RAF_Louvert

. Olham, I've had that happen as well on a run or two during my months at the OFF front. Lady Luck was flying with you on that one Sir, and she is a fickle fräulein. .

. ...hee, hee...now I will have to go hunting for this myself. How many other little tips of the hat might be discovered over the course of an OFF career, I wonder. .

. It was my sincere pleasure Slarti and you are more than welcome, anything for the cause. I hope "Fiddly Bits" will serve you well throughout the conflict. My thanks goes to Pol and OvS for the fine Strutter skin they built from scratch and which I was able to use as a template to build from. Cheers! Lou .

. Welcome to the OFF skies Ratatat. New guys buy the drinks! You'll find us a generally helpful and friendly bunch so don't hesitate to ask if you need a hand. Now then, a pinta' nice red ale and a bag of salt and vinegar crisps if you please. Cheers! Lou .

. I am quite fond of that one as well Dej, and I like your first version of it. Just noticed something though about this picture that I never had before. The flowers in the foreground appear to be wild buttercups which bloom across England and France from May through July, yet the tress are bereft of leaves of any kind. Oops. "Well, it looks like my job's done here, I'll be moving on now." "Who was that masked man?" "It's the Lone Anal Retentive Ranger!" "Hi-O Grayish Silver with slightly darker hocks and a white flash on the nose!" .

. I've read this before and it brings a tear to my eye each time, it is so spot on. Thanks WM. .

. You are more than welcome Sir, I am nothing if not a fan of the arts. I will watch for your Fokker sketch with anticipation. Used to do pencil sketches myself, but it has been a long, long time. .

. What of Belgium?! I would so love to fly for that brave little kingdom, (first to fight against the Hun and all that). ...sigh...perhaps P4. "Dear Santa" .

. You have mail Slarti. .

. Yes, it cannot be reiterated too often that we custom "skinners" are not really skinning at all but rather cutting, pasting, editing, and tweaking the 100's of wonderful skins created from scratch by the super devs of this sim. My recent Alb D.II was a fair amount of work as I not only "painted" the kite but also reworked the upper wing ribs so they align properly with the rear edge scallops, (the base template of which I will glady share with those who wish to have it, I know Olham has already made good use of it). But that was nothing to the amount of work it must have taken to create the D.II skin in the first place. It boggles the mind when you think about the sheer number of skins the OFF team had to build from nada to give us the diversity we take for granted in our virtual WWI world. I again tip my hat to our devs and wish to give full credit to them for this fantastic sim. We "skinners" are doing nothing more than pasting our own little doodads onto your outstanding efforts. Salute to you, Gentlemen. Lou .

. Yuppers, I have often ducked into a thick cloud, (or preferabley above it due to the aforementioned turbulence), in order to evade would-be attackers. As long as clouds are set on '5' in the workshop AI cannot see through them. Also, if I have not already done so, let me say "WELCOME" to you Goodvibes. New lads buy the drinks, so we'll all be waiting for you in the pub this evening. Don't worry if you're late, we'll start your tab for you. Cheers! Lou .

. Oh, and I meant to add: Very nice skins from Olham and nbryant, well done Sirs. Now drag Carrick over to the pub and have him buy you each a pinta' or two. .

. Carrick wrote: The crest Hasse Wind has shown is, as noted, for the Kingdom of Württemberg during WWI. If you want a crest specific to the CIty of Stuttgart it would be a variation on something like these: There are reported numerous types but all feature a black horse, (or horses), on a yellow-gold shield, sometimes adorned with a drape, helmet, etc. And if it looks familiar it's because Porsche incorporated the Stutgartt city crest into their logo when they began building their world famous cars. Hope this is helpful Carrick. .

. Welcome to the OFF skies TaillyHo. You'll have fun with that Bristol Scout, and I agree with Si's advice on fighting in the kite. You can use the iron sights, (which mimic leaning over the edge of the cockpit to line up behind the gun), or just watch the tracer rounds to zero in on your target. Be sure to stay above the EIII's, remember to use short bursts when firing, and conserve your wee bit of ammo. As you have correctly pointed out that new guys buy the drink and since it is still quite early I believe I'll have a nice hot cup of strong coffee with a touch of cream and two fingers of Tullamore Dew thank you very much. Cheers! Lou .

. I apologize Hellman. I really had no business speaking for others as concerns this. There are likely a lot of folks who would turn over their own work as you describe. Maybe I'm just being too possesive of my own little efforts in this. I am always willing to lend a hand an/or guidance when I can though. As to the resolution question, maybe some one who uses Photoshop can answer that for you. I've found the stock res to be more than fine for what I am creating in Paint.NET. .

. Agreed. My apologies for the detour. .

. Hellman, I don't use Photoshop myself, but Paint.NET instead. However, like most of the skinners here and elsewhere, I tend to be rather protective of the hundreds of bits and pieces I've had to create over the course of far too many long nights, from the endless store of available base skins currently found in the sim. I am more than willing to build custom schemes for folks when they ask, (and when time allows), however I wouldn't hand over the keys to the studio, as it were. Hope you understand. .

. I agree Wayfarer. I do fully enjoy flying and fighting in the scouts, but my heart still lies with the B/R's. Sometime in the future I intend to again start a two-seater campaign as early as possible in the war and stick with it until the bitter end, (which, given the death rates in those kites, will likely come much too soon). .

. Hasse Wind, I saw your lovely country numerous times during my SIGINT days in the USAF. Granted it was from 40,000 feet up, but I did see it. .

. This just seems very appropriate on this day: The Green Fields of France I get teary everytime I listen to this song. .

. This discussion brings to mind a Patton quote: "No poor bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making other poor bastards die for their country.” Perhaps not gallant or chivalrous, but it's true. If you have no chance of winning the fight, what's the point of getting yourself killed in the process of losing it. .

. I've always felt the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was one of the most fitting tributes any nation could establish for all those who gave the fullest measure. May the countless brave souls honoured by such tributes abide in peace with God. .

. Feel free to send the Sopwith products my way. I have very nice templates for the Camel, Tripe, Strutter, and Pup. Cheers! Lou .

. A very large Happy Birthday wish to the USMC! Salute to all you Jarheads and sincerest thanks for your courage and sacrifice over the centruries. .

. A most heartfelt and sincere salute to all veterans, past, present, and future. If we could but learn from our mistakes the horrors of war would not need to be repeated over and over again. .