+Geezer 3,569 Posted February 21, 2015 Nearly done with the most time consuming parts of the skins - the fuselage and cowling. Also got started on a selection of more accurate Italian bombs - 50kg shown here. Now that I know the mapping works OK, I'll get it flying ingame pretty soon. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Muesli 2,151 Posted February 21, 2015 I thought you were going to sing "Der Komissar"....But this will suffice... ;-P 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,318 Posted February 21, 2015 She is beautiful! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silberpfeil 356 Posted February 21, 2015 What a stunner, Geezer! Nice work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+DoctorQuest 108 Posted February 21, 2015 Wow. Just wow............ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+whiteknight06604 931 Posted February 22, 2015 i can't express how beautiful this is. Thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted February 22, 2015 In other threads, I've mentioned some new concepts I want to try out, so expect several different CR42 releases in the next few months. By late spring, I should be done and start work on the Gloster Gladiator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stephen1918 1,473 Posted February 22, 2015 Looking good! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted February 24, 2015 The time consuming parts are done. Now, its time to get the thing flying and start the cockpit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+LloydNB 212 Posted February 24, 2015 Fantastic!! I love how the 50kg bomb is coming along. Just the blue steel look I envisaged and the rolled edge on one side of each fin is a nice detail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted February 26, 2015 (edited) Did some ini work and resumed work on the 3-color camo art. While far from complete, it is far enough along to demonstrate how the graphics pack will work. Modders will be able to paint new markings (provided in the graphics pack) into the camo artwork - as shown below - and also make new camo using color swatches. First shot shows standard African markings for most of 1940. Around the end of 1940, the white fuselage band gradually grew into widespread use, while the white wingtips were retained and the black Xs were discontinued. When the Germans arrived in the spring of 1941, both the Regia Aeronautica and Luftwaffe briefly used yellow cowlings as a common recognition aid. In 1942, the Italians gradually discontinued the white wing tips - the yellow cowlings were discontinued in late 1941. As newer monoplanes arrived in North Africa, the Italians gradually converted CR42s to ground attack duties by installing bomb racks as field mods - late production CR42s had the racks installed at the factory and were usually painted in late war camo/markings. Modders will be able to produce their own versions, with or without sand filters or bomb racks, and apply a wide variety of markings provided in the graphics pack. Edited February 26, 2015 by Geezer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) Working on completion of the model so it can be flown ingame. Thinking about damage modeling. The model will have two fuel tanks, one oil tank/two oil coolers, and a hydraulic pack that can be damaged by enemy bullets. That got me thinking about structural damage, and the unique nature of the 1940 desert mod. It would be unrealistic to continue using the standard FE concept of battle damage causing portions of wooden wings or fuselage to break off when hit by large numbers of bullets. The stars of the show may be biplanes, but - unlike WW1 aircraft - they all had metal structures which resisted rifle caliber bullets. While rifle caliber bullets fired by all of the combatants might strike fuel tanks, etc statistically most of the bullets would hit the metal structures. Rifle caliber bullets were largely ineffective against metal aircraft structures, which is why air forces transitioned to auto cannons that COULD destroy aircraft structures. So....when hit by bullets, I'm thinking about just having the fabric skin peel off the wings, exposing the metal structure. EDIT: Yes, I know that Japanese aircraft were highly vulnerable to machine gun fire, but there were two factors that made this situation unusual. Japanese aircraft had very light weight structures that were more easily damaged, and they were being hit by .50 cal bullets that were more powerful than "normal" machine gun bullets. Because the Browning .50 cal machine gun was unusually powerful, the US continued using it long after other countries had switched to auto canons. Edited February 27, 2015 by Geezer 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted February 28, 2015 (edited) Got it flying - temporarily using Wrench's CR42 files. Still a bunch things to tweak, such as the pilot. Edited February 28, 2015 by Geezer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wilches 1,157 Posted February 28, 2015 Stunning! The pilot and the prop disc. My deepest congratulation for this hard work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Coupi 4,290 Posted March 1, 2015 I love biplanes!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) I love biplanes!!! Heh - so do I. I have six biplanes planned, plus some early monoplanes. Edited March 1, 2015 by Geezer 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) With assistance from Wrench, Stephan1918, and Stary, it looks like rear view mirrors work in FE2 and can be added to the CR42. Concept demonstration shots below, using Wrench's CR42 files as place holders while I develop my own files. Setting is gterl's excellent Italian front map for First Eagles. EDIT: I've tweaked some of gterl's colors. Because of the art training I got in my miss-spent youth, I unconsciously use the color theories of the European masters (Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, etc). I'm contemplating a couple of how-to articles for modders, explaining how to adjust colors for pre-computer realism. Edited March 3, 2015 by Geezer 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Coupi 4,290 Posted March 3, 2015 The valley view is very impressive! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted March 4, 2015 The valley view is very impressive! Outside the small First Eagles community, gterl's Italian front map is not well known. It is an outstanding example of TW map making. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wilches 1,157 Posted March 5, 2015 Could you give us the link for download this beauty, please???? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted March 5, 2015 Could you give us the link for download this beauty, please???? Here ya go. Note it is an FE/FE2 map. http://combatace.com/files/file/14440-italian-terrain-incl-1915-1917-campaign/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wilches 1,157 Posted March 6, 2015 Got it. It´s terrific!! Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted March 6, 2015 Got it. It´s terrific!! Thanks! Gterl is still tinkering with it, so we might see an update someday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Geezer 3,569 Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) Slowly grinding my way through the long list of things that need tweaking. Finally got the transparencies working right. One problem that does not show in the screenshots is developing the DATA file. When gamer-flown, the CR42 maneuvers well and trims out nicely in level flight. When flown by AI/autopilot however, it tends to porpoise a bit along the pitch axis. Pitch damper is already set at 0.5. To preserve maneuverability, I would prefer not to mess with the pitch damper. Does this mean I need to alter the 3D model's center of gravity? Edited March 8, 2015 by Geezer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
