First Basic Paint (C152 II)

[Guest danielk]

I just finished my first paint! It's very basic. I'd still like some input, though. You can see the seven photos on my web site: http://nuttypair.net/cpg/displayimage.php?album=5&pos=0This is on a fictional trainer for the Iraqi Air Force. I got the idea when I saw a C172 trainer for the IAF marked in a similar fashion. Anyway, I'm having a bit of a technical issue. Sometimes, on the right fuselage where the text is, the panel shows through as a darker color. It's certainly not darker when I paint it, though. This is a mirrored fuselage but Carenado gives you a panel which can be numbered/written on for the mirrored sign. It is the 7th picture in the album above.Any ideas as to what I'm doing? Or what I could do differently? It doesn't appear that way all of the time and I can't duplicate the right circumstances to get it to appear at will.Thanks!Dan

[Leen3131cs 107]

I It is the 7th picture in the album above.

InterestingI`ll think about itLeenConclusion so far:Most likely the left and right fuselage have different alphalayers!BUT:IF the color of the left and right fusalagetextures AND the color of the registration-field are 100% idendtical* AND if all these textures have identical alpha-layers, it must come from the gloss-definition in the modelfile and nothing can be done about that.*= exactly the same RGB values.

[Guest danielk]

IF the color of the left and right fusalagetextures AND the color of the registration-field are 100% idendtical* AND if all these textures have identical alpha-layers, it must come from the gloss-definition in the modelfile and nothing can be done about that.

Would this cause it to show through only some of the time? I don't always see it - it comes and goes.

[mcwdainow 0]

She looks cool :( Yeah, if it comes and goes it sounds like the alpha/shine/reflections.Have you used the same alpha channel from another paint scheme on this one?

[Guest danielk]

Have you used the same alpha channel from another paint scheme on this one?

Not that I'm aware of but, if I'm not aware of it, that might signify a problem. I do not know very much about all of this. I downloaded the repaint kit from AVSIM's library - it's the one provided by Carenado (four BMP files). After I painted them, I opened them up with the ACES Image Tool that came with MS's SDK, converted them to DXT5, and replaced an existing scheme with those four BMPs. So now that I wrote that out I guess the answer is a definite... maybe? :(

[mcwdainow 0]

:( Ok, I've just had a look at the paint kit and I think I've solved it...On the "C" bmp, in middle at the bottom is the section of fuselage they've mapped to allow you to have the reg without it being mirrored. If you have a look at the alpha channel (one of the channels if you're using photoshop/paint shop pro) its actually a slightly different shade of grey. Don't ask why they did that.. but thats likely to be causing your problem.You'll need to edit the section on the "C" bmp alpha channel to make it the same shade of grey as the "A" fuselage alpha channel.. and that should hopefully do it. :( Feel free to shout if you need any help.

[Guest danielk]

Hey, thanks! Yep "A" is #E1E1E1 while "C" is #EBEBEB. I changed "C", or so I thought - that panel is still a different (darker) shade when on the model. It's entirely possible that I edited the alpha channel incorrectly.When I look at the stock aircraft they have the same problem it's just not as noticeable. Maybe I should contact Carenado?

[Guest danielk]

Well, I contacted support. This is also seen on their stock aircraft:http://nuttypair.net/cpg/displayimage.php?album=5&pos=7Let's see what they have to say! :)Dan