Looking good!
This is amazing work! Amazing details! Next, you must model the US paratroopers on board 
Whoa justinodunn let’s think first of a V of V’s over France that fateful morning. But, if it was ever animated a shot of the troopers in a plane would be outstanding to say the least. Maybe with a Jump Master standing in a door. If I remember correctly a formation of troop carriers was a V of V’s.
And, the C-47 had two (2) sticks of troopers. Sticks were the seating arrangement (Port & Starboard) since a damn Navy term was used for the plane. This is on track to be a outstanding still image. Or, both a still and a fascinating animation.
If a animation those pilots caught hell trying to hold that formation. I’ve stood in the door many times and the plane across from us would suddenly appear lower or higher. As their pilots lost a little altitude or our pilots gained a little. Suffice it to say with those old troop carriers the pilots were in a constant fight to hold that formation depending on weather of course. This project (Thread) had real potential and you’re right about that.
What technique do you use to align your model to the photos? I have tried numerous times to do that, and never succeeded.
I used Agisoft Photoscan and imported all the camera positions with the Collada model. I then wrote a python script to automate the loading of the photos and setting the camera parameters.
theoldghost- love it, may do an animation just for you:)
Thank you 
- sadly I can’t apply that to my current project(I don’t have access to my subject matter), but that sounds like a really cool technique.
Really nice texture!
Was the metal skin of the trim tab weaved so much? I suppose that it can happen on a very old/used plane?
still not certain if done with cycles
but texture is looking great
but bumps seems a bit strong !
happy cl
Yeah it was pretty wavy maybe I overdid it on mine a little. The model isn’t wavy, I did it with a noise displacement texture to match my photos…
Hey Ricky, been a while… definitely cycles.
hey have you seen the TV program re doing the Dam buster with C-47 I think or was it DC3 !
that would make a nice scene !
happy cl
No RickyBlender that was British Lancaster bombers used for that mission. The C-47 here had a much bigger role in WWII as a troop carrier. Not to diminish what those British pilots did in that raid through. To come in at that altitude was insane. But, then Jesus WWII was one insane act after another and the bravery of those men and women should be remembered forever. And, NRK is doing that in his own way.
but in the re take for the TV program they did use a C-47 or DC-3 if I remember well
which was very interesting to renew with the math model for this special effect at high speed !
not an easy task in any case
but in WWII they also had to do it at night and with anti aircraft shelling - this was crazy
but they did blow a few dam and loss many airplanes
happy bl
Yeah, it is sort of tribute to those guys. The dogfighting era mixed with running into battle with no armor but the shirt on your back is or has drawn to a close. UAVs are replacing piloted aircraft (I work at a company that builds UAV vision systems). Part of the reason I’m in the industry is because of my respect for the war fighter.
I think we will always look back at WWII as an AMAZING time in history. I’ve never really liked jet fighters that much. Give me a big radial engine and the goosebumps pop out. What those guys did and sacrificed inspires and amazes me…
I’m working on materials now and have fleshed out the tail some. I just realized I need to paint the invasion stripes black between the white… woops.
I added HDRI lighting to the scene as I model so the lighting more closely matches my photos lighting for tweaking materials etc.
I am really enjoying doing this. It is always so educational to study the lines of the aircraft and the functions of the various parts. When you’re done with a project like this you really know and appreciate the aircraft. Every blender project I do I learn the look and feel of things… for me it’s like stopping in life to smell the roses rather than just wandering through unaware of the world your in and it’s history.
but also you had access to a real model to scan and see the real thing
and that is a problem I have when trying some of the model I work on
not enough details available so you end up with an approximation !
keep it up
very nice work
happy cl
I know you might be busy with school work or whatever. Damn the ages should be included in the Avatars here. But, don’t abandon the project. Being somewhat of a history buff my entire life due to a dedicated high school teacher I can appreciate that.
RickyBlender has a point but I would think that is dependent on camera distance and the time / length of a shot if animated. If a ‘MakeHuman’ jump master is standing in the door is one thing. That is detail city with the interior of the plane. Much more so then a quick establishing shot from the front to the rear with twenty cloned troopers for two (2) seconds. Two different sets really.
Definitely work, not school, been out of school for a LOT of years (daresay not as many as you though;). Let’s just say my oldest kid is almost in college and my youngest is approaching high school. I am not giving up, and I appreciate the encouragement. I work as a combination software/electrical/mechanical engineer and this project is my labor of love between all the other stuff going on in my life. I’m still puttering away on the texturing and got a little stumped on how to do bump map edges. I think I might try moving to a normal map, but it takes longer. I unwrapped the rest of the tail section the other night, but I’m just not happy with my bump mapping and my material settings. I think if I can figure this part out it’ll set up the rest of my work flow for the rest of the plane. Just watched the Longest Day with my kids tonight and didn’t see any C-47s in the picture… bummer.
My apologies sir I guess the Avatar threw me off. And, yes my youngest granddaughter just started the 10th grade several days ago. The oldest is 23. The film must have been heavily edited for TV which is a shame.
I just ran across this video (Link) which I had never seen before. At 17:00 some footage of the C-47 and then the planning stage visuals start. 36:00 will get you past the planning, routes, etc. Some C-47s seemed to have the windows intact and some either had a patch or were blacked out? Once again my apologies.
The resolution by our standards is regrettable. But, I remember when all Newsreels looked like that.
///
No need to apologize AT ALL, emotions don’t really come through on a blog, I actually never get mad or upset so always assume I’m just happy go lucky which I am. I’m actually getting to the point where I wish people would assume I’m younger;)
So anywhere here’s a REALLY rough WIP, I’ve decided to model the hard edges rather than bump or normal map them. Here’s a quick test render of me having painted on one of my photos on the model and then cutting in the edges. I still have to put in more panel creases and fix up the rough painted on texture.
are you going to do the cockpit
and what about the electrical system !
in another thread i’v shown cockpit for the B-24/B-17
but it is a lot of work !
happy bl