Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Custom Skins => Topic started by: Knite on September 15, 2009, 07:59:25 AM
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Hello all,
I've made a couple of skins in the past (3 P-38s, 2 B-24s), and really enjoyed doing it, but then dissapeared off the face of the earth while working on a P-51D named "Bald Eagle".
Well.... Bald Eagle has returned, with some changes/fixes due to help from people (such as Guppy) way back when, and the ole P-51D is now the correct P-51B in correct colors... So this is a return, of sorts, of me to skinning. I already have a 2nd in the pipeline (a P-38 of course!)
As you will see, there is a lot of work to be done (note the gun scarring for the extra pair of .50s... haha), but here she is so far. Please tell me what you think good or bad, as well as any corrections I need to make, as I'll be using this thread as something of a "Work in Progress" for any who are interested. Thanks all =)
Without further ado... P-51B Bald Eagle, with a reference to start, and my rather large images to follow :
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/beagle2.jpg)
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0914c.jpg)
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0914b.jpg)
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0914a.jpg)
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:aok
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Very nice, Knite - good to see you back. Combination of OD + bare metal always tough to pull off but this looks good.
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wow thats quite a complex skin, a good'un though :aok a few things I spotted:
* nose cone colour should extend further back, level with the front of the exhausts.
* stripes over exhausts: too many blue stripes and not thick enough, should be same width as the yellow
* stripes on rudder: should be a bit wider - 1/3 width of the rudder
* stripes on wingtip: need tweaking
* wing painted section: should start further outboard of the wing root, and finish further outboard (closer to end of flaps)
* aft fuselage painted section: much bigger cutaway for the tailplane
* fwd fuselage painted section: maybe should extend a bit further down the fuselage (its level with bottom of canopy frame, not glass), smaller cutaway for crew names
* canopy: fwd and aft painted sections should be taken back a little so the bare metal canopy frame shows more clearly
nice skin though, might tempt me into the B for a tour :)
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Hey all, thanks for the kind words.
Except you Holmes you p@#$. :rofl j/k. That's exactly the type of stuff I like to have checked actually.
Honestly, I appreciate the input. :) The color of the blue/yellow swatches are actually different in my 3 or 4 different profiles I have, but in further examination based on your feedback, I think I'm going to redo-them again slightly. I've struggled some with lining up the paint as the panel lines in the profiles don't line up with the panel lines quite 100% with AH's panel lines and the panel line referneces I've used. However, I've tried to approximate as close as I can but there is still a lot of "cleanup". As I said this is based off of a previous skin I scrapped, so some things don't line up quite the same. That'll be fixed.
Thanks a ton! As I said, I'm going to use this as my WIP thread so expect to see an update coming in the next few days. =)
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Hey all =)
As promised, I would make an update, and here it is. Please, PLEASE give me any comments, either positive or negative. As much as I was a wise guy to RTHolmes, I really did listen and just about everything he pointed out has been fixed or changed.
In fact, I spent waaaaaaay more time on this aircraft before this update than expected. I was kinda thinking of not being done for another week or so, but I got a lot farther along than I orignally though. There are 3 panels on the undercarriage I need to "sweeten up", but other than that, I think she's pretty close.
- Here we are, early in the morning just after coffee about to do a low level flight around the area. (really, this is just an excuse to show off my new propeller :lol )
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0919a.jpg)
- The crew takes a picture right after wheels up. I was flying light so didn't need to use the whole runway...
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0919b.jpg)
- Just a view from above, showing the panel lines, rivets, and what not...
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0919c.jpg)
- And here she is from the side, hopefully showing off the new metal method I attempted, as well as the bigger contrast between paint/metal, and new engine tarnishing.
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0919d.jpg)
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:aok
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nice, canopy works great :aok
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Whoa.. those insignia are too bright of blue. (I need shades :cool:)
edit: And.. check the actual insignia.. there is an indent where the white bars meet the blue circle.
edit#2: And.. check the under nose area where the yellow does not wrap.
edit#3: And.. check the invasion stripes missing under the wings.
edit#4: And.. check your invasion stripes not wrapping under the fusalage.
edit#5: And.. there are 8 kills on the profile..
edit#6: And.. check the tail ID markings not wrapping around the underside of the Elevs.. They would have been black as well.
edit#7: And.. Stenciling is missing below the kill markings.
Good Grief.. I should have just looked harder..
edit#8: And.. the green on the upper wings does NOT match the profile posted. It is too close to the fusalge and not straight. They were painting over the invasion stripes. Also you are missing the red "Don't Step Here" L shape.
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Thanks Lyric and RTHolmes. RTH, I worked on them for a while trying to fix what you were mentioning earlier. Even going back to the stock skin didn't give me the effect I wanted, so I winged it and got lucky. haha
Whoa.. those insignia are too bright of blue. (I need shades :cool:)
edit: And.. check the actual insignia.. there is an indent where the white bars meet the blue circle.
edit#2: And.. check the under nose area where the yellow does not wrap.
edit#3: And.. check the invasion stripes missing under the wings.
edit#4: And.. check your invasion stripes not wrapping under the fusalage.
edit#5: And.. there are 8 kills on the profile..
edit#6: And.. check the tail ID markings not wrapping around the underside of the Elevs.. They would have been black as well.
edit#7: And.. Stenciling is missing below the kill markings.
