Vehicle: Spitfire Mks

[Martin. T]

you got the shape allright. :thumbsup:

[munkY]

a small update

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit04.jpg

[Konic]

Love them spitfire's.Keep it going.It'll be great to see.:beer:

[munkY]

a new small update

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit06.jpg

[Martin. T]

jepp! nothing bad to say sofar :D

[munkY]

another small update

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit07.jpg

[munkY]

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit08.jpg

[Martin. T]

jag såg först nu att du är från göteborg så jag gissar att du kan lite svenska :wise:.
vad är det du använder, är det splines? eller box?

[munkY]

Originally posted by Martin. T
jag såg först nu att du är från göteborg så jag gissar att du kan lite svenska :wise:.
vad är det du använder, är det splines? eller box?

box

[Skyraider3D]

Nice going, Munky! :beer:

You captured the overall shape of a Griffon engined Spit very well, but there are a number of imperfections. Some comments:

* Canopy frame hasn't got the right shape, especially the rear bit.
* Propeller spinner looks a bit skinny at the front (there is a transition of shape, it should be nice and round).
* The front edge of the vertical tail has an incorrect shape.
* Vertical tail and horizontal tail should roughly have the same thickness. Now the v. tail looks a bit flat and the h. tail looks fat :)
* The rear edges of the wings appear to be rounded. These should really be very sharp!
* There is a weird corner at the bottom of the engine cowling
* The shape of the wing-to-fuselage fillet is not correct. The front should be fairly sharp while the end should be really rounded.

Please don't take these comments too harsh! :)
Overall it really looks like a Spitfire. I'm just pointing out the areas that need improvement to be really accurate. Great job and fast progress too! Keep up the good work, Munky! :thumbsup:

[munkY]

thanks alot sky, your comments are very valuable for me

modelling an aircraft was a lot harder than i thought, and i have had some problems, especially with reference pics since its hard to tell only by the blueprints, i have found a couple of good pics but 95% of them are from the same angle and wrong model, so your comments helps me alot!

:beer:

[Skyraider3D]

Hi again,

Here's two sideviews I found. Maybe they're helpful in a way?

http://skyraider.allaboutwarfare.com/files/uk/SpitfireMkXIV.gif

Here are two walkaround galleries of a Spitfire Mk.XIV that's still flying:
http://www.aircraftwalkaround.com/spitfire2/spitfire2.htm
http://www.warbirdsinscale.com/spitperni.htm

Be aware that this is a restored machine, and it might have non-authentic items, especially in the cockpit.

Some more Mk.XIV walkarounds. These however show the later model (Mk.XIVe) with five-bladed prop and teardrop canopy
http://ansmodelisme.topcities.com/walkaround/aircraftswalkaround/spit14.html
http://ansmodelisme.topcities.com/walkaround/aircraftswalkaround/spit14.2.html
http://ansmodelisme.topcities.com/walkaround/aircraftswalkaround/spit14.3.html
http://www.warbirdpix.com/mof12.htm#mofspit

Hope this helps! :)

Ronnie


PS. Some more walkarounds, but not directly related to the Mk.14 you are making:

Here's a very detailed walkaround of a Spit Mk.16. It's a different model, but might still show some useful details, such as landing gear and cockpit:
http://community.webshots.com/album/29061691JtMdAgeRgD
and http://community.webshots.com/album/29639469fnwxuckOJG

More Spit walkarounds (not Mk.14s either though...): http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/walk-props.htm

[munkY]

oh dude thanks alot :thumbsup:

those pictures helped me out alot

a new render is on its way :)

[munkY]

a little improvement i guess

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit09.jpg

[Skyraider3D]

Very good! A clear improvemtn! You got most trouble spots ironed out now. I see a few more things though... :P
* Wing leading edge is too thick, still. This is especially noticable at the front of the wingroot. The Spitfire's wings were quite thin. Also the trailing edge may still be a bit sharper even.
* Perhaps use a very slight taper modifier on the spinner, to give it a bit more roundness in the middle.
* The top of the cockpit frame is a bit too boxy and wide.
* I can't see it from this angle, but the propeller axis of the Spit is tilted a bit downwards (see drawings). Does your model have this too?
* Shoot me if I become annoyingly picky! :beer:

Overall an excellent effort. This is really gonna be a slick machine!!!

