Geary

File Name: F-8E Crusader 'What-If' USAF SEA Skin File Submitter: Geary File Submitted: 31 January 2014 File Category: What If Skins 'What-If' USAF F-8E Crusader SEA Skin for SF2. This skin is for the ThirdWire F-8E Crusader from SF2 Vietnam or any or all SF2 games with an F-8E. It is modded for the USAF. It is a stand alone F-8E_AF aircraft. The relevant .ini files are included. It uses decals from the SF2 Vietnam A-7D. It is in .jpg format. It may fit other SF2 Crusader models but it was not tested on any other F-8s. It may work in SF1 if converted to .bmp and re-decaled with SF1 decals. This also was not tested. INSTALLATION: Unzip to a folder/place of your choice. Copy, Move, Drag-n-Drop or do whatever you wish to get the F-8E folder into Aircraft folders. Choose the desired skin in the loadout section. Fly. I'm releasing this under the Combat Ace Fair Use Agreement. Use it anyway you wish for personal use. For any other use, please contact me first. If you find any problems with it, please PM me. If you improve it, please PM me a copy. Thanks to all who are helping me learn to skin by direct involvement and/or by inspiration. If I forget or miss anyone who deserves credit for anything I release, I apologize. I have no intent to abuse or misuse anyone's property or claim it as my own. Please contact me to correct any error. Geary Click here to download this file

Escorting A-7D Strike Package

For many years I've had a great deal of respect for modders who make the planes and objects for flight sim games. I've also had a healthy respect for those that dress the objects in so many different skins. As an amateur skinner I've recently I've learned the value of a good template. There are lots of great templates here that make skinning easier for beginners like me. Many only need a few layers clicked on or off and a splash of paint to create a new skin. In some cases, adjusting decals took more work that painting. Since I can't find a template for the ThirdWire F-8 Crusader, I'm thinking of making one. I have some basic experience in Photoshop (CS4) dealing with and making layers. And I've tinkered with some basic templates. I'm guessing the panel and rivet layers will be the most difficult, but I could use some expert advice on things to do and not do. Any and all help appreciated. Geary

russouk2004, Thanks. The opacity for the panel lines is at 21% so it's an easy fix to darken them. So how do we ad a bumpmap? Here's what I have so far.

Soulfreak, When does the fun start? Do I need to be drunk at 0200? Cause I can do that. Raven, I'm in no hurry for more work right now either, but let me know if I can help. russouk2004, These damn layers multiply like rabbits. I blinked, which I'm doing a lot now BTW, and ten more layers were in my template. Your jug template was the very first I used to change a skin. A few clicks and I was done. I can see where you may have had 100 layers. Should I be seeing rivets on everything I can still focus on? I have a WIP. Only close to finishing the first of 5 texture panels. Looks like it'll take about a day per texture file. I could use some critiques. Don't want to start on the other 4 textures till I'm sure what I want to do. If anyone would like to try the template, PM me. You'll need Photoshop or any paint program that can read .psd files. Only the green front end of the plane is done.

Yeah, I didn't pick this one because it's a great model, although a little TLC goes a long way. I chose this because it's a small, simple, clean, one page template (nothing but black and white outlines). I figured it's a good template to begin learning from scratch on. Good test template. It started out as a one page/one layer template. Mine's up to about 20 layers now. A few of those are bits. Most are lines and rivets. Some dirt and scratches layers. Some paint layers. I suppose I could give it a try, but I want to finish my F-8E Crusader template first. Thing's driving me like my ex-wife with a to-do list on a Saturday morning.

Thought I'd start out small. This is the DAT OH-6A. The original template is one page. It's just white outlined images of both sides of the helicopter and a few odds and ends such as the propeller blades, etc. A small blank canvas. Any and all comments, suggestions, tips and critiques are welcome.

Thanks, Wrench, I already dreaded this like a colonoscopy. Although your tip on inverting a background layer copy sounds interesting as does bumping up the resolution. Sundowner, Your templates may not be 'adequately' labeled, but once I decode your layers it's easy going from there. Yours are some of the best out there. Already learned much from them. Thanks. Stuntman, Been to simmers paint shop a lot. I go there often to browse. Picked up a bunch of good tips there. Raven, Good tip on the 'Brightness and Contrast' layers. Should come in real handy. Thanks to all for your tips and tricks. In particular, though: What size, type brushes do you use for panel lines and rivets? And what spacing, pixel sizes for those layers? ( I found a free round rivet brush online, but by the time I size it to 1 or 2 pixels it just looks square.) Do you duplicate the layers, recolor, offset and blur some of them for that 3D look? What color do you make your lines and rivets? Remember, I use Photoshop CS4. Thanks, again...

Great terrain. Thanks.

What do I change to keep aircraft from moving forward without ANY throttle. As soon as the game starts and I'm in the cockpit the ac starts moving forward fast enough to take off even though I've given it no throttle and the brake is on. Once in the air, again, without ANY throttle, the ac keeps flying. Extending the airbrakes has little-to-no effect at slowing the ac. Where do I look to stop this? TIA, Geary

I think I may have fixed it. I recalibrated my CH Products Throttle and it seems to work better. Still starts at 10% throttle, but advancing and retracting the throttle quickly stops forward movement. Thanks, anyway.

Created using ravenclaw_007's Buccaneer Templates.

Thanks for uploading. This fills a 'What-If' hole in my Vietnam install as well.

You can also look for the SU-39 in the download sections.