Good Grief.. I should have just looked harder..
edit#8: And.. the green on the upper wings does NOT match the profile posted. It is too close to the fusalge and not straight. They were painting over the invasion stripes. Also you are missing the red "Don't Step Here" L shape.
Thanks Fencer!
Woah : I used the same color blue for the insignia as I did for the trim on the plane. I was trying to keep the # of colors down to so the shading on the metal and green wouldn't get too "mucked up" when breaking down to 256 colors. I'll try a darker blue and hopefully it won't mess things up too bad elsewhere. :)
edit - You know, it took me a good 10 minutes looking through my pictures and profiles to know WTF you were talking about. The white internal bars actually cut INTO the blue circle, correct? Is that what you meant? Also, does that apply to the stars and bars on the wings as well, or just on the sides of the fuselage?
Edit 2, 4 - Yeah, those are some of the panels missing right now =(
Edit 3 - Holy cow! I completely did not catch that. Thanks a TON! On looking at what I've got, the invasion stripes should be lined up basically with the OD and go white, black, white, black, white... correct? Unfortunately, I only have 1 B&W photo of Bald Eagle, and it doesn't show the underside of the wing.
Edit 5 - Actually, that one is one that I've gone back and forth on. Let me explain... The profile, and a bunch of pictures I've found show 8 kills. Yet when checking American WWII aces, I couldn't find Robert Eckfeldt... so obviously I was a bit confused. I've tried multiple times to figure this one out. It appears he destroyed 4 190s, and heavily damaged 2 more while on the ground. Then later got 3 air kills. Really tricky to figure out how many to put... do I put 4 for the original 4? Do I put 7 for "kills"? Do I put 6 for the first 6 (4 ground kills + 2 heavy damaged), or do I put all 9? As you can see none of the numbers are the same as the 8 in the profile. However, I intended to put 6 and apparently forgot to put the 6th one on. hahaha. I'm not sure how many to put here as not only is there that historical information that has me thrown off, but I've got profiles showing 3, 8 and one showing 0. Any suggestions?
Edit 6 (whew) - Easy fix. Wasn't sure if they did or not. Thanks for confirming. :)
Edit 7 - I'm thinking you're referring to the writing I see below where the kill marks are? I only have 1 period photo and couldn't see them. In profiles, some have it, some do not. I wasn't sure so I omitted. Easy enough fixed.
Edit 8 - The painted over the invasion stripes part, I had no idea. I was trying to follow the contour of a panel line. Thank you. The don't step here red is an oopsie. I have it in the to do list but forgot it so far.
Thanks a TON for the help so far all.
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Should the panel lines stand out better than they do?
Nice looking skin though
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Should the panel lines stand out better than they do?
Nice looking skin though
Thanks B4.
I can change the "depth" of the panel lines at any time. The way I do my skins, any place I paint, panel lines do not show up as "deeply" as places that are pure metal (such as the front of the plane or undercarriage)
Did I cover the panel lines TOO much with the paint?
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Knite, the panel lines on the wings are not visable as they were filled and painted over. The gun bays are the exception.
Check out http://www.cebudanderson.com/p51bdetailpage.htm for the invasion stripes.
Also check your PMs.. you got a couple presents. :aok
Also check out
(http://www.51hangar.net/Mustangs/CA1.jpg)
and
(http://www.51hangar.net/Mustangs/MA1.jpg)
and
(http://www.51hangar.net/Mustangs/Fear1.jpg)
for the text I was talking about.
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Thanks a ton Fencer. That's really helpful. I originally thought the "stencil" was the pilot/crew notification that in BE's case was on a panel plate in front of the cockpit. Boy was I wrong.
I'm also increasing the "heavyness" of the paint. Will bring out more color so I may have to do some desaturation to counter-balance, but that's not a problem. It'll help hide the panel lines even farther in the painted areas.
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This skin is shaping up to be really pretty. :aok
Keep up the good work!
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Yeah, I was talking about the bare metal parts of the A/C as far as panel "depth" is concerned.
Really does look good though...This skin must have been a hute PITA.
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Yeah, I was talking about the bare metal parts of the A/C as far as panel "depth" is concerned.
Really does look good though...This skin must have been a hute PITA.
Ah, ok, so the depth of the panel lines on the METAL you didn't think were deep enough? Not a problem. The way I set these things up changing something like that shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes.
