sinbad

Morane Saulner N
 
This is a skin set for use with the excellent Eastern Front Campaign recently released by Stephen1918. The Morane N, one of my favorite 3rd party models, was originally released by P1oppy over 5 years ago, and rivals the best Third Wire planes for detail. It is a special ride, with a special gun, 8mm Hotchkiss and a propellor with deflector blades. The Imperial Russian Air Service bought about two dozen Morane Ns from France and most went to aristocrats, such Smirnoff. In addition to Smirnoff's plane there are three others, Nikolai Kokorin, who flew with the 4th KAO, and two generics, a CDL and one from the “Air Ships Squadron” whose primary duties were to escort Russian airships and the giant Ilya Murometz bombers.
 
I include the most recent FM by Peter01, as well as the original FM, and the original installation instructions. There are no decals, but there are special sounds for the Hoptchkiss, and some special FX, such as the ribbon streamers that load as “Weapons.” I confess I don't use those, but they are there and you can select them from the loadout screen as “FLT LDR.” When I reinstalled the plane for the Eastern Front Campaign Beta test, I had problems getting the Hotchkiss sound to run. I thought putting the wav file in the sounds folder would do it but it didn't. I needed to install the SOUNDLIST.ini in the Flight folder. The Peter01 FM calls for the Rotary Engine sound while the original FM calls up the lerhone, both are in the sounds folder and you can choose the one you want. The file structure in this release is set up for FE2, but if you follow the original instructions, you can install in FE1 or the other variants of the game.
 
Eastern Front Morane N Hangar and Loading screens are included to help with immersion. This skins set brings together the work of some of the best modders to work on First Eagles, Stephen1918, P10ppy and Peter01. They all deserve our thanks.
 
Enjoy.

Flyable Spad 7 for Eastern Front Campaign & FE2
 
This is a skin set and data/ini file mod to permit the stock Fe2 Spad 7 to be a flyable plane, using the TW quality LOD's and bump maps of the FE2 Spad 7. The only Spad 13 piece is the stock Spad 13 cockpit with minor adjustments. There are several skin sets for various IRAS units, including two of the leading aces, Kazakov and Smirnoff. The skins are a joint effort with Stephen1918. I could not do the Beta testing without doing skins! The FM is entirely my fault, a revised Peter01 FM, with adjustments for Russian service, but it could also be used for other nations. The Leprieur rockets are not part of the loadout packages, as I saw no reports of the Russians using them on the Spad 7. Only the 150 HP FM is included because that is the version used by the Russians (there were very few of the others, even in France). The original files are included in case you want to revert to them without expanding the entire Fe2 fileset.
 
I have not tested this mod in any version other than Fe2, but I see no reason why the skins and cockpit mod should not work in the various forms of FE1, provided you tinker a bit. You may or may not have to delete the bump maps.
 
IMHO the Jones Soft Mode enabler is the way to get this and other mods in and out of the game, but you can certainly do it all manually if you prefer.
 
There are also hangar and loading screens (apologies to Frank Luke) to help with immersion in Stephen1918s excellent Eastern Front Campaign.
 
Enjoy.

This skin set is intended for use with the excellent Eastern Front Campaign set recently released by Stephen1918. The Imperial Russian Air Service obtained Sopwith 1 ½ Strutters primarily from both England and France. Others were Russian license built French Strutters. Enclosed you will find cockpits for both the English and French versions, install one or the other as you wish (but the honor of France requires that the French aluminum and camo versions really should have the French cockpit).
 
There are also new Russian hangar and loading screens. If you want to use them, you will need to save the originals and rename these "Hangar" and "Loading"
 
This is only a skin set, so (if you have not already done so) you'll need to download and install the previously released Sopwith 1A2.
 
Sometime in the future, on a date known to no one, there will be another Strutter release with a revised aircraft as wellas new skins, (probably a 1A1) but this will do very nicely for now.
 
