wow, fantastic piece of work on that skull.
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Thanks Greenbo. Here's the photos I got from Ringup that were given to him by his Uncle Mr. Robert N. Gale. It's all I had to go on for this particular bird other than what Mr. Gale can recall from back in 1944. The photos were prior to him getting his kills so those were added in accordance with what Mr. Gale could remember. The skull isn't perfect but it's fairly close to the actual paint job.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093210967_rgaleplane.jpg)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093211047_minirob.jpg)
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OMFG THATS THE PLANE OF MY DREAMS WTG!! is it a P-40 E or B?
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TB this paint scheme is actually from a P-40N but it's on the AH P-40E. There are some differences in the two birds but I felt it was worth doing considering it's my squad mates Uncle.
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I'm puttin' that one in as my favorite P40 whenever it gets published. Are you going to have to weather the skull at all? It'd be a shame to sacrifice any of its shining glory.
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If I'm not mistaken, wasn't Wadke's Father or Grandfather involved with this aircraft? May wanna ask him for some pics or things of the sort.
:edit: saw your post from a week or so ago.
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TBolt I will do some paint fading and minor chipping of the paint in areas. You can see there is an access panel for the engine right in the center of the mouth itself. I will be depicting that chipping especially considering it's authentic. I'm also doing some other chipping and weathering from a photo of another aircraft in that squadron. It was actually one of Mr. Gales friends.
United if I can get ahold of Wadke I'll ask if he has an info on the P-40.
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your welcome cobra glad it helped.
the template is incomplete on the lower surface around the landing gear wells so you will need to work on those spots if you havent already
S!
looks great! love the skull did you draw it yourself?
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Here's some updated photos. of the left and right fuselage. Unfortunately I will have to weather the Skull and name on both sides. Just so they will fit with the rest of the bird.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093223978_dikamdeath3.jpg)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093223958_dikamdeath2.jpg)
I still have alot to do. The numbers, skull, name and both the top and bottom of the wings need to be weathered.
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Thanks again Fester for you template. I haven't done anymore detailing on the bottom yet. I've got some old 3 view line drawings I'll be using to finish it up.
I did have to do that skull from scratch though. The artist that was in Mr. Gales squadron did very unique skulls for the 88th so there was nothing even close to atleast start an outline. Thanks again for the template...
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Cobra:
That's fantastic! Let's make sure RingUp's uncle gets a chance to see it!!
Tango, XO
412th FS Braunco Mustangs
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I'm sorry but my great uncle was a F4F pilot not a P-40 pilot... He was killed in a straffing attack at Midway while trying to save his friend...which he did and as a result lost his own life.
I do study the P-40 a lot though. It's one of my favorite aircraft to fly and once i get photoshop up and running i'll start to try making some skins. will take a while though to get used to it
any tips? i'm all ears :D
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also on real p40s the exhaust stains follow the airflow... they rise up to about where those kill flags are and arc back with about the same curve as the top of the wing. also on olive drab camo schemes the exhaust seems to be lighter than the olive drab on this one.
(http://www.p40warhawk.com/Wallpaper/MickGrinter/N5%201024.JPG)
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Great skin, Cobra!
I'm looking forward to it.
The exhaust stains show on the picture you posted, btw.
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Thanks for the info Citabria. I did notice what your talking about as far as the exhaust and the airflow last night. I really wasn't happy with the exhaust and how it came it to start with. In the top original photo the exhaust stain is darker than on the photo you posted.
I'm not sure if his bird was just running richer than your photo or not. It actually looks as if it's almost a forked tongue on my original photo also. With the top portion of the fork being longer than the bottom.
One other thing I noticed is the exhaust stacks on the P-40s are a washed out black with some indication of white discoloration. I'm still working on this so any input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the input also Glen...
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looks like its darker on the edges and llighter in the center where although in black and white looks same color as olive drab its probably a chalked tan color.
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Cobra,
The stacks start out plain steel, which can be a dark oily black. Sometimes they are more silver steel but the ones in your picture are dark and the ones on the Wanaka P40 are dark, too. No paint will stand the heat, they are not painted.
Depending on their age, they will weather to a buff-rust color, or. like your photo, the stacks with exhaust running over them will be the exhaust color, kind of a buff-metallic on dark airplanes and a dark-metallic gray on light airplanes. Take a look at the exhaust manifold on your car, the color is close ( it is on mine, anyway ).
Fuel additives, oil, carbon all contribute. The exhaust is a wierd oil-looking stuff that is extremely hard to get off. You have to use a solvent of some kind. It has a definite metallic tinge and is almost transparent. It takes an engine problem, ie spewing oil, an extremely rich engine, or a long period of inattention to get a really dark streak. Typically, on Gunfighter, the exhaust is washed off at the end of the season. The airplane flies about 300 hours a year and the exhaust streak is visible, but not dark black, by the end of the season.
