Let me just WIP this out....

[Wrench 9,847]

A few screenies of some upcoming mods, several still in WIP phase:

 

NEI (KL-MNIL) Hawk 75:

 

 

AdA Hawk 75 (decals by Heck, skin by me -- they'll be 6 skins for this mod! - 2 are shown here)

 

 

And something completely different (but still in the same vein of 'early war', Douglas DB-7, AdA:

 

 

To round it off, yet another Hawk 75

 

 

Still using Heck' decals (for the numbers and rudder markings, all others are mine), and still some issues with the nose stripes. But they're being worked on, really, they are!

 

Also, awaiting permissions from the original model maker, as there's been a small change to the lod.

 

Any takers to mod the BoB map for the Battle of France????

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[+Baltika 85]

Great stuff

 

Cheers

[Heck 496]

Absolutely beautiful, Wrench. All of them. Thank you so much for doing this. Your colors and schemes are awesome. Decals are easy, but great skins to carry them are tough. Great work. Beautiful.

[Wrench 9,847]

thanks Heck! You've saved me countless hours of work in research alone for those marking! (as you'll notice, they turn up on the Vichy skin as well!)

 

The DB-7 is kinda a 'best closest fit', as I'm using the standard A-20C; the AdA versions wern't A-20s, they're nacelles were shorter/narrower, only had 1 rear upper gun (and one lower), 4 nose guns - the additional 2 which have been added and all switched over to Heck's 7.5 French MG

 

(btw, those first ones were built less than a mile from where I'm sitting right now, at the old Douglas plant at Santa Monica Airport)

 

Still can't find any info on individual aircraft numbers....apparently those few that made it into service before the Armistice, seemd to only have the markings on the tail (like on the Hawk - new decals for those are in produciton as we speak). The few pics I've found only show Vichy versions, with a small number aft of the fues roundel, or aft and above it, almost resting on the stripe.

 

Now, if I can talk my Team-mates into finishing off the Battle.....

Re-skinning Hurri's for BoF is no big deal.....

 

But the question remains...

 

WHERE ARE THE OTHER FRENCH BIRDS?????

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[Heck 496]

But the question remains...

 

WHERE ARE THE OTHER FRENCH BIRDS?????

 

Wrench

kevin stein

 

Let me add my requests to Wrench's comment, in my own order of importance:

 

Morane 406 (numerically the most widely used, if not the best)

Dewoitine 520

Bloch MB152

Potez 631

Lioré et Olivier 451

Breguet 693

 

This would give a good mix of the more important fighters, and the more modern medium bombers, since Wrench is giving us a useable DB-7. I know, given the amount of time, energy, and in some cases money, it takes to provide these aircraft, that they might never appear, but if someone can create them, or find them to convert, I think this period would be a great addition to the sim, simply because it's been overlooked since the beginning of flight simming, with the exception of EAW addons. If there are others I've missed, I apologize.

 

The Armee d'Lair fought bravely, and with great skill, despite being blamed (from opinion that I've read) for the disaster that befell France by a Vichy government dominated by army generals, especially if you consider the terrible conditions they must have faced once the blitzkrieg began; constantly changing airfields as their facilities were overrun, added to the fact that their airfields were subject to constant attack from the air.

 

I wish I had the skills to provide some of this work, but I don't, so I have to humbly ask the people who do. I think these brave men have been overlooked by history, and by us, and I know that this series of sims is the perfect vehicle for rectifying that.

 

Wow. Another rant. I apologize, in advance.

Edited September 25, 2007 by Heck

[Wrench 9,847]

Well said Heck!!!

 

Those Vichy nose stripes are driving me absolutely bats**t crazy!!! Each one is a seperate layer, to ease placement adustments. The tails/rear fues was easy compared to them. My P-36 template us just under 30megs in size right now!!!

 

I hate being OCD....the cursed Hawk is keeping me fron finishing off the Vulcan skin!! (opps..shouldn't have said that!)

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[Heck 496]

Wrench, if you haven't already, I'd be happy to make some tail decals for the DB-7's. I've also found info on the three Groups that were equipped with them in 1940 (Fully equipped at the time of the Blitzkrieg). They were GB 1/19, 2/19, and 2/61. Haven't found any markings for them yet, but if I do, I'd be happy to help again. I'd like to find some concrete images to confirm placement (if, as you said, they even carried them), but I can definately work up tail decals pretty quickly, and you could release with that, pending squadron decals if we can find info. The tail markings were essentially the same as the Hawk's, just the info was changed to the maker, type, and a B-3 for Bombardment 3 seat.

 

Douglas

DB-7 B-3

No 12 (etc.)

 

I know you have a lot on your plate, and you're itching to get at that other skin, so if I can help in any way, let me know.

[Kirsten 0]

Fantastic Kevin, wonderfull that an NEI (KNIL) Hawk is coming along. I did'nt know there was a camouflage scheme like this one though , I'll look it up.

It's a forgotten war that took place there, but very much alive in my family.

My two elder brothers have probably seen the KNIL Hawks in action before they were interned by the Japanese

and "enjoyed" their Imperial hospitality in a prison camp for more than 3 years (a lot of people did not survive it) A KNIL Brewster Buffalo would be nice too.....

 

Aju,

 

Derk

[Edward 11]

Here's a Ki-21 Sally skin I did for your Hawk to shoot down:

 

 

Wrench old pal you really need to upgrade those terrain tiles

 

Edward

[+Spectre_USA 7]

>Sniff, sniff, snort<

 

Did someone say Vulcan?

 

Nah, must've been scent-lucinating...

 

[Wrench 9,847]

Well, shoot, Edward!! It's your terrain!!! (the NEI one is flying over Burma, just because) (wait...there's new tiles for the PTO maps???)

 

The Vichy is over Tunisia (sp?), and the others are over Gepards' Battle of Britian

 

BTW, what's your policy of mods of your terrain??? I've tweeked out the Darwin map for 'modern' times; moved and added a lot of things for 1950-later. New airfields, new target areas, new objects, movements, etc. Still need flattining on many of the new dromes in Oz.

Just wanted to find out...before going too far (actually, it just need the flattening, and it's ready to roll)

 

So, kick down with that Sally skin, bro!! We need more stuff to shoot down!

 

Heck: thanks fof the offer, I've already got 36 tail tags made. I just have to write a readme, do up a hangar screen, and it'll be released as a full aircraft. Already got permission from my team-mates.

 

Spectre; nope, you ain't hallucinatizing. I'm (again!) going nuts trying to fit the camo patterns together on the skin bmps. This is the first time I've ever created a skin from scratch ... off the UVmaps. It's a LOT harder than I thought.

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[Heck 496]

Beautiful. I'll even download the Vulcan when it comes out. Trying to stop the Russian hordes half the time anyway. Great stuff, Wrench. Can't wait.

[+geo 0]

The UK/British Commonwealth units flew the P-36 into 43' in the India/Burma theater, maybe into 44'. Coincidentally, I'm reading "AIR WAR FOR BURMA: The Concluding Volume of The Bloody Shambles Series", and it surprised me how long they were still be used.

[Bulldog 0]

Wow...I may just have to find/make the HD space to do another WW2-SF install! I've always liked the Hawk. With these planes, could a Battle of France campaign be far behind (hint hint).

 

Other planes to add to Heck's list: Amiot 143 and Farman 222--yeah they were antiques by the time the war started but they'd be great for some night bombing over the Ruhr.