Conspicuous by Their Absence

Hey Smilo,

The solution is even easier than that. On the right side of the screen for the entries I have uploaded, there is an "Edit" icon. It allows a substitution of just about anything in the original upload. I just replaced the version 011 file with a version 012. The new file has a revised DP that has each round of .50 Cal ammunition as weighing 4.8 ounces instead of 1.6 ounces which is the weight of the BULLET alone and revises the hitting power of the guns to 18 instead of 14. 18 is more in line with the fact that a .50 Cal is a much more powerful gun than a .30 cal or a .303..... It is also in line with the 1% stuff....

There are now TWO AIR Files in a subdirectory. One has the Tail Hook enabled which allows for arrested Carrier Landings but unfortunately also works as an unfair Air Brake..... The other and default file do NOT have the Tail Hook enabled.

I can't confirm that the update worked, but presume that it did. If it did not, the faults are not severe since they line up with the CFS Stock aircraft values.

- Ivan.
 
glad to hear that it wasn't a pain.

it would appear that the staff
is making an effort to upgrade the library.
i have no doubt that it is a lot of work
and that work is much appreciated.
 
Texturing is a Pain!

Hi Smilo,

How is the Arado coming along? I am curious if my guess was on the mark.

After the two Hellcats, I have a whole bunch of texturing tasks that I should do to complete a couple projects. Just a few minutes ago, it finally dawned on me how to use GIMP to work out some textures. The only thing holding up a couple of my projects from release is good textures for the initial release. I want my P-40C to wear a AVG paint job by default and have an alternate U.S. Army alternative uniform. My Ki-61 built several years ago needs a splotchy Green uniform. The Spitfire IX needs RAF Day Fighter. I never have done textures all that well. I generally get by with some pretty primitive tools. That is why all my Aeroplanes thus far have had very simple paint schemes.

A few months ago, I was thinking of using three layers for texturing:
1. Paint Scheme
2. Panel Lines overlayed with Alpha Channel set at about 20% Opacity. Actual Separation lines such as Gear Doors and Control Surfaces would be overlayed at 100% Opacity.
3. Objects on Top with 100% Opacity where they exist and 0% Opacity where they don't.

I believe I can now cut it down to TWO layers with Paint and Objects together in the first layer.

Panel and Separation Lines are dark. I am still trying to figure out how to make certain Parts LIGHTER. The issue is how to systematically create the Alpha Channel.

- Ivan.
 
Ivan,
I have never used Gimp, BUT you have the correct idea with the layers, you may have to play with the opacity.
As far as Lighter, I assume you are referring from going dark to light. In PSP we have a spray can, does Gimp offer that feature ?

Dave
 
Ivan said:
Hi Smilo,

How is the Arado coming along? I am curious if my guess was on the mark.

After the two Hellcats, I have a whole bunch of texturing tasks that I should do to complete a couple projects. Just a few minutes ago, it finally dawned on me how to use GIMP to work out some textures. The only thing holding up a couple of my projects from release is good textures for the initial release. I want my P-40C to wear a AVG paint job by default and have an alternate U.S. Army alternative uniform. My Ki-61 built several years ago needs a splotchy Green uniform. The Spitfire IX needs RAF Day Fighter. I never have done textures all that well. I generally get by with some pretty primitive tools. That is why all my Aeroplanes thus far have had very simple paint schemes.

A few months ago, I was thinking of using three layers for texturing:
1. Paint Scheme
2. Panel Lines overlayed with Alpha Channel set at about 20% Opacity. Actual Separation lines such as Gear Doors and Control Surfaces would be overlayed at 100% Opacity.
3. Objects on Top with 100% Opacity where they exist and 0% Opacity where they don't.

I believe I can now cut it down to TWO layers with Paint and Objects together in the first layer.

Panel and Separation Lines are dark. I am still trying to figure out how to make certain Parts LIGHTER. The issue is how to systematically create the Alpha Channel.

- Ivan.
Click to expand...
the 196 is plugging along.
this weekend, i have been working on floats.
actually, today, i believe i've had a break through
with regards to the parts drawing sequence.

sorry, i can't remember what your guess was.
please, refresh my memory.

here is a rather interesting thread on layering,http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?59711-Help-with-Layers&goto=newpost
while it is true that they are dealing
with much more complex paints
and different paint programs,
the principle seems the same.
 
I see they are basically trying to do the same thing I am doing but not quite in the same spirit. That thread discusses basic paint, then highlights and then letters and markings which really isn't the way it should be done. Consider that the letters are also paint. Why should THEY not get highlighted as well?

The issue that I am addressing is that the Panel Lines are darker than the paint around them. The lighter parts would be those like the Ribs on the elevators that should get lightened a bit because of the sun reflecting more off the raised edges. My issue isn't that I can't do it. It is that I can't do it on the cheap. With panel lines, it is easy because in GIMP, I can initialised the Alpha Channel to be Gray-Scale Inverse of the bitmap with the Panel Lines. With a Highlight, this would not work.

- Ivan.
 
OK Gotcha,
Not cockpit Panel, But External Panel. No time tonight, will show simple how in morning or afternoon.

Also have a few paint tuts in my tutorial section, you more than likely have those already though.

Dave

www.thefreeflightsite.com
 
Painting a Tomahawk

I took the day off yesterday to attend an Awards Ceremony involving my Daughter. I was wondering at the time why there were so many students involved. Apparently there were about 200 and some students out of just over 1000 who got all "A's" this quarter.... That's a very large proportion of the students I think....