Enjoy
 
sinbad

The Bohme/Lademacher Dragodiles The markings, logos, and numerals are those that appeared on the Alb C.III flown by Lt. Erwin Bohme and his observer Fritz Lademacher. The evidence available (three photos and the text of a letter from Bohme to his girlfriend) strongly indicate that the Dragodiles were white.
 
When I started this project I thought that the beasts might have been a light green or yellow-green.
It took some time to get it, but after I read the Bohme letter describing the images as “”ghosts” I decided they really were white.
 
That is why the default is the ghostly white.
 
I still included the less authentic, but more colorful greenies.
 
If you prefer the more colorful version, simply delete (or rename) the Decals file, and then copy and rename the"Decals Green Dragodiles" to "Decals".
Both decal sets are in the folder and should be left there. The green and yellow/green beasts should now appear. If you want to switch back, reverse the process. (That's why you didn't dump the original file!)
 
The Wood and Linen Alternative
This skin set uses the original decals provided by Stephen1918 that generate a varied set of markings derived from original German units and numerals.
None of the part numbers on the struts, elevators, wings, etc. are adjusted. Please back up your original “Wood and Linen files before using these as they will overwrite the originals. The logo on the prop is the earliest version of the Axial logo. Loading, Loadout and Hangar Screens. The loading and hangar screens are in the main file set along with the skins.
 
The loadout screen is in the Menu folder, and will replace the stock loadout screen for all aircraft. If you prefer the original, just delete it. Thanks to Stephen 1918 for a great model!
 
All files are set up for use in FE2.
If you need help getting this package to run in FE1, let me know.
 
sinbad
 
September 10, 2011

The French had three versions of the Strutter. The 1A2 for recon and artillery spotting, and two bombers, the 1B2, which carried a gunner, and the 1B1 which had only the pilot. The French prioritized delivery of the 1A2. The 1A2 Strutters, like the English 9400 series, had a fuel tank between the pilot and the observer. Consequently the 1A2 had greater range than the 1B2 and 1B1, which carried internal bomb bays in that same area.
 
France began building Strutters under license in April 1916 to replace obsolete Farmans and Caudron G-4s. As the first French built Strutters were tested ten months later in February 1917, a 1B2 Strutter broke up in mid air. The British insisted over stressing by the pilot caused the crash but the French demanded a total design review. The review resulted in few changes, but French built Strutters were not put into combat until the Spring of 1917, when they were significantly outclassed by enemy aircraft.
 
Bombing squadrons were routinely equipped with a mix of the 1B2 and 1B1 variants. and the 1B2 was often used to escort the 1B1. I find no evidence that the French mounted any external stores on the 1A2 or either of the 1B Strutters.
 
The French produced approximately 4,500 Strutters through April 1918. Some American units were provided with French built Strutters, which they intensely disliked, in part because they were initially delivered without weapons. All versions of the Strutter had air brakes on the inboard lower wings, which are not operational on the model; these brakes were often not favored by the aircrews because they created “mushy” handling. Many pictures of Strutters nosed over, perhaps document this characteristic.
 
The flight models attempt to reflect the known variations in the French aircraft.
 
The windscreens on French Strutters were different (some would say more graceful) than the British. That, unfortunately has not been modeled in this version. Dagaith, my original partner in this project left to join the army before the 1A2 model was started. Perhaps one day I will become sufficiently adept with 3dMax to make the adjustment, but that is not possible today. I'd love to have some help with that, if there is someone interested who can make 3dMax sing and dance.
 
 
 
We may eventually have a 1B1 Strutter, but, meanwhile there are production delays. . .
 
Thanks to Dagaith for the original model, Peter01 for the flight model, Laton for the additional LODs, , Gustav for conseils français, as well as beta testing by Southside Bucky (for the original English versions) Panama Red and Ojcar, who prompted me to get this bird out of the coop.
 
