The Albatros Project part 8

Another Weekend Color Fest

The weekend has come and I am feeling bright and shiny, so here is a few colorful Albatros D.V aircraft to brighten the day. Slowly but surely I am working my way though my to do list of Albatros fighters. I am finally getting things organized and working my through every Jasta I can. My profile count is almost 800 at the moment I am not sure who high that number will go before I run out of examples to work from.

Jasta 3 - 1917

Albatros D.V Jasta 3 Ltn. Karl Menckhoff - 1917

The Albatros D.V flown in the Prussian Jasta 3 had an atypical paint scheme for the model. The wings are mauve and green and the crosses are the old style Iron Cross type. The black M was the pilot's personal mark and not a unit designator.

Jasta 10 - 1917

Albatros D.V Jasta10 Oblt. Ernest von Altaus serial number D.1119/17 - 1917

This Albatros D.V served in Jasta 10 and piloted by Oblt. Ernest von Altaus. The all yellow scheme is typical for this Jasta. The wings are painted the standard scheme of mauve and green upper surfaces with pale blue underneath. It has the Iron Cross which date it to before the spring of 1918. The fuselage sports yellow circles and black bordered in white markings.

Jasta 61 - 1918

Albatros D.V Jasta 61 Vzfw. Kurt Jensch - 1918

The Albatros D.Va flown by Vzfw. Kurt Jensch while serving in Jasta 61. The forward gray areas were more greenish in hue and the varnished wood fuselage markings consisted of a black and white five pointed star which works to give it a three dimensional effect, and a black stripe. The reworking of the national crosses into the Maltese cross scheme places this example to a time after April of 1918. The white rudder with the extended cross is an unusual touch. The wings and tail plane are done in mauve and green top, pale blue bottom scheme. The wing crosses would be the new type Maltese cross type too.

Jasta 77b - 1917

Albatros D.Va Jasta 77b Staffelfuhrer Ltn. Otto Fuchs - 1917

This Albatros D.Va served in the Bavarian Jasta 77b. The pilot was Oblt. Ernest von Altaus. The basic scheme is the standard varnished fuselage and green mauve and pale blue wing surfaces. The empanage or rear section around the tail section is the standard blue scheme used by the Jasta. The black pilot identification mark is two black weasels or ferrets pointed forward. Once again we see the old style Iron Cross markings. There is some contention whether the tail plane is a darker blue that the rest of the painted surfaces.

Albatros Project #1

The Albatros Project Report #1

The Albatros Project is in full swing. I have made new master files for the D.I, D.II, D.III, D.V, C.VII, C.X, and C.XII. While working I have replaced all the older less accurate profiles and been on a roll producing new examples for my profile galleries at my main site WWI Aviation. I will be posting some of the new work here.

Albatros D.I - 1916

I had found a reference picture for this aircraft in my reference archive. It is the only example of a multiple color camouflage scheme on a D.I I have seen. Needless to say I needed to give the scheme a try. The camouflage is done using 3 colorized monochrome layers, top to bottom, rust brown, green, blue. I simply remove the bottom of the two top layers to expose the blue belly. The next step is to remove the areas of the brown exposing the green areas. Next I turn off visibility to all the layers except for the brown, green, and blue. Now I can merge the visible parts into a single layer. Now when the final shadows from the wing and tail plane are applied it is quicker and easier to do.

Albatros D.II - 1916

My old master for the D.II was flawed. The side of the fuselage looked rounded instead of flat. I replaced the old profiles with new ones, and changed the type wood for the fuselage from an ash to a maple. THE D.II above is a new profile which I had saved for when I had a better master file.

Albatros D.III - 1916

I have said before I love flashy paint schemes. So when I saw the scheme on the D.II above I had to do it. it is a fairly straight forward project. I had made the propeller fairing, metal nose, and engine compartment as a separate layer so it took minimal work. I had selected the rear of the fuselage and colorized it green. I skinned the body layer under the green layer in maple with a multiply fill filter to combine the shading and the wood pattern. The final flash was the blue piped white stripe which started as a stroked and filled rectangle which I rotated and trimmed to fit. I had made the rudder a separate layer. I copied it and pasted it onto a sheet of Bavarian checks I had drawn and keep in my "decal" library. I selected the area around the rudder, increased selection, then inverted it. Next I moved to the check layer and copied the new selection and pasted the checks over the rudder in the main image. Presto! From there it is simply a matter of adding details and shading..

