Reworking Eric Johnson's Airacobra
- Thread starter Ivan
- Start date
Hello Sopwith Chameleon,
Thanks for the photographs. It is pretty clear from your photographs and perhaps others I found that at least one of the Air A Cutie had a 20mm cannon. There is actually quite a bit of disagreement as to whether it was a P-39D-1 or a P-400. The dispute appears to be due to some detail differences in the various models of Airacobra that are in the photographs.
The exhaust 6 stack versus 12 stack is one recognition feature but may have resulted from an engine replacement in the field. The mechanics were known for scavenging pieces from unserviceable aircraft to maintain others.
There apparently was also a flare port that was standard on a P-400 that was not present on Air A Cutie in photographs that would suggest that it really was a P-39D.
The 20mm cannon is also not a good indication because sometimes the 37mm was swapped out in the field for a HS-404 from damaged P-400 aircraft. From discussions with a Airacobra owner, the ejection ports are larger for a 37mm gun but that would not stop installation of the 20mm.
As for markings, there is a theory that the same aircraft had updates to national insignia and had the wing leading edges and tail surfaces painted white later in its life.
There is also the possibility that there is a FOURTH Air A Cutie which was a P-39Q-6 Photo Recon bird (S/N 42-20013) which was a conversion from a standard Q-5.
My own belief is that at most there were two Air A Cutie. This was an awfully elaborate paint scheme to apply and I can't see anyone doing it on four different aircraft.
Looks like there is a lot of room for artistic license. My issue with this paint scheme is that the texture mapping on this bird isn't square in most places and to get things to look good takes more effort than usual. Also I found that the resolution of the images needs to be pretty small to fit onto the aeroplane and detail in a lot of places is lost.
- Ivan.
Thanks for the photographs. It is pretty clear from your photographs and perhaps others I found that at least one of the Air A Cutie had a 20mm cannon. There is actually quite a bit of disagreement as to whether it was a P-39D-1 or a P-400. The dispute appears to be due to some detail differences in the various models of Airacobra that are in the photographs.
The exhaust 6 stack versus 12 stack is one recognition feature but may have resulted from an engine replacement in the field. The mechanics were known for scavenging pieces from unserviceable aircraft to maintain others.
There apparently was also a flare port that was standard on a P-400 that was not present on Air A Cutie in photographs that would suggest that it really was a P-39D.
The 20mm cannon is also not a good indication because sometimes the 37mm was swapped out in the field for a HS-404 from damaged P-400 aircraft. From discussions with a Airacobra owner, the ejection ports are larger for a 37mm gun but that would not stop installation of the 20mm.
As for markings, there is a theory that the same aircraft had updates to national insignia and had the wing leading edges and tail surfaces painted white later in its life.
There is also the possibility that there is a FOURTH Air A Cutie which was a P-39Q-6 Photo Recon bird (S/N 42-20013) which was a conversion from a standard Q-5.
My own belief is that at most there were two Air A Cutie. This was an awfully elaborate paint scheme to apply and I can't see anyone doing it on four different aircraft.
Looks like there is a lot of room for artistic license. My issue with this paint scheme is that the texture mapping on this bird isn't square in most places and to get things to look good takes more effort than usual. Also I found that the resolution of the images needs to be pretty small to fit onto the aeroplane and detail in a lot of places is lost.
- Ivan.
Air A Cutie - First Try
This is my first attempt at a custom paint scheme on Eric Johnson's Airacobra.
It will also probably be my last.
The textures are mapped so inconsistently that it takes two or three times the effort to get things to line up so they look "OK".
As mentioned before, the vertical to horizontal scale isn't the same and what is worse is when a large image such as the nekkid chicks crosses pieces with different scaling.
This one is almost done and just needs a few simple items and lettering added.....
The 20mm Hispano is on order but delivery time is unknown.
British aircraft would also have had a bit less performance because of the mandated snow filters but I doubt those would have been left in place in US Army aircraft operating from New Guinea, so there probably was no significant difference in the engines.
Although the 20mm cannon weighed a LOT less than the 37mm gun, from what I can tell, the aircraft equipped with it were actually heavier.
