use whatever works of course
Congrats on the views . I know a 1,000 must be mine ! Lol !
[QUOTE=sixstrings5859;1294588]Congrats on the views . I know a 1,000 must be mine ! Lol ! [/QUOT
Haha, LOL - Yes, the 100,000 must be the result of only a handful of people that are actively following this thread . Anyway, bump-mapping the VC tub now. I'll keep you posted!
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Just checking on the progress. Any wonderful screenshots ? Excited about this ! Regards,Scott
Not yet, Scott!
The past 3-4 weeks I had some PC issues again. I installed Win10 a second time last weekend (so that's three times in the past 3-4 months - sigh). Hopefully everything is OK now. Anyway, I must say the system seems to run smoother than before the first crash in June.
During my summer holiday I worked on the instrumentation; I created new, more accurate texture sheets for the instruments, hopefully better needles, some (partial) 3D instruments (gyro horizon, turn & bank indicator, gyro compass and standard compass - CFS3 uses the same textures for the two compasses but in reality they were different). I am also differentiating between the D-25/27/28 and D-30/40 instrument panels: they differ in shape/dimensions and the 3D instruments require that I cut holes in them, just like the real thing. Lastly, I am playing around with the instruction & warning decals that adorned the panels. Originally, I used an amateurishly picked unwrap scale that allowed me to paint them on the instrument panel texture, whereas CFS3 uses decals instead. Now I am thinking that the latter does give reasonably decent results. So that is still somewhat undecided.
All this started because I want the operation limits painted on the instruments glass as per the blueprints/manuals. And with the thought that I might add more models to the originally planned D-25, D30 and D-40, I would have organized my texture sheets differently. Oh well, one lives and learns...
Screenies when we're there!
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Sorry for all your problems. Hope it works out ok. Great news on the progress ! Glad to hear of so many models to choose from. Ever think about doing a P-47M model or a proper N model ? That would be very interesting for us late war fans and '46 buffs. A impressive amount of detail in your aircraft. Good luck ,and Best wishes . Regards,Scott
Thanks Scott!
Yeah, it's a bummer! Installing Win10 a 4th time this weekend () and running all the CHKDSK, scannow and DISM stuff I can find but the 'puter is having a hard time. I think after 11 years the HDD is on the verge of dying. Considering the PC's age, I need to replace it but I really don't know what to buy; mid-range or high-end? And where? There are no reliable PC shops anymore where I live, which means that I am condemned to the online cowboys. Most of them have no experience with sims and will happily sell you any gaming rig. Makes me feel like buying a car: Being too unfamiliar with the technicalities, you know you are being screwed but you need one.
The little info I could dig up on simming says that CPU power is more important than GPU power. Buy a pre-built system and pay more or find all the parts myself and save some cash? I never built a complete PC myself but I did replace parts, including a CPU cooler and smearing some paste. As I also would like to try DCS, the new PC should be able to handle that and I mean handle well: No minimal settings but preferably maxed out (which probably means high-end). And let's not forget the current prices of PC parts and, with the current energy crisis, the electricity bill; A high-end system most likely demands a more powerful PSU than my current 650W.
So, a lot of considerations that slow my work considerably down. I have an old laptop with an aging battery that allows me to do some simple work in the meantime but the smaller display is such an annoyance. Not a happy camper right now! Please don't mind the above complaining too much but you'd better not expect any P-47 revelations any time soon!
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Can you make your own?
Cato said "Carthaginem esse delendam"
I say "Carthago iam diu deleta,sed enim Bellum Alium adhuc aedificandum est"
Building your own PC is no harder than plugging bits together, I’ve done it twice now and for a 4 or 5 year old rig it still motors along. The biggest improvement over older machines is swapping an hdd for a solid state drive - a machine which previously took nearly a minute to boot is ready in 12s and other disk-intensive things are much, much faster than before. That’s the biggest reduction in bottleneck these days, not processor speed or motherboard/gpu fanciness.
