VN_PBY5a

alpha_1

Charter Member
Hi all. Just did some tinkerin' with this critter. The original .dp had the weapons hanging about 3-4 feet below the wings, so I adjusted that. They might sit a little tight now but at least they're up there.

As you can see by the attached screenies, there's another wee problem here. There are legs sticking out at the back of the aircraft. These must be the rear gunners, as you can probably figure out. Nobody manning the guns in the waist positions. This is way outta my league so I'm wondering if someone can step up and correct this. Other than that it's an attractive aircraft and a shame if it can't be fixed.

I'd be glad to share my altered .dp for this plane if anyone wants it. Right now I'm reading 'The Thousand Mile War'.......WWII in Alaska and the Aleutians and this sparked my interest. These birds played a huge roll in that part of the world back then.
View attachment 20294View attachment 20295View attachment 20296

Cheers!
pencil.png
 
Look to your DP

The legs protruding from the fuselage belong to the waist gunners. They are figures being carried as 'payloads'. They just need repositioning via the DP.
 
Look Ma, no legs!!

Thanks, Nole for the heads up. I've corrected the gunners positions, changed the .dp file to make them both gunners, not a pilot and a gunner as was the original. Both gunners now face the rear, though, I'm not sure if that's how things really were with this bird......I didn't research that.

Also lined up the gunsight using 'Aimit'. So, to me she looks a lot better with the .dp fixes. This is the first time I've dabbled this seriously with a .dp file and I found it to be fun. A wee bit of trial & error was involved, but hey........nothing ventured, nothing gained. I've added my updated .dp file here for anyone who wants it. Be aware that this aircraft by VN was a beta and there may well be a newer version out there that's already corrected these things.

View attachment 20308View attachment 20309

View attachment 20310

Cheers!

p.s. It'd sure be neat to see a campaign done up for the Aleutian battles.
 
Hi Alpha_1,

"Yoshi" (Yo****sugu Nagata) did two campaigns on the Japanese side for the Aleutians. One is the attack on Dutch Harbour and the other is the defence of Kiska.

Xavier Berdaguer's Japanese airfields include the Kurile Islands and Kiska. I also have another scenery package for the Aleutians but the author's name is not included. The airfields covered in this package are: Adak, Kiska, Dutch Harbor, Attu, Amchitka, Atka, Cold Bay, Fort Glenn and Annette Island.

Except for Xavier's scenery, I can't remember where I downloaded the rest. If you can't find them, I can email them to you.

Kevin
 
Aleutian Scenery

Those bases were probably from the RCAF 440 Squadron's site. I don't know if that site still exists as I no longer have an address for it.
 
I'm getting it! Alpha_1, have ya come across any RCAF P-40 skins?

I thought the legs might have been for emergency brake back up!:ernae:

Nice job, bud!:salute:
 
A little hard on the ol' knees on landing, Rick. I haven't come across those P40's you covet, but I'll be keepin' ma wee eyes open for 'em.....I'd like to get 'em masseff.

Jag, if you haven't you might want to read that book.....stayed up way late last night doin' that very thing. It's a Bantam war book and you can probably find it beaucoup cheap at a 2nd had book store in your area if you're interested.....they always seem to have lots of 'em.

Kevin I'll pm you my email address. I've got Xavier's fields but would really like to get hold of the other pack you have. I couldn't find anything else, other than as Jag says, there's an RCAF Western Canada, Yukon, Alaska pak available at simviation but those fields, I believe are probably too modern for any WWII missions/campaigns.

As I said, I really enjoyed myself tinkerin' with this airplane.....it's about time I started doin' a little giving for a change......feels good! Thanks guys!
 
There ia a 3 pak of RCAF P-40s at simviation. I think it was done in 2001. It's not too bad, but I'm still looking. :ernae:

Sorry, old boy, where are my Canadian manners! That was a great little read. Thank you, I book marked that site. I had no idea about the Beauforts. I saw a couple of those great looking Kittyhawks, say......you seem to be gettin' an idea on how to manipulate things, are ya ready to whip up some skins? Ah, the R.C.A.F., the boys were always ready to go!
 
Skins?

Jeezuz Murphy m'man......just got a layman's workin' knowledge (could even be dangerous) of .dp's and what they do under me belt!

Ahhh.....skins, eh? ma wee eyes are glazing over, wouldn't know where to begin. Now it seems to me that YOU''d be the feller to tuck into that. Seriously though, I'm gonna make a concerted effort to find those P40's.

Just installed some Aleutians scenery, it's a start......I'll take it though......I am dummer 'n a bag full of hammers when it comes to that kind of stuff.:bump:
 
Alpha,

I read the book many years ago while on an assignment up in Alaska. I ought to read it again, given the decrepit condition of my memory lately.
 
Great Story

I grew up in Northern Manitoba and worked in the northern bush for a couple of years as a young man. I sure do relate to that book.

We were flown in and out of camps in an old Otter. Come spring and we were breaking up camps, I'll never know to this day how those old birds managed to take off with all the slush on the ice......it was a tad scarey to say the least.

Good book! Thanks for the map pic, Dave......I've downloaded it and will print it off.
 
vn_PBY5a Dislexic fingers

Jeeeeeezuz Murphy! Just realized that I misspelled the title of this thread. I'm gettin' old but I still remember my middle name. Doggone fingers have a mind of their own. Sorry about that guys, ma wee fingers were havin' a bad day.

Cheers!:isadizzy:
 
Reply...

Alpha_1,

Nice work on the Catalina .dp file! I did notice, however, that when the first torpedo is dropped, it appears that the gunners decide to call it a day as well.

I suppose they are ready...still in their seats with their parachutes on, and if they get the chance they can always pull the chord. Otherwise, it would likely be a painful belly flop.
 
They look surprisingly calm! Keep at it Alpha_1. Your my hero, man, it takes a little courage to start experimenting with the dp files. I'm sure your guinea pigs are gonna have a few choice words for ya!:ernae:
 
I think those guys watched Dr. Strangelove one too many times!

Seriously though, Alpha_1, nice work! Its coming along fine.

I admire you willingness to jump into the deep end of the pool!

MR
 
Aleph, shall it be hebrew or greek.

[PAYLOAD.*]
mount.*=object-name,a,b

were "a" is the number of ordnance, and "b" is any other mount that is triggered with this one.

so the mount that has the torp is pointing at the mounts with the little fellas

set the b value of the mount with the torp to -1 to prevent them jumping when you loose the fish.

Check out this site for the low down on dp files.
 
HAHAHAHAHA.........Aw s......t fellas!

Very funny.......darned near fell outta my chair......these two guys have caused me some headaches, for sure.........I actually nicknamed 'em R & R......Rick and Rami, lol.....(just kidding guys). Sorry about the snafu.

'k.....all seriousness aside, men.....I'll get ta work on dis wee prob and report back.....again! and here I felt bad for those gunners gettin' their wee legs ripped off on touchdown!.....wonder how God REALLY designed the universe. Trial and error, Intelligent Design perhaps? Well, THIS dinasour ain't givin' up.

Bein' a 'drop 'em, forget 'em' kinda guy I never watched my ordinance release.....too busy lookin' for cloud cover. Thanks for the heads up, gentlemen..........I'm on it!:running:

to da moon, Alice, to da moon! :gameon: Nuclear, I think. Rule number 5028.....pay attention.....Rule number 5029.....do NOT take yerself too seriously....yer bein' watched!
 
Back
Top