Possible 3D model / texture mapping bug (or just question)

[Birdovous 1]

Hello everyone!

I was just working on a custom fictional livery for the 748F and I noticed that there are two antennas on top of the fuselage that are just black. Then I started downloading other liveries through the operations center to compare and I realized, that basically in all of them these two pieces of the 3D model are always black. Then I went further and realized that it also applies not only to the F version but to the PAX and 744 (all versions) as well.

I know that this is something that is absolutely non critical but I thought that I point that out it actually is a bug and if it is not a bug then I would at least use this opportunity to ask why are they lack and what is their purpose so they have to be black?

And in order to be clear about what do I actually mean, here is a screenshot from the default livery:

Edit:

now when thinking about it, they may be beacons... But then the color should not be flat black... *mind explodes* 🙂

Zdenek

Edited October 1, 2018 by Birdovous

[downscc 1,327]

Welcome to the PMDG forums, please note their rules ask that we sign our full name on all posts.

I believe the anticollision beacon is forward on the second deck blister (which is why you can turn it off when shooting the stars).  There are a number of different antennas that cannot be painted, such as the nose radome, and this might be the case or it might be a texture issue.

The only way to communicate this directly to PMDG is via their support portal at support.precisionmanuals.com.  Not much can be done in the user to user forum.

[Captain Kevin 586]

Some kind of antenna of some sorts. A quick look at Airliners.net and some overhead shots at LAX shows that the 747s have them.

[Birdovous 1]

5 hours ago, downscc said:

Welcome to the PMDG forums, please note their rules ask that we sign our full name on all posts.

I believe the anticollision beacon is forward on the second deck blister (which is why you can turn it off when shooting the stars).  There are a number of different antennas that cannot be painted, such as the nose radome, and this might be the case or it might be a texture issue.

The only way to communicate this directly to PMDG is via their support portal at support.precisionmanuals.com.  Not much can be done in the user to user forum.

Yeah, sorry about the signature! I knew I forgot something - corrected 🙂

And yes, I checked the position of the top fuselage beacon and it really is a lot more forward than these two... antennas. As I wrote in the OP, it is nothing critical it just caught my attention and because one of many numerous personality flaws is, that when I look at something, then the first thing I notice are the tiniest flaws and once seen, those can't be unseen 😉

As far as the radome is concerned, it appears that it can be painted. But due to the way it is UV unwrapped it may be a bit tricky to get the perspective right in case one would want to paint a more complex shape on it instead of a uniform color.

The above being said about my character flaw... It bugged me so much that it forced me to find the bit of the template responsible for texturing this part of the model! So it is no longer black... It is super green! 😄 Yay! I can go to bed now...

[Captain Kevin 586]

I mean, up to you if you choose to paint it, I suppose, but in all the pictures I've seen of the 747, they are, in fact, black.

[Birdovous 1]

6 hours ago, Captain Kevin said:

I mean, up to you if you choose to paint it, I suppose, but in all the pictures I've seen of the 747, they are, in fact, black.

Ahh... OK. I was looking at images of 747s and none I found so far were either taken from the angle these antennas would be visible or on those whey there are, they appear to be white/or in the color of the fuselage. So, maybe they are black in real life, which is fine, but then I would really like if there is someone who has the knowledge of why are they so "special" that they are not being painted? Basically out of pure curiosity :)

So I thought that I ask around here first, before opening a ticket for something that as it seems is no issue at all 🙂

Edited October 2, 2018 by Birdovous

[Captain Kevin 586]

I went on Airliners.net and did an air to air search over LAX since doing that will give you pictures of the planes as they're taken right over the airport and gives you a clear view of the roof. As to why they aren't painted, I have no idea. Tried to search to see which antennas those actually were, but got nothing. I'm guessing some sort of radio communications of some sort.

[Birdovous 1]

So... As I did some more digging into the subject I suspect that those may be ADF antennas. In a document I found using the all-knowing Google I found that those are located on top of the fuselage and their covers do have a precipitation-static coating. No color is mentioned in the document but yeah... that is the most I was ale to discover so far. So perhaps black is in fact the way they should be 🙂

[Captain Kevin 586]

Which is probably why it wasn't something that could be painted easily, I am guessing.