Albatros D.Va - 1917

The final example is a D.Va which uses all the same tricks and techniques as the other profiles. I find doing computer graphics to be very similar to when I was building scale model kits. There is a lot of working with "decals" either virtual or film. But I did come to this through model building and gaming. We go with what we know.

Have a great weekend and I hope to see your comments and thoughts here soon.

Best Wishes
Will

USA - 1918 Packard-Le Peré LUSAC-11

Another Colorful American Fighter

Packard-Le Peré LUSAC-11 - 1918

I remember the first time I saw this aircraft. I liked the clean lines of the design and I had to do more research to find what I needed to make a profile. I had found a line drawing on The Blueprints.com to give me the proportions and plenty of color photos to use for the finish. The fun part was the multiple color camouflage paint scheme. I am working on a new page for the blog on tricks for easy camouflage. The short explanation is to create a stack of multiple layers of the fuselage. Make sure you keep a black and white monochrome layer to use to add shading effects. I then colorize and adjust luminosity them to match each color needed, the order in the stack matters. Then I remove the area which will reveal the next color. Work your way down the stack until you are happy with the look.

The LUSAC-11 (Le Peré United States Army Combat) was an early American Army two-seat fighter aircraft. It was designed during World War I and ordered in large numbers, but the contract was cancelled at the end of the war, and only 30 were built. The type was used for experimental purposes, setting several altitude records during the 1920s.

References

1. "Packard-Le Peré LUSAC-11". (2010, December 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:54, January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Packard-Le_Per%C3%A9_LUSAC-11&oldid=401930379
2. "Factsheets: Packard-Le Peré LUSAC 11". National Museum of the US Air Force. Retrieved 5 December 2010 from http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=325
3. "The Royal Aero Club of the U.K.: Official Notices to Members". Flight 16 December 1920. Retrieved 23:57, January 15, 2011, http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1920/1920%20-%201272.html
4. "An American Height Record". Flight 4 March 1920, p. 265. Retrieved 23:56, January 15, 2011, http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1920/1920%20-%200265.html
5. Packard-Le Peré LUSAC-11 The-Blueprints.com Retrieved from http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/ww1planes/ww1-usa/31365/view/le_pere_lusac_11/
6. Angelucci, Enzo and Peter M. Bowers. The American Fighter. Sparkford, UK: Haynes Publishing Group, 1987, p. 195. ISBN 0-85429-635-2.
7. "Eighteen Years of World's Records". Flight, 7 February 1924, pp. 73-75.
8. Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. "LUSAC-11, Packard-Le Peré". Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare. Volume 16, p.1782-3. London: Phoebus, 1978.
9. Owers, Colin."Stop-Gap Fighter:The LUSAC Series". Air Enthusiast, Fifty, May to July 1993. pp. 49-51. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450.

USA - 1917 Thomas-Morse S-4

A Colorful Thomas-Morse Scout

Thomas-Morse S-4 - 1917

I hereby declare today as Flashy Paint Scheme Friday. It gives me a chance to post cheery planes to brighten up the end of the work week. The cowling on this Tommy was easy to do. Once I had a layer holding a shaded monochrome image of the fuselage I added the cowling as a new layer stacked above the fuselage and filled it with a checkerboard pattern from my toolbox, and played with opacity and blend types till I was happy with the results. The wheel was even simpler, I had the image of it saved to my parts folder from drawing Eddie Rickenbacher's SPAD XIII. Slap an American roundel on the lower wing. and the rest is a cakewalk. Eventually I will redo it with wood textures on the wing struts and a few more details.

The Thomas-Morse Scout became the favorite single-seat training airplane for U.S. pilots during World War I. The Scout first appeared with an order for 100 S4Bs in the summer of 1917. The U.S. Army Air Service later purchased nearly 500 of a slightly modified version, the S4C. Dubbed the "Tommy" by its pilots, the plane had a long and varied career.