The included skin sets for the 1A2 depict aircraft flown by two French Escadrille, Sop 226, with silver dope and Sop 284, which operated 10 camo 1A2s from March 1918, the date the unit was formed, until the end of the war. Some sources incorrectly depict the Esc 226 aircraft in clear doped linen or light yellow dope, a mistake I made before discovering more recent and authoritative information. There are two files sets, on for FE2 and another for all previous versions of FE. Just drop them in and go.
 
 
 
 
sinbad 3 Nov 2010
 
 

Here's a little bit of fun for Halloween.
 
I first saw this D.VII marking in a German magazine published in the late 1930s. Later I found it had also been included in a Windsock Datafile Anthology vol III.
 
August Hartmann served late in the war with Jasta 30, after that unit had moved on from the Pfalz D.IIIa and the orange diamond markings that are probably better known than the yellow fuselage and tail seen here. Some believe the nose and tail colors were orange because the previous markings featured that color, but a British intelligence officer reported that the fuselage was brown and the nose and tail were yellow.
 
 
 
 
After only a few weeks service, Hartman was wounded and never had any confirmed victories, so, you can conclude that the witch either helped or saved him!
 
There are two files sets, one for FE and the other for FE2. Just drop the appropriate file set in the Objects folder and you should be good to go. Both the FE and FE2 file sets include Halloween Fokker D7 Loading screens. All you need to do to get rid of them is delete those files. If you have special loading screens for the D7, back those up before installing. If you rely on the stock loading screens, those will reappear as soon as you delete the special Halloween screens.
 
Enjoy!
 
sinbad
 
 
 
 
 

This skin depicts the camo and markings on Albatros D.Va flown by Leutnant Walter Böning with Royal Prussian Jasta 19, his first assignment, where he downed 6 enemy aircraft between April and October 1917. It has often been misidentified as a plane he flew with Jata 76 later in his career. More than one source incorrectly suggests blue and white Jasta 76 markings (and I did a draft in those colors). Greg VanWyngarden and Bob Pearson both hold what I believe is the better view, rendered here, with the yellow and black horizontal stabilizer of Jasta 19 and red trim for the fuselage markings.
 
 

I did these a long time ago and then forgot about them after an illness.
 
 
Lt Wolf Jasta 5
 
 
This is perhaps the most colorful skin applied to a Jasta 5 Albatross. Obviously a Bavarian, Ltn.d.R. Wolf(f) served with Jasta 5 from 25Jun17 to 8Aug17 when he was sent to the hospital when some sources do report that he died..
 
The spelling of his last name is 'iffy', could be one or two "f's".
 
Wolff was credited with a victory on July 27th but first victory might have been obtained when he was a pilot with FFA 45 in Sept 1916.
 
In which case his first name might be Walter and he might have two victories.
 
 
Enjoy.
 
Notes for update June 12, 2010 - I just re-discovered these files, which are a bit later than those previously posted. I have not examined them to determine why they were revised, but I obviously regarded these as improvements back in January 2009. This was a very challenging project that ran on over two years;many of the revisions were minor. So update your previous DL if you wish.

This skin depicts the camo and markings on Albatros D.Va flown by Leutnant Walter Böning commanding Royal Bavarian Jasta 76b in October 1917. After scoring a total of 17 victories, while flying an Albatross with different markings on 31 May 1918, he collided with another member of his squadron and was then attacked and wounded by 70 Sq RAF. He managed to land safely but never flew in combat again.
 
There is some uncertainty regarding the details. The result you see is entirely my own, and my time machine is no longer operational. This is an interpretation, a well-grounded interpretation, but certainly a mix of accuracy and flaws.
 
There are no decals for this skin set.
 
Enjoy.
 
sinbad

Gotha Revised Cockpit and Bomb sight
 
This cockpit is derived from a mod by Ravenclaw_007 10 May 2008 and from the FokkerDVII Cockpit by Third Wire. This mod is NOT intended to depict an authentic GIV cockpit, but to improve functionality (primarily adding back the compass) and the appearance. The bombsight is derived from one originally developed by Dfang in 2008 for the Staaken.
 
