Geezer

Thanks, guys. I'm unexpectedly busy with real world stuff, but should be able to package them up and release them this weekend. They will be 63% of actual size for First Eagles. Baffmeister has many of the same buildings at 100% for his excellent Bulge mod - they will be available for Strike Fighters when he releases his magnum opus.

Thanks, now I know - if you spend your time making models there is little time to mess around with files. I have several irons in the fire - buildings, CR32, SM79 - but I intend to work on the J.1 whenever I need a break. The Type P replaced the earlier M-S parasols, that are available in the downloads, and soldiered on in French observation squadrons until finally being replaced in late 1917. While France produced some excellent two-seater designs, production schedules always fell behind so the Brequets, Salmsons, etc were not available in large numbers until late 1917.

I finally found my old back-up disc with the Junkers J.1 that Quack74 likes - I'll slowly rework it to bring it up to current standards. The same disc also has Spandau, Parabellum, and Lewis guns so I could also release the guns as separate LODs. However, substituting different guns will only work if the original gun can first be deleted in MUE's LOD viewer. Is this possible?

To better understand why professional artists/designers don't use true black as a general color, go to article below. A new product finally comes close to man achieving what nature has been doing since the creation. True black is the TOTAL absence of any light. So, if you want to simulate reality in your artwork, use an extremely dark gray instead of black. http://www.sciencealert.com/this-object-has-been-sprayed-with-the-world-s-blackest-pigment-and-it-s-freaking-us-out?perpetual=yes&limitstart=1

Another shot below. Stephen1918 once observed that TW gameworlds lack clutter, so I have added a few odds and ends to many of the models. Also, I have made lots of atmosphere stuff like privies, 3D cows, utility poles, etc. If this batch works OK, I'll make another batch dedicated to cities and fortifications, like the WIP shown in first shot.

Steve, you're right - a streamer would require a unique LOD, with dedicated animation, that would be attached to an aircraft like a weapon. Not a simple/easy job - the animation would be very time consuming.

I'll take a look at the M-S bullet and see if I can figure out how the streamer was made. No promises, as "minor" jobs are often more complicated than they first appear.

Quack, that's gorgeous.

Working the Panzer4 now. When complete, that will be a wrap for Bulge stuff.

Kudos to you! I have several buddies - Mac owners - who have always been interested in First Eagles.

Just sent the another Bulge vehicle to Baffmeister. Will resume work on the SCW stuff soon.

The R11 is certainly a good looking beast. Has anyone experimented with the formations .ini to create mixed formations? The desired goal would be R11s and Brequets/Salmsons in one large formation.

But the main point is that lot of archives were discovered since, dramatically changing the career of some planes such as the Letord, the Caudron G6/R4/R11 Interesting - thanks for the info. Were those machines more widely used than previously thought? From time to time, when I burn out on 1930s stuff, I revisit WW1. I'd like to start a new WW1 aircraft but the subject matter is up in the air if I can't find my old Junkers J1 model. Its on a disc in my closet - somewhere. It looks like FE could use a Halberstadt CL2 or another French two-seater, such as the Dorand AR1. Or perhaps a Letord/Caudron? Understand that my aircraft take several hundred hours and about a year to make, so I want to make sure it will be an important addition to the fleet of FE aircraft. Why don't you guys vote on a new aircraft? No personal favorites that were not used very long or in large quantities. I am ONLY interested in machines that made a major contribution to the air war.

Yep, WW1 aircrew were REAL men!

I could not agree more. I spent a lot of my life working on advanced jets, and came to the same conclusion. Modern combat aircraft, and their operations, are controlled by software - not pilots.

Agreed. French Aircraft of the First World War describes how the Letords were used almost exclusively for escort work. Typically, one or two would be assigned to a recon squadron to provide protection to the recon aircraft. Up to half a dozen Letords would be assigned to a Brequet or Salmson bomber squadron for escort duties. Having the escort machines integral to the bomber and recon units avoided the problem of escort fighters from other squadrons missing the rendezvous.

Faces? They have faces?

Another shot, approximating the use of 2048 x 2048 artwork applied to a game map tile. This might not be practical for ALL ground tile art, but it does work when 2048 x 2048 art is applied to a small number of map tiles, such as airfields. Perhaps map tiles containing major targets could have special hi-res art applied to them?

Needed a break, so I fooled around with some experimental terrain objects.

Dunno if that is practical as gunners are often part of the aircraft LOD. Maybe Stephen1918 has some ideas?

I checked out the site, and its going to be very helpful. Thanks!

Stumbled across a youtube video of the Meridionali Ro37 two-seater used in Spain. A fascinating tidbit of history: the king of Afghanistan bought some Ro37s in the 1930s, and Allied troops discovered them this century in a boneyard outside of Kabul. Shots below of recovery, restoration, and video of roll-out.

Great stuff, Steve.

I might take you up on that. Stephen1918 and I have begun a series of Spanish Civil War aircraft and ground objects. There is still much research to do for artillery, AA guns, etc.

Shot of the nearly finished Bulge ground objects. I'll be wrapping up the last couple of vehicles soon, and then get back to my SCW stuff.