In checking the differences in equipment, apparently the CoG change from the cannon was balanced by additional nose armour pieces and relocation of the oxygen bottles. I don't know if a P-400 in US service would have been exactly the same as the Airacobra Mk.I in RAF service though as far as oxygen equipment.
There are also some differences in ammunition weight but the weight of the cannon ammunition was not the big problem in the Airacobra.
The weight of the ammunition for the .50 cal cowl MG made the most difference.
- Ivan.
This is my first attempt at a custom paint scheme on Eric Johnson's Airacobra.
It will also probably be my last.
The textures are mapped so inconsistently that it takes two or three times the effort to get things to line up so they look "OK".
As mentioned before, the vertical to horizontal scale isn't the same and what is worse is when a large image such as the nekkid chicks crosses pieces with different scaling.
This one is almost done and just needs a few simple items and lettering added.....
The 20mm Hispano is on order but delivery time is unknown.
British aircraft would also have had a bit less performance because of the mandated snow filters but I doubt those would have been left in place in US Army aircraft operating from New Guinea, so there probably was no significant difference in the engines.
Although the 20mm cannon weighed a LOT less than the 37mm gun, from what I can tell, the aircraft equipped with it were actually heavier.
In checking the differences in equipment, apparently the CoG change from the cannon was balanced by additional nose armour pieces and relocation of the oxygen bottles. I don't know if a P-400 in US service would have been exactly the same as the Airacobra Mk.I in RAF service though as far as oxygen equipment.
There are also some differences in ammunition weight but the weight of the cannon ammunition was not the big problem in the Airacobra.
The weight of the ammunition for the .50 cal cowl MG made the most difference.
- Ivan.
Attachments
Air A Cutie Completed
The remaining texturing for Air A Cutie was completed yesterday afternoon.
Things are not too bad when one remembers in advance that there is some wacky scaling to be addressed.
The AIR file was updated last night. There are no real changes other than the description of armament.
The 20mm Cannon was assembled using a leftover P-39D airframe to check mounting issues and then removed (copied via SCASM) and then installed in place of the 37mm.
I have been told that the mounting cradle for the cannon are pretty different between the two cannon.
The design for the cannon was based on box art from a Monogram 1:48 model of the P-39 (Z-28).
All that really remains is to gather a few screenshots and to think of something clever to write in the ReadMe file.
One interesting observation is that the duration of the ammunition supply is much shorter for the Hispano Mk.I / HS-404 gun.
The 37mm M4 had 30 rounds and a firing rate of 150 rounds per minute which meant that ammunition lasted for 12 seconds.
The 20mm Hispano had 60 rounds but also had a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute which meant that ammunition is gone in 6 seconds.
The French version of the HS-404 had an even higher firing rate of 700 rounds per minute.
There wasn't an easy way of increasing the ammunition capacity because these Hispano guns were fed by a drum.
- Ivan.
The remaining texturing for Air A Cutie was completed yesterday afternoon.
Things are not too bad when one remembers in advance that there is some wacky scaling to be addressed.
The AIR file was updated last night. There are no real changes other than the description of armament.
The 20mm Cannon was assembled using a leftover P-39D airframe to check mounting issues and then removed (copied via SCASM) and then installed in place of the 37mm.
I have been told that the mounting cradle for the cannon are pretty different between the two cannon.
The design for the cannon was based on box art from a Monogram 1:48 model of the P-39 (Z-28).
All that really remains is to gather a few screenshots and to think of something clever to write in the ReadMe file.
One interesting observation is that the duration of the ammunition supply is much shorter for the Hispano Mk.I / HS-404 gun.
The 37mm M4 had 30 rounds and a firing rate of 150 rounds per minute which meant that ammunition lasted for 12 seconds.
The 20mm Hispano had 60 rounds but also had a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute which meant that ammunition is gone in 6 seconds.
The French version of the HS-404 had an even higher firing rate of 700 rounds per minute.
There wasn't an easy way of increasing the ammunition capacity because these Hispano guns were fed by a drum.
- Ivan.
Attachments
Air A Cutie uploaded
Air A Cutie was uploaded last night and approved this morning.
It can be found here:
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?catid=19&linkid=26680
Have fun, Folks!
- Ivan.
Air A Cutie was uploaded last night and approved this morning.
It can be found here:
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?catid=19&linkid=26680
Have fun, Folks!
- Ivan.