hi all - just thought I would do a post on my first re-skinning attempts for a plane in woff and solicit a bit of critique, feedback too please and thanks

I like to fly the dh2 and thought it might be fun to do a bit of a 'whimsical' skin that works with its nice clean front fuselage, but still keep something a bit in a 'period correct' feel

I started with a standard dh2 RFC 32 1916 skin as it seemed reasonably 'clean' for a test bed and some 'learning'

I removed the roundels from the fuselage sides, renumbered the tail, colored some white wheels, and removed the leather strap behind the pilot (due to 3d model and texture mapping? it had a bend in it and I just wanted to see if I could make it look a bit cleaner .. likely not accurate but hey its my skin and the plane still flys )

I wanted to play around with adding a few 'fabric patches' to the side - and chose a fun 'british gentleman feel, maybe a bit 'fancy' or Victorian .. words used loosely as I am no proper historian ..

I found a couple of nice damask fabric textures and stiched them on to the side (and the wheel covers for extra fancy - like scrooge mcducks spats )

I also wanted to play with a skin that might have been a forerunner to ww2 'nose art' - the dh2 lends itself to this with no prop out front - I used the rfc roundels and put them onto the metal nose - trying to keep an early hand painted and weathered look to them

I thought of the dh2 as a bit of an 'angry sparrow' or a bunch of them flapping in the wind - hence a squadron name and had a bit of fun with the monocle / bowler hat mustached gent too

anyhow here are some pics, sorry for the ramble ... and some advice please

I am realizing how many hours can be spent 'tinkering and trying' things and adjusting on a skin to suit ones taste

I have positioned the front roundels / eyes and scaled them countless ways - I like them now but am undecided on the crude 'hand painted' angry eyebrows .. not sure if they should be in white, or in black, or as a combined (black over white) or maybe in a quirky one white, one black manner (hey I'm left handed and we are known to be a bit odd at times )

here is a hodge podge of shots ... comments and opinions welcome!!

regards, Ron

"Angry Sparrows"!
The perfect name for a DH2 squadron!

Looks great! I especially like the wheels and the 'nose art'. I think the black over white eyebrows look best, but that's just my opinion. Will you make your skin available for download?

That's really nice. Personally, I'd 'lose' the Roundals altogether (or make them small..and at the rear of the fuselage)..but that's just me.

Lovely to see someone making a good job at a personalised DH2.... respect Sir

Looks good. I don't think there's a need to make the roundels look "hand painted" as they all were. But I'm sure they had stencils or patterns of some sort to follow when painting them. These are the symbols of your nation and they would want them to look as good as possible.

As for the "whimsical" aspect, why not? The A-10 is officially the Thunderbolt 2, but EVERYbody knows it as the Warthog. That name was bestowed by the pilots, and you'd better "smile when you say that, pardner". The bowler, monocle and mustache certainly were around before WWI. Now, if you put Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny or (Heaven forbid) George Jetson on there, or if you did the roundels in day-glo colors, I'd say that was going too far. But just because something didn't exist doesn't mean it couldn't have. And if it could have I'd say it's in keeping with the spirit of historical accuracy.

Looking forward to seeing your next one, manitouguy.

Very nice, the white eyebrows "read" the best, imho!

I like the roundels on the front with the eyebrows on them, it does give it and "Angry Sparrow" look. Clever and well done.

Beard

Yeah, it does have an angry bird look!

I like it a lot for its creativity. I'd never do anything like this because the style is more in line with the 1960's than the 1910's. But don't let my hangups get in the way of your creations. In terms of nose art, have you not seen a French or Belgian plane?



I really like the wheel covers and you have achieved a nice clear finish. I look forward to seeing what else you produce.

Very nice skin, manitouguy! Would you mind adding it to my skins thread? It would be nice to keep the skins in the same thread to make for easier finding when searching.

skins thread

hi all, thanks very much for the comments and feedback !:)



of course i will share any skins once they are ready



yes i love flying the dh2 and early eindeckers ... they fly at my pace!!



the dh2 model seems to have an 'irregular' poly shaped front - putting perfect circles there still get some distortion ... i wanted a 'battle worn' or 'field worn' look like some jokers painted rather hastily the eyes and eyebrows after a few too many drinks and before going back up into the fray !!! but i did also do a set with clean roundels and made them smaller and moved them so they have almost no distortion too



yes ... maybe a bit too 'mod' or 'clock work orange' for the turn of the century ! but i like it - i do appreciate trying to keep within the period feel ... i guess this squadron had a very 'progressive' illustrator in the ranks who was breaking new ground - i will do an 'earlier' feeling version as well for when i want to feel more in the 'period' too



Slick, yes i will post the series or 'variants' over in that thread ... along with some of its duelling partner the EIII 'Lindwurm' (German for 'dragon' ... i think LOL)

thanks again guys, as i get the hang of this i know i will have lots of fun with it

cheers, Ron