DFW KuK Hex Camo Finished

[Bullethead 12]

Well, by working on this skin all day until now, I managed to get it finished today, and uploaded to the database here. And there was great rejoicing

 

 

Here's the link: http://combatace.com/files/file/13265-bh-dfw-cv-kuk-random-hexzip/

 

This is BY FAR the most tediously difficult skin I've ever made and it'll be a cold day in Hell before I do another plane with this type of paintjob . To make matters worse, this was my 1st project to use PSP X4 on, and there are a LOT of changes to get used to from my old PSP 7.... But I think I got the hang of it. 7 colors on the fuselage sides, 6 on the upper surfaces.

 

A couple of notes:

 

1. I modeled the paintjob off photos of the real plane, 2 of which I've attached below. As you can see, the hexes on the real plane don't like up between the fuselage sides and top, so I felt no obligation at all to struggle with that issue :).

 

2. There are OFF mapping problem near the center of the top wing's trailing edge. Nothing I can do about them, so pretend those are repair patches.

 

3. Try not to scratch the paint

[stumpjumper 3]

looks first rate

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Beautiful job BH. I've added it to my collection. I can appreciate how tedious a skin like this is to create, (with 'tedious' being read as "mind numbing", "enough to drive a man crazy", "a reason to drink", etc).

Many thanks for taking the time to put it together.

 

.

[Bullethead 12]

Thanks, folks.

 

Lou, you're right about the mind-numbing part. It wasn't technically difficult, just copying and pasting hexes of the appropriate color. But there were so many of them, and each one had to be matched to its neighbors at specific pixels or there'd be bad joints between hexes and the error would propogate through the rest of the pattern. So I had to zoom in very close each time, then zoom out, copy the next hex, move it into rough position, and zoom in again. Over and over. I think I wore out the wheel of my mouse :).

[HouseHobbit 2]

Beautiful!! Many Thanks..

[+Polovski 415]

Lovely job BH. WW1 seems to be almost unique in the requirements for hours and hours spent on details - we are all nuts.

[Hasse Wind 46]

Lovely job BH. WW1 seems to be almost unique in the requirements for hours and hours spent on details - we are all nuts.

 

When can we expect to see the Italian front in OFF?

[Olham 164]

Hey, let them finish their work on the Western Front first, HW, please!

[itifonhom 6]

That's an amazing paint job indeed, tedious but well detailed! I think it's a bit oversaturated, the colors seem too strong comparing with the original and a bit of "dirt" would be a nice touch too. BTW, where are that museum photos from?

[Hasse Wind 46]

Hey, let them finish their work on the Western Front first, HW, please!

 

A little bit of friendly pressure every now and then may help to make them work faster.

[Bullethead 12]

That's an amazing paint job indeed, tedious but well detailed! I think it's a bit oversaturated, the colors seem too strong comparing with the original and a bit of "dirt" would be a nice touch too. BTW, where are that museum photos from?

 

The appearance of the camo colors varies with in-game lighting. In the top view pic, I maneuvered the plane so that when banked, the upper surfaces were perpendicular to the sunlight angle so the colors look brighter than they do most times. Compare to the fuselage colors in the bottom view where the bottom of the wings are facing the sun and the fuselage sizes are nearly edge-on to it.

 

There's also plenty of dirt on the plane. You can see the mud splashed on the lower sides of the wings, plus some grime on the lower wing surfaces. The top surfaces have the same grime but you can't see it so much when the light is hitting it squarely.

 

The museum with the real Knoller is somewhere in the Czech Republic. Just Google up "Knoller C.II 119.15" and you'll find it.