References

1. Thomas-Morse S-4. (2010, August 24). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:17, January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas-Morse_S-4&oldid=380768615
2. Thomas-Morse S-4 The-Blueprints.com Retrieved from http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/ww1planes/ww1-usa/31404/view/thomas-morse_s-4c/
3. Thomas Morse S4C Scout The Cradle of Aviation Museum Retrieved 09:17, January 15, 2011, from http://www.cradleofaviation.org/exhibits/ww1/scout/index.html
4. Thomas-Morse S4C Scout National Museum of the USAF Retrieved 09:17, January 15, 2011, from http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=271
5. Thomas-Morse Scout - USA The Aviation History On-Line Museum. Retrieved 09:17, January 15, 2011, from http://www.aviation-history.com/thomas/scout.html
6. Angelucci, Enzo, Great Aeroplanes of the World, London, New York, Sydney, Toronto: Hamlyn, 1973. p. 41
7. Donald, David, ed. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, p. 875, "Thomas Brothers and Thomas-Morse aircraft", p875. Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1997.
8. Holmes, Tony (2005). Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. p 52. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0 0071 9292 4.
9. Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. London:Putnam, Second edition, 1976, p. 471-472. ISBN 0 370 10054 9.
10. United States Air Force Museum. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation. 1975, p. 10.

Germany - 1918 Fokker D.VII

A Jolly Death Machine

Fokker D.VII - 1918

Today is time for adding a bit of color to my post. There is nothing like a cheery splash of color to brighten one's day.

I have recently been going back to my library of aircraft to do different examples of the same plane. Once I have the basics done on a particular type I can go back and create different paint schemes to suit my fancy. It saves me the from the need to reinvent the wheel every time I need a new version of a bird. The shooting star theme has been used by several nations. during the Great War. Germany, Austria, Belgium and the United States have all used different interpretations of the theme.

The Fokker D.VII is widely regarded as the best German aircraft of the war. Its development was championed by Manfred von Richthofen. In January 1918, Richthofen tested the D.VII in the trials at Adlershof but never had an opportunity to fly it in combat. He was killed just days before it entered service. When introduced, the D.VII was not without problems. On occasion its wing ribs would fracture in a dive or high temperatures would cause the gas tank to explode. Even so, the D.VII proved to be durable and easy to fly. As noted by one authority, it had “an apparent ability to to make a good pilot out of mediocre material.”. When equipped with the BMW engine, the D.VII could out-climb any Allied opponent it encountered in combat. Highly maneuverable at all speeds and altitudes, it proved to be more than a match for any of the British or French fighter planes of 1918.

References

1. "Fokker D.VII", From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_D.VII
2. Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962.
3. Owers, Colin. "The post-1918 career of the Fokker D.VII: Part One". Air Enthusiast, No. 60, November-December 1995, pp. 63-70. ISSN 0143 5450.
4. Owers, Colin. "The post-1918 career of the Fokker D.VII: Part Two". Air Enthusiast, No. 61, January-February 1996, pp. 52-63. ISSN 0143 5450.
5. Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. "United States Military Aircraft since 1908". London:Putnam, 1963.
6. Weyl, A.R. "Fokker: The Creative Years". London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-817-8.

Austria - 1917 Lohner DI

Hunting Odd Birds Take One

Lohner DI - 1917

The Lohner Series 111 was an Austria-Hungarian prototype single seat biplane built in 1917 by Lohnerwerke GmbH. The fuselage was a laminated wood construction. The wing struts were an "I" requiring no wires tor structural stability. Power was provided by an Austro-Daimler engine generating 185 hp (138 kW) The design went through several changes during the development process. Three prototypes were built. The performance of the aircraft was not an improvement on existing models already in production. Lackluster flight results led to Flars not approving the D.I for production.

I have been obsessing on early Austrian aircraft lately. Their designs are quirky and generally impractical, but oddly appealing. Finding research material is the most difficult art of the whole process. My first step is to find the back story and any specifications for the project. Next I hunt up drawings, blueprints, and color examples to base my drawing on. In this case it took a while to gather all the elements I needed before firing up my graphic suite.

I keep a library of parts, insignias, wood and camouflage patterns and lettering to speed up the process of rendering a profile. I start with a line drawing or photograph to get the right proportions. Slowly I isolate elements and create a stack of image layers. At this stage I am working in a monochromatic palette. The shapes are still rough. I slowly break each part down and build them with geometric shapes until the element is a clean collection ready for setting lightness levels, shading, colorization/skinning and reassembly. Once the elements have been fleshed out I add the final shadows and highlights. When finished I optimize the file weight

References

1. Grosz, Peter, The Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One, Flying Machines Press, 2002, ISBN 1-891268-05-8