The Gotha bomb sight in this mod mimics a Goerz “telescope type” sight, one of several sights used by the Gothas.
 
There are no records I can find which depict the actual sight picture, so the cross hairs and reference marks are speculative. We do know the real sight was illuminated for night use; the mod attempts to depict that function. None of the sights used by the Gothas were especially effective (one was actually called a "non-precision" sight). Sights were only one reason bombing was less than accurate. The Gotha approach altitudes in England were usually at or above 3000 meters to avoid defending aircraft, balloon cables, and AAA. The real Gotha bombardier was the aircraft commander, operating in the forward observer station.
 
Installation- First back up everything. Then to install for and FE1 and FE2:
 
In The Objects/Aircraft/GothaGIV folder
 
GothaGIV_Cockpit.INI
 
GOTHA_sight.tga
 
GOTHA V24 HiRes_gunsight Full center 5 nums.tga
 
GOTHA V24 HiRes_gunsight Open center 5 nums.tga
 
DVII_DASH_AMMO.bmp
 
D_VII_FLOOR_FRONT_BACK_WALL.bmp
 
D_VII_LABLES.tga
 
In the FE or FE2/FLIGHT folder
 
VIEWLIST.INI
 
MISSIONCONTROL.INI
 
The Beta testers and I all used variations of the June 2009 FM by Peter01, who did some of the original FM work on this project back in 2008. The calibration of the sight relies on it, so it is strongly suggested. There are two versions of the sight. One has a open cross hair and the other has a full cross hair. The default (with the open cross hair) will install unless you substitute the other. To install the alternate, save GOTHA_sight.tga as GOTHA_sightBAK.tag, then copy the GOTHA V24 HiRes_gunsight Full center 5 nums.tga, and rename that copy GOTHA_sight.tga. That way you’ll still have a full set of the sights if you want to reverse the process. Keep all versions in the Objects/Aircraft/GothaGIV folder.
 
Operation- When the aircraft loads, the sight will appear at eye level. Hit the \ key [immediately below the BACKSPACE KEY] twice. The sight will drop to the floor. When approaching the target, engage the wing leveler or autopilot and hit the .DEL key, to go to invisible cockpit. Use the mouse and the NUM PAD + key to position the sight. In FE1, you can then use the \ key to select the bombs from the various choices in the loadout, if you have selected multiple weps in the load out screen. In FE2 the game will not display these choices, but the ordinance will be selected. Drop the weps in the usual manner with the ENTER key.
 
The default altitude for missions is set at 3000 meters, or approximately 10,000 feet, the most common approach altitude for attacks on London and the coastal areas. The sight is calibrated to operate at 110 kph for 3000 - 4000 meters, and 90 kph at 1000 meters. The calibration speeds are very important to accuracy. Targets should be attacked with a "stick" of several bombs some toggled a bit ahead, and some a bit behind the apparent aim point.
 
If you prefer a different approach altitude, you will find alternatives in the folder. Simply copy the one you want, delete the old file and then save the copy as missioncontrol.ini. Do not simply delete the MISSIONCONTROL.INI without using one of the enclosed files as other operational settings are also adjusted for the Gotha GIV in that file.
 
Known issues- the Gothas carried a very diverse load of stores. In configurations with heavy bombs loaded under the nose, the bomb sight may be temporarily blocked by the bomb on the forward port side. One way to deal with this is to manually toggle only that bomb at initial approach; another is to select a loadout that does not place a bomb in the forward port rack. The typical load for the attacks on England was 6 50kg bombs, so it is relatively easy to set up an authentic loadout which avoids the "bomb block" bug.
 
Thanks to Southside Bucky and OlPaint01 for exhaustive Beta testing. This was a challenging mod to develop and the comments and advice they provided was extremely helpful. Thanks also to the original developers whose work is incorporated here -- Dfang, Ravenclaw_007, Peter01 , and of course Capun and the team at the Skunk Works for the Gotha.
 
 
sinbad 20 April 2010

This skin set is provided instandard resolution 512 x 512 to help with frame rates.
 
