Post
by mountainhighair »
Very much appreciated jcblom!
You noted many of the flaws that I will be working on. Sounds like we are both sticklers for detail. I now have the "USAF_serial_stencil" font, but the 7 still doesn't match. I can always lay down fonts as a Vector and then "convert text to curves" in PSP and do it manually, but if you have a matching font then I'll opt for the lazy route every time! The GQ-U lettering that I created was based on a pic of a decal sheet and not the current flying example. I have found only one photo from the original WW2 bird, and it doesn't show the squadron codes (the "Grim Reaper" artwork is also different from the currently flying 463702. Original was 463701). That's not a big deal as I can just redo those letters. I found a graphic of the "reaper guy" last night, but it's only a pic of a hand painting/drawing of it. That's a hard one to find. (If anyone has a hi-res pic of that let me know).
I had placed the checkerboard all the way to the left edge of the D1 file for starters, and it gets cut off on the model. I'll have fun maneuvering those little squares around to fit correctly and work with the warping of the 3D model. Gives me something to do in the free time that I don't have.
I had NOT noticed the difference in the anit-glare panel. Thanx for pointing that out. What I've done is re-create my own paint kit with old PSP8 for the A2A P-51 in a factory fresh scheme with standard anti-glare and D-Day stripes. From that set of files I create all my other paint schemes. So what you see in the pics above is what I threw together based on my "factory fresh" basic layout, turning on and off certain layers and doing the usual particulars.
I've been working on trying to create extra special aluminum textures for this bird, and experimenting with the alpha layer and how it interacts with the reflective lighting in FSX. (Maybe A2A Santa can create better FSX reflective lighting textures? Hmmm?) Grim Reaper is an especially polished P-51, and I'd like to re-create that stunning look. I think I've come up with some good graphics, especially for the wing and stabalizer farings that distort light more than anywhere else.
I also noticed that Grim Reaper has an anti-skid walkway panel on the wingroot.
I also need to examine the wings, because, as I have read in the past, P-51s were delivered with painted wings - not bare aluminum. That's according to a book on Butch Schroader's amazing "Li'l Margaret" F-6D restoration. The P-51 also had a painted fabric-covered rudder, so I've worked with my graphics and alpha channel to eliminate the reflection but retain a "silver paint" look that's not too different from the color of the shiny aluminum. All in all, it's a great deal of fun to do all this. And I wouldn't put in all the time and effort if A2A hadn't created such a beautiful and accurate model with matching performance. But I guess that's why we're all here, right?
Thanks for your help, (and Ted for getting me started on this) and anyone else who wants to jump in with suggestions is more than welcome!
John