If you're stuck for colourschemes, may I suggest a 322 Sqn Spitfire 14? These were Dutch Spitfire Mk.XIVc's with full RAF markings and an orange triangle next to the cockpit.
The Mk.XIVc has a five-bladed propellor though, which looks kinda cool I think!
Link to a model kit showing this plane: http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/portland/971/Reviews/raf/spit-14c.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/portland/971/boxart/fujimi/fujimi_spit-14c.jpg

These Spitfires were used to intercept V1 flying bombs, which may give you some good inspiration for an action-packed render ina similar style to this excellent painting "Deadly Chase" by Wong (which shows a different mark Spitfire, though):
http://www.frenkenstein.com/ww2/netherlands/DeadlyChase.jpg

PS. Here's a list of Spitfire Mk.XIV survivors. When you type their registration codes in http://images.google.com you're bound to get some interesting stuff! :)
The list: http://www.spitfires.flyer.co.uk/mark14.html

[munkY]

thanks again for the info sky!! :bowdown:

i will get some sleep now
but i´ll try to tweak it up tomorrow

i havent thought about paintschemes yet, but your idea did sound interesting

btw, what method would you suggest to do the...the...hmm how shall i put it, just to create these patches which the body is made of

hope you understod :)

well see ya tomorrow :beer:

[lala7]

propellor looks its going to fall out ... :shrug: mayb its the angle..
overall looks pretty allready .. i just love seeing things come alive.. :)

[Skyraider3D]

Hi Munky,

You must be talking about panels and panel lines, right? Usually I just texture these, as panels on aircraft fit pretty tight (compared to cars) or are overlapping, often.
I use diffuse, bump and specular level maps. I often put an inverted specular level map in the glossiness channel, and have the multiplier of that to about 50% and tweak it further with the generic material settings.
Anyway, the look of the textures are very important. Here's an example of the model in my signature:

diffuse: http://skyraider.allaboutwarfare.com/files/modelling/trieb_diff.jpg
bump: http://skyraider.allaboutwarfare.com/files/modelling/trieb_bump.jpg
specular: http://skyraider.allaboutwarfare.com/files/modelling/trieb_spec.jpg

Here is the diffuse texture completely, with two different variants of it merged, just as a demonstration. It's at half the original resolution, so unfortunately you can't see the rivets anymore...
http://skyraider.allaboutwarfare.com/files/modelling/trieb_texture_half_rez.jpg
Also you can have a look at it in interactive 3D too. This model does not have spec and bump maps though:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/r.j.o/skyraider/trieb_3d.htm
You'll need Shockwave3D for it, which should install automatically if you don't have it yet.

I hope these pics and links give you some clues.


Alternatively you can model the panel lines (as one single edge only!) and give each panel a different smoothing group. I've done that on the model I am currently working on:
http://skyraider.allaboutwarfare.com/files/modelling/MeP1091aStufeIII_wip02_640.jpg

It looks pretty cool, I think, but I'm not sure how it will look once textured. It's the first time I do it, and I won't recommnd it yet, as it's a LOT of work!

So I'd stick to the textured panels for the moment if I were you. Just use a high-resolution texture (2048x2048 or similar) and the result will look pretty crisp.

Hope this helps!!

[munkY]

another update

the materials are just test and will probably not make it in the final

i dont think there is much left now except for the texturing of course

or what do you say skyraider?

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit11.jpg

[Skyraider3D]

That's looking really good! :)

There are a few minor issues that might need looking at. I've tried to illustrate them in this picture.

http://home.wanadoo.nl/r.j.o/skyraider/temp/munky_spit14_corrections.jpg

* The spinner is still a bit skinny in the middle. Try to achieve a smooth curve. You'll probably need to over-compensate in the middle to make up for the "gaps" for the propellers. I hope this makes any sense.
* The shape of the wing fillet isn't correct. The leading edge of the wing is better now, but still curves up a bit too steeply at the beginning of the wing root. There's also a weird little 'step' at the end of the wingroot, where the fillet blends into the body.
* The propellerblades need to be twisted. Twist them in such a way, that the tips of the propellerblades are under about a 75-80 degree angle with the flying direction. The angle of the propeller roots is correct. This twist on real properllers is there to prevent the tip from stalling, as it has a faster speed than the root.
Have a look here to get a good feel for this twist:
http://www.warbirdpictures.com/MOF1-JPG/SpitfireMk14-6.jpg
* The whole propeller assembly needs to be mirrored! It is currently rotating the wrong way around! :D
Look at the link above and you'll see that the propeller needs to rotate counter-clockwise (from a pilot's point of view).

I hope my comments make sense!

Great work! Can't wait to see it all textured!!! :thumbsup:

[munkY]

a little update
i dont know what to say... :shrug:

the more i work with the model, the more i hate it, i see flaws everywhere, it has a huge lack of details and i cant get much right compared to the original

i probably need a brake from this model

but anyway, a really enormous big thanks to you sky for taking your time to help me :beer:

i have at least learned a lot

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit12.jpg

http://landspeed.mine.nu/3d/wip/spit/spit13.jpg

[Skyraider3D]

Hey don't give up now you got so far! :D
Stick her in some sweet camouflage now!!!

Spinner looks a lot better, by the way. Maybe a bit too big but that's easily fixed :)

[Shaykai]

Really awesome, i can't wait till this is done! You've inspired me to model a plane after i'm done modeling my ducati :)

Shaykai

[Krisc]

Good job, don't give up! It is really looking good!

Just one suggestion though. Near the nose, the seam between the spinner and the body of the plane needs to be a little more flat and flowing. Look at the picture sky gave. The spinner is fat, but so is the body of the plane.

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