 
 
If you install this skin, please be sure to unload the 2048files as they are not compatible. There are several decals used in the 512 modelthat are not in the 2048 version.
 
Please post or PM to let me know what frame rate differences you may findbetween this set and the hi res (2048 x 2048) set, as that information willguide future skin releases for this model.
 
Thanks.
 
 
 
sinbad
 
 

This skin set is provided instandard resolution 512 x 512 to help with frame rates.
 
 
 
If you install this skin, please be sure to unload the 2048files as they are not compatible. There are several decals used in the 512 modelthat are not in the 2048 version.
 
Please post or PM to let me know what frame rate differences you may findbetween this set and the hi res (2048 x 2048) set, as that information willguide future skin releases for this model.
 
Thanks.
 
 
 
sinbad
 
 

This skin set is provided instandard resolution 512 x 512 to help with frame rates.
 
 
If you install this skin, please be sure to unload the 2048files as they are not compatible. There are several decals used in the 512model that are not in the 2048 version.
 
Please post or PM to let me know what frame rate differences you may findbetween this set and the hi res (2048 x 2048) set, as that information willguide future skin releases for this model.
 
Thanks.
 
 
 
sinbad
 
 

This skin set is provided in standardresolution 512 x 512 to help with frame rates.
 
 
 
 
 
If you install this skin, please be sure to unload the 2048 files as they are not compatible. There are several decals used in the 512 model that are not in the 2048 version.
 
Please post or PM to let me knowwhat frame rate differences you may find between this set and the hi res (2048 x2048) set, as that information will guide future skin releases forthis model. Thanks.
 
 
 
 
sinbad
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter is a teameffort. Dagaith began the project early in 2009 and I joined to helpwith research and skins. Unfortunately, his commitment to quality,and the pressure of time, made it impossible for Dagaith to finishthe 3d model before he was drafted into the army (Estonia) in June. Icontinued work on the cockpit and skins, but I was unable to make thefinal adjustments and generate the LOD files necessary for game play.[Dagaith used a later version of 3dMax that would not render in theversion I have.] Fortunately Laton completed the LODsand made it possible to get the Strutter ready for game play. Theflight model was done by Peter01, the gunner by P10ppy. The finalcockpit and skin sets are my efforts. Southside Bucky did Betatesting and offered valuable advice to tune up the model and skinsfor release.
 
Skins in highdefinition (2048 x 2948) and standard definition ((512 x 512) will bereleased along with the model. A hidef set for B Flight 43 Squadron RFC is enclosed as the default.Additional skins are available in the download section. The2048 and 512 skin sets are NOT interchangeable. You may reduce the hidef set down to 1024, but if you do, keep the associated decal sets.Because some detail could only be sustained by decals in the standarddef sets, these are different from the hi def sets.
 
There is an sound file with the 130 HP Clerget for your sound folder.
 
The Strutter was the first British aircraft with a synchronized Vickers gun. There were several versions. The first a two seat observation type, wasknown to the RNAS and the RFC as the 9400 series, and later to theFrench as the 1A2. The 9400 is the version modeled here. A later single seat version, adapted for bombing, called the 9700 series was first produced for the UK. The French not only built both versions, but made about twice as many (4500) as the British. The first French bomber versions were identified as 1B2 (with a crew of 2). The later French versions, similar to the 9700, were called 1B1 (a crew of just one). The 1B2 version will be released for First Eagles after this model. The 1B1/9700 type may come later. There was another variant, a single seat interceptor, used for Home Defense of the London area.,which was fitted with one or two Lewis guns and a cockpit aft of the wings, where the gunner was originally placed. All versions had air brakes on the inboard lower wings which are not operational on the model, and were often not favored by the aircrews because they created “mushy” handling.
 
A substantial set of skins will be released in conjunction with this model. Please refrain from posting additional skins until all of the original skins are posted.
Standard res 512 RFC and RNAS; Belgian 9400 series, French 1A2 and 1B2 all in the pipeline. They will be up ASAP.
 