Tom
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________________
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7
Just a little update and Christmas teaser :
As mentioned before, some skins choosen aren't D-30 and D-40 aircraft (that I initially had planned to model). In the past weeks/months since my PC trouble (solved by installing a new HD that, if needed, can also be used in a new PC), I dug into these other P-47D variants: The 3D models will eventually depict the D-25 through D-40 and will include original early models and some retrofitted with a fin fillet, and will show various bare metal and painted/camouflaged examples.
While the conversion from the -30/-40 external model to early bubbletop versions mainly consists of relocating the landing light (done, except for the riveting) and a change from a Curtiss to a Hamilton prop (anyone got good info on the HS blade profile?), they were also still equipped with the original ailerons - as opposed to the blunt ailerons that came with the -30/-40 models. Redoing the ailerons is one of the things I am not looking forward to. But most of my time goes into studying blueprints to find the cockpit differences between these variants; There differed in type of rudder pedals, instrumentation, type of rearview mirror, cockpit flooring, miscellaneous equipment etc. This invariably leads to regretting earlier texturing decisions, as I would have liked to keep the number of sheets down; Having the model differences on the same sheets would have accomplished that but it has already been such a puzzle to make everything fit. The reason things don't progress readily, is that I keep postponing certain decisions and the extensive reworkings of certain parts...
So sometimes I need a little diversion and I spent some time on one of the skins, such as this WIP of a filletless D-25 that could be found in the skies over the continent in June 1944 (alas still with a Curtiss prop) :
Happy Holidays!!
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Beautiful ! Thank you for the exacting research and hard work for us CFS3 fans. Greatly looking forward to these excellent models of my favorite WW II aircraft . Thanks again,and hang in there ! Regards, Scott
Excellent detail ! So looking forward to this P-47 series you are doing. Keep hanging in there bro ! Doing a fine job ! Regards,Scott
Well you could always buy some! https://www.aviationart.com/products...47-thunderbolt
maybe something here
https://www.google.com/search?client...andard+6507A-0
Cato said "Carthaginem esse delendam"
I say "Carthago iam diu deleta,sed enim Bellum Alium adhuc aedificandum est"
Clearly what Joost really needs is an actual airworthy P-47D-25-RE at his disposal. Only then can he truly accurately model every detail. Haven't seen one on trade-a-plane lately, but if we crowdfund it (and the gas bill), I'll take one for the team and deliver it to him personally.
Seriously though, yet another beautifully detailed part of what is shaping up to be a truly awesome model. Good work!
Thanks James, that is actually helpful!! I hadn't searched much by blade number. At least that auction side mentions the max. width of the blade and the piccies show that it isn't as symmetrical as the crappy sketch I used, would lead me to believe. Maybe a slight adjustment is in order...
While you're at it, could you also deliver a -26, -27, -28, -30 and perhaps a -40 if it's not too much trouble? Although the differences are mostly minor, I really can't promise accurate work without them. When I am done, I am willing to lend you one - but only on Sundays
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
There must be some still flying somewhere. Any members here know anything?
Cato said "Carthaginem esse delendam"
I say "Carthago iam diu deleta,sed enim Bellum Alium adhuc aedificandum est"
According to Google there are just 4 airworthy, flying P-47s in the world. It's not enough, I say!
Tom
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________________
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7
For once Google is NOT your friend. According to Wikipedia there are currently 14 airworthy P-47s, 1 here at Duxford in the UK and 13 at various locations around the States. Still not enough, but not too shabby.
Andy
So the nearest member to one can visit one and take some detailed photos!
Cato said "Carthaginem esse delendam"
I say "Carthago iam diu deleta,sed enim Bellum Alium adhuc aedificandum est"
OK people,
I did some additional searching on props and found the site/blog of a guy who's much more precise than I am in his modelling and even he complained about the lack of info on propeller blades. He says that Hamilton still regards that as proprietary information. So no joy obtaining any blade profiles. I therefore used the less accurate but proven technique of tracing one of the photos in James' link. It gives a reasonable idea of the blade shape/outline, except for its twist - so that's all fantasy . Below are the blades based on the photo of a real 6507A blade and my earlier attempt using the sketchy drawing mentioned earlier. The 'photo' blades are not as symmetric as those based on the sketch and though I don't dislike my first attempt, I think I'll use those from the photo. But feel free to comment!
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
Bookmarks