[4K TEXTURE OVERHAUL, WIP] Magic's Modified Mustang Makeup

[Magic Zach]

Slight update.  Progress has been a little slow between work, and I've had trouble with the "hood" of the Mustang when it comes to source and reference material.
Got the majority of the lower forward and lower mid panels marked.  The filter panel (the one with the holes) took quite a bit of tweaking but its dimensions have turned out far better than I originally hoped.



I'm having some trouble finding some good sources for the top two cowling panels (ie. the "hood"), in particular for the aft half, where the aftercoolant and oil filler doors are.  I have a myraid of photos but this seems to be one of the more elusive areas of the Mustang to photographers.  If anyone can send some photos I could use, I'd greatly appreciate it!
Some requirements:
-Needs enough reference material in the photo to be able to tell where exactly the photo is looking (ie. have a particular panel edge or feature also included in the photo)
-Needs to be either high resolution, or rather up-close to the Mustang
-Needs to clearly show visible distinctions between rivets and spotwelds (having a light source be on the opposite side of the subject from the camera helps with this oftentimes)

[Mike Busutil]

Beautiful work Zach. 

[DB 605]

Looking really good so far.

[Magic Zach]

Progress may slow somewhat for a while again, just because I've been getting slammed with work.  Luckily, what I think may be one of or was the most difficult area of the aircraft has just had the main bulk of the layout completed.  All that remains is to mirror it to the right side, then make right-side specific adjustments.

Work now has pushed to focusing on the mid-fuselage section!

1) Here you can see some of the newest added detail to the enclosure around the canopy.  This new large panel covering the bulk of the mid-fuselage area has a new rivet size that wasn't seen on the engine cowlings: AD6.  These new large rivets are used amongst the medium sized AD5 and slightly smaller AD4 rivets on this same panel.  If you look closely you will be able to spot the different sized rivets when they're nearby each other.  Hint: look around the flare gun port for one.
Regarding the red objects, these go on the right side of the aircraft.  However because of the orientation of the drawings, it is easier to create this on the left side, then flip them to the right later.  This helps ensure proper dimensions.


2) The doors finally got completed on the cowlings!  They've received some rounded corners, and the hinges they so needed.  This is taken from below the bird.


3) More doors!  Hinges included now.  Top perspective.  Here you can also see a new original panel that got added, that was missing by default.  You can spot it, a skinny rectangular cover in the bottom right of this photo


4) I wanted to show this especially because it shows the irregularity of spot welds.  Spot welding was for a large part just done freely by hand, with little measuring work done prior.  As such, they tended to be a bit haphazardly placed on the real aircraft, and this jitter in the DCS spotwelds is how I attempt to replicate that effect.

 

6) Canopy frame is finally done!  Including the frame around the windshield and side windows.  This also came with new, originally-drawn panels added to the Mustang.

[Magic Zach]

Oil radiator got its work done today

Edited December 13, 2022 by Magic Zach

[Magic Zach]

Christmas progress update!  The bump map for the front fuselage is approaching the finish line.  The wings or rear fuselage (tail) will be next shortly.  Most likely, the wings, to give myself a pseudo-break (the fuselage is somewhat challenging to work with because of the rarity of flat surfaces).
Yesterday, I did a brief count of what I have so far.  I have individually placed with special attention over 3,500 rivets of six different types, and have applied over 6,800 spotwelds, along with 257 Dzus fasteners.
So without further ado, screenshots:


The rivets and spotwelds on the spinner have completed the busy look more than any other piece honestly

The bottom of the radiator scoop turned out to be very busy.  Some of the panels, like the access cover under the oil radiator, were troublesome to find the blueprints of

Left aft wing root

Right aft wing root.  The ground power receptacle door got some special attention, a hinged door that has a push lock to close.  Much easier for ground crew to quickly open up.

Nice side view of all the cluttered mess

THE RIGHT SIDE FINALLY HAS RIVETS!

The external canopy open/close handle, and the exterior emergency canopy jettison handle.  They're grey here because that's how they're prepared as a bump map, before they get turned into a normal map.  What's interesting here though is how legible the text is.
And on the canopy open/close handle on the sliding frame, that little white smudge there, is the raised numbering of the part number for the handle, 109-318116

Perspective showing that even though much was mirrored from the right side to the left, where applicable, areas were given attention to make them appear slightly different, and make the mirroring less obvious.  The fasteners and spot welds were redone here, completely original on the right side from the left.

Yes.....I did do the interior of the radiator scoop...

The lines look a little jagged here, but that can't be helped, as that's entirely the 3D model there.  That can't be helped...at least not by me

And one final view of the underside of the cowling.  You can spot which doors swing on a hinge.


Merry Christmas!!

Edited December 24, 2022 by Magic Zach

[Doughguy]

Feel your pain with the dotting man since i do a 4k retex of the dora myself.

Good work so far!

As a note tho: If you´re going to use this map as a base for a normal map, make sure that some panels/parts overlap and are situated over the main panels. Usually renders in a not so visible line around said part.
Usually its the wing filets and such.
For that i work off of a grey base and adjust the protrustion of the panels/parts by either darkening or highlighting said part.

It´s pita working in that old skewl way especially if you have skewed uvw´s.... so yeah cant help it but make the most of it.

[Magic Zach]

20 hours ago, Doughguy said:

Feel your pain with the dotting man since i do a 4k retex of the dora myself.

Good work so far!

As a note tho: If you´re going to use this map as a base for a normal map, make sure that some panels/parts overlap and are situated over the main panels. Usually renders in a not so visible line around said part.
Usually its the wing filets and such.
For that i work off of a grey base and adjust the protrustion of the panels/parts by either darkening or highlighting said part.