Thanks for your patience.
 
 
sinbad

Yes, that is a real name.
 
 
Geoffrey Hornblower Cock, 45 SquadronRFC, got all of his 13 victories in the Strutter, in which he was thehighest scoring ace. Cock was shot down over Warneton on 22 July 1917and made POW. This is a high resolution 2048 x 2048 skin. A standard resolution skin set will also be released.
 
 
 
 
 
 

This is a high resolution skin set for one of the earliest Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutters to serve, No. 9388 5 Wing RNAS. A standard resolution set will also be released.

This is a high resolution 2048 x 2048 skin set depicting Strutter 9723 with 3 Wing RNAS.

This is a high resolution 2048 x 2048 skin set depicting Strutter 9722 with 3 Wing RNAS.

This is a high resolution 2048 x 2048 skin set depicting Strutter 9739 with 3 Wing RNAS. A standard resolution setwill also be released.

This is a high resolution 2048 x 2048 skin set depicting Strutter 9407 as flown by R. Collishaw with 3 Wing RNAS. A standard resolution set will also be released.

A companion to the default set for the Strutter, this is a high resolution2048 x 2048 skin set for C Flight. There three flights, A,B, and C with six planes in each flight. The serial numbers are correct for the Squadron, but apart from B2 and B 6, I have not been able to conclusively tie the serial numbers to the individual flight aircraft.

A companion to the default set for the Strutter, this is a high resolution 2048 x 2048 skin set for A Flight. There were three flights, A,B, and C, with six planes in each flight. The serial numbers are correct for the Squadron, but I have not been able to conclusively tie the serial numbers to the individual flight aircraft.

Here is a hasty rendition of Hansa 28.69 to fit the really fine model by Laton.
 
Have fun.
 
sinbad

This skin set depicts the Albatros D.I flown by Prince Friedrich Carl of Prussia when he was forced down on March 21, 1917; he died of wounds suffered attempting to reach the German lines. There is no doubt (because von Tutchek described it) that the fuselage was painted light green. Some suggest that the field on the fuselage emblem might be red, but it seems to me the better evidence is that the field was black. An additional emblem was on the spinner, but I have not found a way to mount that, given the skin of this model. It would be impossible to see in the air, unless the prop was stopped! The serial number of this plane was painted over and is not known.
 
The files attached include hangar and loading screens.
 
Thanks to Gambit168 for making his skin set available as a template, to BortdaFarm for the original model, and to Southside Bucky for advice for improvements. I have included a cockpit adaptation of the Albatross D3 model from the First Eagles Expansion pack. The cockpit mod will not work unless you have the expansion pack. If you do not have the expansion pack yet, you can still use this skin. All you need to do is go into the AlbDI.ini file and modify the lines which now look like this:
 
//CockpitDataFile=AlbatrosDII_cockpit.ini
CockpitDataFile=AlbatrosD3_cockpit.ini
 
To look like this
 
CockpitDataFile=AlbatrosDII_cockpit.ini
//CockpitDataFile=AlbatrosD3_cockpit.ini
 
(Yes, these references are supposed to read AlbatrosDII not DI). Alternatively you can download the full cockpit mod from CA.
 
The FM by Peter01 is intended for use without the April 08 patch.
 
In addition to the skins, there a sound file which was recorded from a running Mercedes engine. If you prefer the original sound, simply change the lines in the data.ini file which refer to “PropLoopMercedes” to “PropLoop”.
 
This fileset is complete, and includes everyting necessary to load the BortdaFarm Alb DI. If you have other Alb DI skins, place the skin folder in the AlbDI folder and select it in the loadout screen to fly the skin.
 
This skin set is the final skin of a series presented to acknowledge the dedication and continuing hard work of Peter01 who has given us outstanding flight models for so many other aircraft for First Eagles. Without his work, this model and many others would be just pretty pictures.
 
October 5, 2008
 
sinbad