I also was playing around a bit with the P-40C. I found a few problems:
1. There is a mini-bleed of the nose machine guns through the underside of the nose. You really have to look hard to find it.
2. The flight behaviour is strange at low speeds. The propeller effect on tail surfaces is too great and is enough to keep the aircraft pointed up as it falls while flying a hammerhead stall.

Need to fix those.

Also started working on U.S. Army markings for this critter. I finally found a good photograph showing what the letters actually look like. It is on a reproduction aircraft, but is as close as I believe I will get. The later Hawk 87 types are easier to find, but the equipment is different and the lettering on those aeroplanes may not be the same.

http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7105121&nseq=3

- Ivan.
 
Scribing Lines

I just spent the last couple hours trying to figure out why I was able to carry out my ideas with overlaying panel lines sometimes and sometimes NOT. Using MSPaint, I was able to create layers called: Paint, PanelLines, and Objects and the overlay worked pretty well. The problem was that using the converted BMPs from AF99, it would not work at all. I even went so far as to replace my version of GIMP 2.4 with GIMP 2.6 along with a reboot. Still no luck.

It turns out that the default BMP created by MSPaint is 24 bits per pixel. The ones generated from AF99 use 256 colour Palettes..... Yes, it matters..... Now Lessee if it works in the sim.....

- Ivan.
 
P-40C US Army

So far, I am trying to do the least work possible. Only the panel lines are overlayed over the paint. There isn't an objects layer yet. It seems like black lines overlayed at 30% or 40% opacity works well enough.

- Ivan.
 
agreed. she looks very nice.
i have a question, though.

is t-day over for you guys,
or are you shirking your responsibilities?

_____:running:____break's over.

i'm outta here.
 
Actually, when I posted those screenshots, my Thanksgiving events hadn't even started for the most part.

Anna Honey and Kids were just about to leave to go to her parents' for dinner. I was waiting until I needed to get my sister and her family from the train station at 7:30 PM to take to my mom's for dinner. Some houses are empty for Thanksgiving. Usually it isn't mine, but this year it was.

At the moment, we are all in Williamsburg, VA. Yesterday we visited Jamestown, the historic site.

Yes, the P-40C looks nice, but the paint job is fairly plain. The difference in this case is that it is the first time I am trying a paint method involving overlays of panel lines which is suitable for a much more complicated paint job. This P-40C will also get a AVG paint scheme which I will be working on when we get home.

- Ivan.
 
Smile!

What is a P-40 without a Shark Mouth?

This is my first attempt at it for the P-40C. I am still not satisfied. There are lots of variations on this theme though. Just about every AVG plane looked different. The easiest thing to distinguish is the location of the eyeballs.

- Ivan.
 
Here is the Hawk 81 with a basic coat of RAF camouflage. I don't know if the colours are correct because sources seem to conflict.

Now comes the specific AVG markings such as Squadron Embloems and Aircraft Numbers. What is your vote for Squadron?

We have the following options:
1: Adam & Eves
2: Panda Bears
3: Hell's Angels

- Ivan.
 
What do you think of the colours? The Green looks a bit too light to me so far and the Brown looks like it should have a bit less Red in it. There seem to have been a bunch that were lighter and some that were darker.... The pattern is fairly close in my opinion. They tended to differ a lot. I am not trying to feather the edges since Curtiss typically used a mask that left the edges sharp. The trick thus far has been to make the transitions between different assemblies fairly smooth. After the rest of the paint job comes the panel lines.....

Tedious!
- Ivan.
 
Ivan said:
What do you think of the colours? The Green looks a bit too light to me so far and the Brown looks like it should have a bit less Red in it. There seem to have been a bunch that were lighter and some that were darker.... The pattern is fairly close in my opinion. They tended to differ a lot. I am not trying to feather the edges since Curtiss typically used a mask that left the edges sharp. The trick thus far has been to make the transitions between different assemblies fairly smooth. After the rest of the paint job comes the panel lines.....

Tedious!
- Ivan.
Click to expand...

If, as you said earlier, you're trying to emulate RAF camouflage, the colors are "spot-on". I've seen numerous color pictures of RAF WWII birds, some re-creation, some vintage, and they all (or pretty much all) have that light tones for the browns and the greens. Compared to Germans, Brits were pretty lousy at camouflage...:kilroy:
 
Hi Hubbabubba,

Are you saying my screenshot colours are reasonably good for a RAF plane? If so, that is good because I like those colours. I just didn't think they were accurate.

As you already know, the 100 AVG planes came from a British order. They were painted in what passed for RAF colours and the exact colour match is a matter of debate. These were Dupont paint colours used by Curtiss and didn't quite match RAF specifications. Even the pattern of camouflage seemed to differ with each example.

- Ivan.
 
Dave,

I have been trying for awhile to get Windows 7 professional 64 bit to work with CFS1, as that was the CFS that got me "hooked" many years ago to Flight Sims.
I will be reinstalled CFS1 and giving your Window 7 fix a go. Thank you for the external link, I did not realize that there was another CFS1/2/3 and 2004 site out there.
Thanks again.

Mike



No Dice said:
OK Gotcha,
Not cockpit Panel, But External Panel. No time tonight, will show simple how in morning or afternoon.

Also have a few paint tuts in my tutorial section, you more than likely have those already though.

Dave

www.thefreeflightsite.com
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top