It´s pita working in that old skewl way especially if you have skewed uvw´s.... so yeah cant help it but make the most of it.

Ah, I understand.  In some messing around I did a few years ago, this approach to panel edges seemed to give a better looking end-result in the normal.  For the moment though, i have the panel lines set more or less as placeholder.  They are redimensioned, but your approach to how to finish them off in the bump map is what I had in mind.
I'm thinking that I'll have a darker background layer behind all the panels, and then use the pen tool and draw the panels over that.  This should give the panels pretty smooth curves (versus using something like the polygonal lasso selection tool and filling that in) on panels, more control over where gaps between panels might get thinner or wider, and make adjustments across warped UVs and between UV pieces much easier.

While I'm here, I started on the wings yesterday

 

[Doughguy]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb Magic Zach:

  This should give the panels pretty smooth curves (versus using something like the polygonal lasso selection tool and filling that in) on panels, more control over where gaps between panels might get thinner or wider, and make adjustments across warped UVs and between UV pieces much easier.

Yup same approach i do. I just skipped redrawing lines as placeholders and just used exiting literature and photographs as guides.
You need some adjusting here and there and i work panel by panel with some rough guiding lines so panels and rivets align but it works quite well.
However, since the Mustang and Dora vary a lot from their real life counterparts its hard to follow said photographs so the in case ofthe Dora its gonna be some b@stard child of a focke wulf.. Think same case should be with the Mustang

 

Zitat

make adjustments across warped UVs and between UV pieces 

Yeah adjusting mismatched gaps across UV islands is easier since you can just select a point of each shape and accurately adjust it by movin it with the arrow keys on the keyboard.

However it wont help with jacked UVW´s... if they´re faulty.. they´re faulty. You coult compensate but imho it just not worth it if its barely visible.
The Dora suffers from skewed ,faulty and poorly laid out UVW´s alot...

[Magic Zach]

 

[Magic Zach]

[Cobrajet]

This is looking so good. Will the 25 and 30 get this hi-res treatment that you are crafting?

[Magic Zach]

3 hours ago, Cobrajet said:

This is looking so good. Will the 25 and 30 get this hi-res treatment that you are crafting?

That is the goal!
Progress is gonna slow down a bit however, as my work has changed their timetables and I have significantly less downtime to work on this.  Not sure when this'll change right now.

[Magic Zach]

The top surface of the wing has its rivet scheme finished!
These leading edge panels were the last ones for the top surface


colorcoded per each rivet type:

view from the cockpit

[Rebel28]

It is a real downer when real life gets in the way of a passion project. I am so looking forward to the completion of your work. The P-51 has been neglected by ED for many years, and it takes someone like you with the passion to fix what they should have done years ago. It is my hope that your real job slows soon so you may finish the great work you have started.  

[Magic Zach]

I'm sorry I haven't been working on this as much as I did earlier.  I was actually just opening Photoshop to give it another go today and this weekend.  Last time I worked on it, I had just finished up the right wing's bump maps and was moving on to getting the layout set up for the rear fuselage and tail.  In the future after that is done, panel imperfections will be added and then I'll begin to make normal map conversions.

On 3/23/2023 at 7:20 PM, Rebel28 said:

It is a real downer when real life gets in the way of a passion project. I am so looking forward to the completion of your work. The P-51 has been neglected by ED for many years, and it takes someone like you with the passion to fix what they should have done years ago. It is my hope that your real job slows soon so you may finish the great work you have started.  

Yeah this is essentially what's happened.  Work has restricted me to basically only working on weekends, and a number of those I'm out and away from my PC.  And when I'm not, it's usually just because I just want to blob out and chill, so I don't work on DCS stuff but play it instead, or play other games (Horizon Zero Dawn is really fun so far!)

[Kazputin]

Hey - just chiming in to say absolutely love the work, and don't worry if it takes time. Since starting work I find I have much less energy for anything that is close to work (I'm a software engineer) - pretty much all my hobby coding projects have stalled and I often just want to chill rather than be productive! I'm sure lots of people are the same. Keep up the good work when you can, but there's no pressure from supporters here, I think everyone is on board!

[Slippa]

Zach. You missed a bit. 

As someone who spent the best part of an evening trying to decipher a skin template I have to take my hat off to ya. All that riveting and welding, you must feel like you’ve built the bleedin Mustang. It does look pretty good for it though, really well done.

I’m off to stare at PS templates and play pin the tail on the donkey. Nameplate goes somewhere below the glass bit, right…

 

[Magic Zach]

[Magic Zach]

Edited June 11, 2023 by Magic Zach
closeup pic

[Scoobyon]

Please hurry up, my pants cant stay on for much longer

[Rebel28]

Alright Zach, It took North American 120 days from design to prototype for the real plane.    We are beginning to think you have a real life...

[Magic Zach]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:49 PM, Rebel28 said:

Alright Zach, It took North American 120 days from design to prototype for the real plane.    We are beginning to think you have a real life...

You may be on to something

[Magic Zach]

lol as much as I like the idea, I want to avoid payments for this project for actually this very reason; delays to the project, and I cannot guarantee that it'll be finished for sure

14 hours ago, mitchelrobertson said:

Is there something we can do to help make your personal life less interesting?  Like money?  Id do a patreon account for this

It looks great.

 

 

[Rebel28]

“I cannot guarantee that it'll be finished for sure” Now hold on. I have invested about 15 minutes following this project, with great anticipation. (and at my age those minutes are quite valuable) Don’t stop now….