[Pooch]

I absolutely love those new P-51 B's and C's. Some have asked what teh difference is from the old ones...but boy, if you know the Mustang, you can tell just by looking at them. Especially the nose. They really got it right. Nice job!
The default finish has no markings, though. I think this may be the perfect time to jump into this skinning thing. In a small way, of course.
What if I just wanted to put markings, and maybe a three letter code on them. Nothing fancy. Is this a simple copy and paste , in Photoshop? Don't laugh, I really don't know! Maybe I'd like to stick one of those nose art pinup girls , Ive got, on them. One has my wifes' name.
Like I said. Nothing complicated.

[agracier]

To make a skin is not difficult, but the best and easiest way to make one is to use an existing template.

These are files consisting of numerous layers, each containing part of the skin. This allows changes to be made easily, without effecting other parts of the image. For instance you can place markings, numbers or nose art 'under' rivets, dirt, oil stains, lines and so on.

You can download templates from sites like Mission4Today, Simmerspaintshop and also several here in the skins section.

You can find templates for most aircraft used in Il-2. Some templates are more complicated than others, so start on a template with relatively few layers ...

[Pooch]

The reply is greatly appreciated. So, if I undestand correctly, I would need the template from these new Mustangs to do this. I really like the metal finish on these planes, and would prefer them over another one.

[agracier]

The reply is greatly appreciated. So, if I undestand correctly, I would need the template from these new Mustangs to do this. I really like the metal finish on these planes, and would prefer them over another one.

The nice thing about templates is that even if they contains no metal surface finish, you can always add that if you wish. Instead of coloring the skin in a 'normal' color, you can use a metal layer...

There are also metal skin templates, with various kinds of metal layers simulating basic metal, rusted metal, scratched metal etc. that can be imported into existing aircraft templates ...

The best way to start is to download some templates, open them up in a graphics editor and see how they're put together ... then do some altering around and soon you should get the hang of it ...

Here is a url for the Mission4Today template downloads ... this one site has 3 Mustang/P-51 templates. One even specifically with metal finish.

http://mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads2&c=61

[Pooch]

I'm going to hold out and hope that whoever did the default skins for the new P-51b's , releases the template. So there's no way of just using those and having them come out half decent, I guess, right? I should have known it wasn't going to be THAT easy, or everybody would be doing it.

[Barkhorn]

Another good source is www.simmerspaintshop.com. Lots of templates, color swatches, fonts, tutorials and tips.