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I'll be doing a bit of changes tonight on the exhaust stacks and the exhaust stain itself. I'll post them to see what you guys think. Thanks again for all the info it really helps out alot.
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hurry up LOL j/k i love your skins :D get it on Ah skins fast HEHEHE ;) AND STOP DOING ALL THE SKINS:p j/k your good keep it up:aok
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Updates. The first one just because I think it looks cool.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093310503_dikamdeath6.jpg)
General area of exhaust flow over wings. Still needs work I think. Maybe a little hint of black?
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093310534_dikamdeath4.jpg)
Same just opposite side.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093310561_dikamdeath5.jpg)
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Nah, I think more brown than black. Although, looking at it the Wanaka P40 is really clse to what you've done. It Looks great...
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Hiya Glen..Thanks for the reply. I went make and made a minor change. I used your input as far as using a brownish color in it. I'll try and post it later on. I'm sure folks are sick of all the pics. I'm kind of satisfied with the top wing weathering. I need to do a little on the leading edges of the wing, horizontal and add some gun smoke residue.
Once all that is done I'll begin working on the under side of the bird. I have to figure out how to get rid of HTs circular US insignia though. Then finish up the panel lines, gear well area and basics on the bottom. Then all I've got to do is put the finishing touches on the tire and rim. Thanks again for your inputs I really do appreciate them.
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How 'bout making the eyes red? :D
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lol TBolt..I'll have to ask Ringup so he can ask Mr. Gale if that would be authentic..I'd really like to stay as close to authentic as possible. I will ask the question though. This particular version of aircraft is also an N5 version. Had it been an N1 then I could have probably gotten away with the skin. I still have yet to get any kind of reply from HTC to see if they'll allow it. The N5 was extended a bit and had a noticably different aft canopy area. It was actually laid back opposed to how ours is.
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Oh I have a correction to the story in the beginning. After reviewing Mr. Gales records for the month of July. He was officially credited with one Oscar and one Hamp on that day while flying a P-40N5 out of BC-Myit-Fwd airfield. Not two zeros as one other unofficial record has stated. The official record was certified by Major George B. Hamilton, Operations Officer, 88th FS.
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Originally posted by Cobra412
TB this paint scheme is actually from a P-40N but it's on the AH P-40E. There are some differences in the two birds but I felt it was worth doing considering it's my squad mates Uncle.
That's one of the best looking skins I've seen and the real life nose art is one of the coolest I've ever seen.
Little known fact, with the exception of the P-38, the P-40 was flown by more aces than the P-47 and the P-51D in the PTO/CBI theater. And the majority of those aces in the P-47 and the P-51 were already aces when they were still in the P-40.
ack-ack
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it looks good except for the spot between the nose and the mouth looks too long.
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Originally posted by Ack-Ack
Little known fact, with the exception of the P-38, the P-40 was flown by more aces than the P-47 and the P-51D in the PTO/CBI theater. And the majority of those aces in the P-47 and the P-51 were already aces when they were still in the P-40.
ack-ack
Interesting!
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I need some feedback on the weathering for the wings. I still need to do leading edge work on the main wings and the horizontals. But how does the top look, too much or too little?
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/556_1093809598_dikamdeath7.jpg)
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IMHO, needs more weathering. The authentic pictures that you uploaded earlier made it look like this fighter had really put in a lot of airtime.
btw, Cobra, I picked one of your photos at Picture of the Week at Picture Hangar. PLEASE...do not delete the pic anytime before next weekend! :lol
Thank you,
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Okay, to be a contrarian...
I think the weathering you have looks good, it is really easy to overdo it. Look at a taken photo at the same distance the plane appears to be in your jpg and try to match that. You see a bunch of stuff up close that you cannot see at a distance.
Look at the picture you posted of Dikam Death. The CBI is a fairly primitive Theater. There is oil visible but not much chipping on the cowl. The paint on the leading edge looks fairly beat up, but the fuselage side is not bad at all. I'd bet the walkway is badly worn, but the outer wings should be pretty clean.
You tend to see chipping on American airplanes in places where people move around, or on the edges of panels that are removable. You generally see no chipping at all on outer panels or National Markings.
The forward edges of the wings and tail will chip and weather over time, particularly if there is rain common. Rain, strangely enough, will strip the paint right off a high-speed airplane, but only the leading edges. I'd suspect that repainting in the field was common in WWII. Note the 'patchy' appearance of many airplanes.
This is all a long-winded way of saying 'less is more'.
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Thanks for the insight guys. I may just have to post the unfinished skin somewhere so folks can get a closer look at it. The upper fuselage is done I think. I'll just have to let the community and HTC decide if it's worthy enough to place in the game.
I really do appreciate your inputs guys. Helps alot. Overtime your mind gets all jumbled staring at the flat skin and even at the skin in the game.