First Skin (WIP)

[Beebop-RIP]

Hi there.

Some of you may know I have done a bit of skinning for 1946. 

Now that I'm getting into Battle Over Stalingrad I of course wanted to try my hand at skinning.  It's been a daunting quest.  In 1946 I skin using Paint Shop Pro.  However it has limited ability to save files as .dds.  Yes the option is there but it becomes complicated (it doesn't want to save the alpha layer) and frustrating. ?  So...I got GIMP.  I saved the skin as a .psd because GIMP won't accept .pspimage files. ? Then I had to learn how to save/export it.  At first I couldn't flatten it to add the needed alpha layer.  But finally I figured that out.  (I still need a lot of practice to refine these processes. 

So, with some reservation, I present my first Great Battles skin, and IL-2M42.  Now I like making hacks over at M4T and unusual skins have always interested me.  Hacks are not really needed here (yet).  So here is a skin for a real plane* now in the Central Air Force Museum in Monino Russia.  Apparently the odd colors come from the fact that proper this most unusual coloration was due to shortages of the correct aircraft paints during the moving of the factories East of the Urals to avoid being attacked by the Germans.

* The actual plane I used as a reference is a later IL-2 M version with a rear gunner but I don't have that expansion of GB yet.  I did see a version of a single-seater as a scale model with the same color scheme.

So without further ado..(be kind, remember it's a WIP and I need to do some, well a lot, more work on it)

 

[Crash]

nice

Might be worth having a look at this program. You get a 10 day free trial https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/desktop/full-feature-list/

[DD_Arthur]

9 hours ago, Beebop said:

* The actual plane I used as a reference is a later IL-2 M version with a rear gunner but I don't have that expansion of GB yet. 

Yes you do.

  

[Beebop-RIP]

Yes I have a rear gunner but for this model but it's the Field Mod version.  The plane in Monino is an 'M' version with a full rear gunner cockpit that looks more like the M38F version in BoK.  I just might have to spring for that add-on as I would love to fly the A-20, Bf-110G2 and the P-39.

Are the additional packs ever on sale?

[FoolTrottel]

7 minutes ago, Beebop said:

(...)I just might have to spring for that add-on as I would love to fly the A-20, Bf-110G2 and the P-39.

Are the additional packs ever on sale?

BOK is on sale right now, standard for $37.49 https://il2sturmovik.com/store/battle-of-kuban/, it includes A20, 110G2 and P-39

 

[Beebop-RIP]

Yeah!  I just got BoM because it was only 16.99.  I got the standard edition because I already had bought the P-40.

I think I will get BoK.  I may just buy the Spitfire separately as I seldom fly Luft and really haven't flown the Hs-129 in 1946.

[Sid]

BoK is a great package

[Beebop-RIP]

Buying now.

Got it.

[Beebop-RIP]

Now the skin is on a more correct model seen here flying over Tuapse looking for a train.

[DD_Arthur]

Looking good