Thanks. You're right though. =) This skin has been a huge PITA... It started as a BLUE P-51D, as the profiles and photos of a restored bird I had all showed that, but after a lot of assistance (thanks!) turns out the restored bird was made off of incorrect information, and the profile off the restored plane. Digging deeper found this as a P-51B, and some information has been inconsistant (for instance, the lettering Bald Eagle I've seen as blue, red, and black, as well as it being listed as Bald Eagle III, not just BEagle...). To give you an idea... I generally save anywhere from every 30-90 minutes, depending on how major the changes I've made. My most recent skin back in 2005 had 15 different saves (not including the probably 5-10 saves I had from earlier skins as a "base). This skin? I just finished save v64.
But, honestly, it's giving me the taste of skinning again, and while it seems to be stressing my girlfriend out with all of the hours I'm putting into it, I'm liking it. Already thinking of 2 more projects to put into the works after this. A p38L, and a 51D. Shame the 51 slots are already full, so I might put that one off. Trying to figure out what plane to go with after those though.
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Knite,
That plane looks great! I have one idea for your skin. Is there any chance you could throw in some oil streaks on the nose?
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Knite,
That plane looks great! I have one idea for your skin. Is there any chance you could throw in some oil streaks on the nose?
Thanks!
Oil's already done ;) (Btw, B4B, so is your darker panel lines) Just not in the screenshots yet. :salute
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Instead of telling what's done... I dunno why I just don't show it... yeesh.
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0920a.jpg)
Fencer, since a cleaner photograph (*cough*) showed there no green OD on the tail, does that mean the underside black stripe would not be there as well? I have them in my file, but not currently visible.
Also, I decided to go with 7 kill marks as that would account for the 4 grounded 190s destroyed as well as 3 A2A victories. That seem right?
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Knite, after looking at the first profile picture you posted on this thread, I am truly amazed at your effort at skinning such a complex design! :salute to you!
PS: Looking at the profile picture, I also notice some streaks/tarnishing coming from the exhaust pipes as well. Is it possible to throw some of that in with your already awesome skin? ;)
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Knite, after looking at the first profile picture you posted on this thread, I am truly amazed at your effort at skinning such a complex design! :salute to you!
PS: Looking at the profile picture, I also notice some streaks/tarnishing coming from the exhaust pipes as well. Is it possible to throw some of that in with your already awesome skin? ;)
Thanks Plazus.
In the case of the streaks/tarnishing, it's actually already there. Instead of a smoke/carbon scoring, I went for more of a heat/metal bluing effect. If you look carefully you should see it coming in a line directly behind the engine exhausts, across the bottom of the killmarks and through the upper loop in the letter B. Fencer's 1st picture shows the kind of effect I was going for.
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Oh snap! I didnt see it before. Guess Im going to need to clean my glasses more frequently. :o
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Try an RGB of 38/48/66 or a hex# of 263042 for those insignia Knite or 68/62/78 and 443E4E.
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I didn't think kill marks were added for planes taken out on the ground?
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looks sweet! hopefully someone will come along and create a 361st squad in game.
You're doing the Yellow Jackets justice Knite.
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I didn't think kill marks were added for planes taken out on the ground?
8th AF policy was to count ground kills. In fact they were most likely more dangerous to get than Air to Air kills later in the war. It was part of the policy to kill the Luftwaffe whereever it could be found.
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8th AF policy was to count ground kills. In fact they were most likely more dangerous to get than Air to Air kills later in the war. It was part of the policy to kill the Luftwaffe whereever it could be found.
Ahh I know a 9TH airforce guy who was credited with ground kills but was not permitted to have them marked on his plane. Interesting that differant groups had varying policy's.
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Hey all,
Here she is, in her about to be submitted glory. Thank you all for the great help you've been and comments!!!
Fencer, I've tried to get the Stars and Bars to 38/48/66 (approx), but have had problems due to the way my paint jobs are. i.e. coloring something never winds up the same color as I made it due to the way I layer things. The GOOD news is I was able to get the blue for the S&B and the actual paint job separated. =) Is this coloration close enough to do the proper colors justice?
Here's the top view, to show just the paint structure and some panneling in general :
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0921a.jpg)
Here's the undercarriage. I wanted to show the invasion stripes properly lining up around the fuselage, as well as the panel lining and other details :
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0921b.jpg)
Of course, the obligitory, hope this comes close to the proper pictures/profiles shot :
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0921c.jpg)
And, just because I wanted to... the business end =) :
(http://khrymsyn.infinited.net/Aces%20High/Skin_Screens/BEagle/BEagle_2009_0921d.jpg)
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Looks good, and the tail stripes would not been on the lower elevs without being on the upper.
Try something for me.. use 236/246/242 for the white invasion stripes and 50/50/50 for the black... The black and white were not that "stark" in real life.
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Ive got red x's on my end. Cant view the pictures for some reason... :rolleyes:
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Very nicely done Knite. The Malcom hood is a great addtion. :aok
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Ive got red x's on my end. Cant view the pictures for some reason... :rolleyes:
I'm sorry Plazus, I've checked from work and home and seems the connection is ok for me. =(
Fencer, I'll make the update before submission. Thanks for your help. :salute
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:aok