After looking at the awesome screenshots of the new RealAir Scout package AND after looking at my bankaccount ;) I decided to make one more (serious) panelmod for my SF260. I really, really love the sort-of-white panel of the Scout. I also noticed the older version had (very light) shadows on the panel! I really, really miss those in the FS260 (as I've stated before). So I went all the way and made my own ultimate SF260 panel: with a 'Scout-white' background and soft shadows. IMHO the shadows really bring the panel to life. As does the beatifull white. Here is the panel:http://i15.tinypic.com/4t7ha1y.jpgAnd here it is while pointing the plane the other way. Notice the big change in color!http://i11.tinypic.com/4y9hrg5.jpgAnd here is a close up on which you can see the shadows more clearly.http://i12.tinypic.com/53fgnl1.jpgOkay, the shadows aren't totally realistic (too much or too little here and there and not always on the right spot and/or distance), they don't move (of course) and they are even there at night ;) but I love it, so... They really bring life to the panel imho and take the sterile computerized look away. The gauges and switches really seem to be on/in/part of the panel now, instead of floating in a grey 'something'. Switching between this one and the default grey panel really gave me a OMG-experience, so... going back to the default grey isn't an option for me anymore! ;)You gotta love the modability of the FSX addons! :)

I like this :-) How can i get hold of it?Andrew

Ah, well, even at night it looks cool! ;)http://i16.tinypic.com/4ot812v.jpg

Er... don't think I can post them here without permission of RealAir, I'm afraid. And I don't know if they allow these kind of changes, specially the shadows, because RealAir themselves decided not to include shadows. But... that decision could also be made because the SF260 has a left- and rightseat version: this mod is only for the left seat version because the shadows are 'in' the backgroundpanel texture. (I might give a rightseat version a try, but I've had enough of Photoshop today! :( ) (EDIT: Just had a look at it, and noticed the right seat version isn't just a simple mirrored left seat version. I could make a white version WITHOUT the shadows, which could be used in all version, but a right seat version WITH shadows is out of the question, I'm afraid).Maybe someone from RealAir (I know you are here frequently ;) ) can tell me if I may mail this mod or even post in on Avsim?

"Maybe someone from RealAir (I know you are here frequently ;) ) can tell me if I may mail this mod or even post in on Avsim?"You should write to them. If they answer in a public forum, the answer is most likely going to be no. I like the looks of your shadows, by the way. I have considered buying a good paint program for this very reason but it seems like a lot of money just to jazz up a few panels. R-

Hi Jeroen,The panels are very nice. I have e-mailed you. We left the shadows off because we provide both left and right seat positions and any more than a hint of shadow would confuse the angle of view, or at least it would only be correct half of the time!All the Best,Rob Young - RealAir Simulations

Okay, I've also made a white version without the shadows and both panels will be available (with kind permission from RealAir!) as one download at Avsim within a day or so (I guess). The shadowless version is for the right seat flyers and for those who do not like the shadows but do like the white panel.The difference between the two shots below may look rather small when you scroll up and down, because I kept the shadows quite subtle, but if you download both pictures and quickly switch between them while viewing them with the Windows-viewer, you will notice the (imho huge) difference!White panel with shadowshttp://i15.tinypic.com/62qiatt.jpgWhite panel onlyhttp://i14.tinypic.com/4tz3b84.jpgThe name of the uploaded file is SF260whiteshadowmodFSX.zip (I made a little mistake with the description though, so it may take some more time before the files appears online...)

Those are really nice. You are a talented artist. I may try them out. I assume they work in VC as well as 2D panels?

Excellent work! I look forward to downloading it, thank you for posting as I am sure many people will appreciate.Regards,Chris Norris

JeroenThanks to you I have now got 'Photoshopitis', a dangerous affliction of the mind which causes you to spend long hours tweaking panel and gauge images in Photoshop, constantly rechecking each little tweak to see if it 'looks right'. The terminal phase of 'Photoshopitis' occurs when you become fixated on whether single pixels are 'just right' and you subsequently forget to eat, sleep or drink. Come to think of it, this is a bit like tweaking FSX...Can I offer my thanks to you and RealAir for the nice panel. My attempts at shadowing were not quite as subtle or successful as yours.:DDavid

I also think it looks great. Well done and a special thank you to Rob Young who has been able to figure out what needs to be done to incorporate the infamous 'SF260' into FSX in such short order. Hats off to Rob for a great job. Maybe some other Flightsim companies in the business to offer their a/c into the FSX environment should solicit his expertise.Regards,jack

This is very pretty, I am looking forward to downloading it. What's more, there's no point in my attempting a white panel now, which makes me happy because I'm sick of photoshop. :0

Thanks for all the positive reactions! :)The file is online now (sf260whiteshadowmodfsx.zip), only something went wrong with the pictures (none of them showed up) and the copyright notice still has to be added (I mailed Avsim twice but still haven't got a reaction). So in case you want to download the file, remember this: The source files are the copyright of RealAir Simulations and the textures are for the use of bone fide RealAir Sf260 users only.This is my very first upload on Avsim: my apologies for making a little mess of it...

>Those are really nice. You are a talented artist. I may try>them out. I assume they work in VC as well as 2D panels?Er... no, it's VC only. But I really can't imagine why someone would want to use 2D panels with such a magnificent VC...! :( (Didn't think about the 2D panel at all, I have to say! Never tried them: if the 2D panels use the same textures, it still might work. I clearly haven't got a single clue... ;) )

(Pity you can only edit posts for half an hour...)The description of the file is alright now and I've also added a picture (because they tell a thousand words!). Oddly enough Avsim decided to move the file from 'Aircraft Repaints, Textures and Modifications' to 'Panels', but well...