22.07.2009, 10:01
Well thanks all for your input! What I have decided to change follows after my reasons.
After a long review of a number of photographs and checking the skin with and without camouflage, it struck me how different in some regards the Ki-61 was vs. say U.S. aircraft though much of it a result of the manufacturing side of things.
First off, the Kawasaki manufacturing and assembly plants were much dirtier then U.S.. Though alone meaning little it did translate into the aircrafts skin being stained and buffed (though when I say buffed I mean taking any sheen from it). Looking over aircraft assembly from both sides showed clearly that while the U.S. aircraft must of gone through cleaning/polishing processes, the Japanese did not. More so the aluminum used was less bright/more dull as applied that in itself reducing its reflective properties. In contrast to say steel which when polished tends to take on a lighter shade or becoming brighter, aluminum tends to look darker, in both cases naturally considering backgrounds influencing the result. However, when corroding steel will tend to shift darker and aluminum to lighter, even to white when fully oxidized.
Add to the above the Ki-61's aluminum had a slightly bluish hue to it (making it look darker), plus the staining and so on. Lastly regarding the aluminum in general a factory fresh Hien had a clear coat of varnish/lacquer applied to it that had an ever so slight yellowish or brown tint.........Past that I needed to consider staining by exhaust & gunpowder, abrasion from coral/sand/dirt, daily rains, sea air, contact with oils and fluids and lastly copious soot in the air.
As to rivets though the Japanese actually more advanced in flush rivet technology (were one of the first my understanding), rivets on Ki-61 tended to turn dark. So though flush with the skin did show as contrasting spots. In kind screws had to be considered being of steel. (As a side note though I'll not be doing it on this template the Japanese also would mark when a screw was set in place painting a line top and bottom in red to match the slot position).........Rivet application did cause a deformation of the aluminum. That tended to open seams, cause low spots over supporting structures, and high spots which became more evident over time causing the surface to deform further as the metal stretched and shrank (part of that also being manufacturing environment vs. that where used, cooler at the former, much hotter at the latter).
So.....
First off to simulate the fresh aluminum and considering the varnish applied to upper surfaces split the hues of platinum (TEST) and blue (TESTA) to where upper surfaces have a more yellow or tint and lower blue. This is difficult to notice in that the base template will utilize common staining of dirt/mud on the bottom due to the type of fields used (it very obvious yet hiding the blue hue on the rear fuselage and elevator).
Next I boosted reflectivity slightly through a number of methods considering that it is not a mirror finish like some wish to see, yet simply a brighter result. Brightening reflection layers slightly, darkening shadows very slightly, removing more of one of 3 grime layers (which darkens the aircraft where removed it becoming brighter and producing a reflection enhancement of sorts).
Rivet line shading was left intact as was panel due to rivet highlighting. However to reduce the 3d look of the skin rivets, I reduced the contrast between the light and dark versions. Now I tried this many times, frankly the rivets need to be there to match real examples yet simply dark.....So a compromise was made as the dark dots alone look too artificial, the light adding too much 3d, so toned down/darkened the light.
A skin deformation layer was added to show stretching and such. Some panel lines were reduced in intesnsity, though I intend to enhance others, others would take too much of a rework for my skills so I simply lightened them to not be so contrasting.
As mentioned by others, the tough part is having a gray shade yet adding white (which is really what happens) and dark shades to make a reflection when in direct light, yet not have the aluminum look white and in contrast too intentionally gray when not......
Still working with it when I have something worthwhile to show I'll post it.....Though it won't be to the gloss of U.S. fighters, yet in kind to the degree we see in most relic photos even upon capture (those today are 60 years of wear, most captured are either after having sat for some time, to even polished as the paint was removed to ship them off for testing).
Thanks for your help,
K2
After a long review of a number of photographs and checking the skin with and without camouflage, it struck me how different in some regards the Ki-61 was vs. say U.S. aircraft though much of it a result of the manufacturing side of things.
First off, the Kawasaki manufacturing and assembly plants were much dirtier then U.S.. Though alone meaning little it did translate into the aircrafts skin being stained and buffed (though when I say buffed I mean taking any sheen from it). Looking over aircraft assembly from both sides showed clearly that while the U.S. aircraft must of gone through cleaning/polishing processes, the Japanese did not. More so the aluminum used was less bright/more dull as applied that in itself reducing its reflective properties. In contrast to say steel which when polished tends to take on a lighter shade or becoming brighter, aluminum tends to look darker, in both cases naturally considering backgrounds influencing the result. However, when corroding steel will tend to shift darker and aluminum to lighter, even to white when fully oxidized.
Add to the above the Ki-61's aluminum had a slightly bluish hue to it (making it look darker), plus the staining and so on. Lastly regarding the aluminum in general a factory fresh Hien had a clear coat of varnish/lacquer applied to it that had an ever so slight yellowish or brown tint.........Past that I needed to consider staining by exhaust & gunpowder, abrasion from coral/sand/dirt, daily rains, sea air, contact with oils and fluids and lastly copious soot in the air.
As to rivets though the Japanese actually more advanced in flush rivet technology (were one of the first my understanding), rivets on Ki-61 tended to turn dark. So though flush with the skin did show as contrasting spots. In kind screws had to be considered being of steel. (As a side note though I'll not be doing it on this template the Japanese also would mark when a screw was set in place painting a line top and bottom in red to match the slot position).........Rivet application did cause a deformation of the aluminum. That tended to open seams, cause low spots over supporting structures, and high spots which became more evident over time causing the surface to deform further as the metal stretched and shrank (part of that also being manufacturing environment vs. that where used, cooler at the former, much hotter at the latter).
So.....
First off to simulate the fresh aluminum and considering the varnish applied to upper surfaces split the hues of platinum (TEST) and blue (TESTA) to where upper surfaces have a more yellow or tint and lower blue. This is difficult to notice in that the base template will utilize common staining of dirt/mud on the bottom due to the type of fields used (it very obvious yet hiding the blue hue on the rear fuselage and elevator).
Next I boosted reflectivity slightly through a number of methods considering that it is not a mirror finish like some wish to see, yet simply a brighter result. Brightening reflection layers slightly, darkening shadows very slightly, removing more of one of 3 grime layers (which darkens the aircraft where removed it becoming brighter and producing a reflection enhancement of sorts).
Rivet line shading was left intact as was panel due to rivet highlighting. However to reduce the 3d look of the skin rivets, I reduced the contrast between the light and dark versions. Now I tried this many times, frankly the rivets need to be there to match real examples yet simply dark.....So a compromise was made as the dark dots alone look too artificial, the light adding too much 3d, so toned down/darkened the light.
A skin deformation layer was added to show stretching and such. Some panel lines were reduced in intesnsity, though I intend to enhance others, others would take too much of a rework for my skills so I simply lightened them to not be so contrasting.
As mentioned by others, the tough part is having a gray shade yet adding white (which is really what happens) and dark shades to make a reflection when in direct light, yet not have the aluminum look white and in contrast too intentionally gray when not......
Still working with it when I have something worthwhile to show I'll post it.....Though it won't be to the gloss of U.S. fighters, yet in kind to the degree we see in most relic photos even upon capture (those today are 60 years of wear, most captured are either after having sat for some time, to even polished as the paint was removed to ship them off for testing).
Thanks for your help,
K2