DCS Skin Submission

[Vonrd]

Submission to DCS Mi-24P skin contest November 2024.
This is a Livery depicting a German Democratic Republic (GDR) Mi-24P, No. 361, C/N: 340-332 of Kampfhubschraubergeschwader 5 (KHG-5) circa 1989. 

In December 1989, 12 Mi‑24P were delivered. This made the GDR the last member state of the Warsaw Pact to receive Mi‑24s with modern 9M114 anti-tank guided missiles. The GDR was the only operator of Mi‑24Ps outside the Soviet Union in the Warsaw Pact.

C/N: 340-332 was delivered 30Dec1989 to Basepohl helicopter base 140 kilometer north of Berlin.

Post unification it was re-marked as Luftwaffe 96+42 and served Oct 1990 thru Sep 1994.

Then transfereed to the Hungarian Air Force, storage at Szentkirályszabadja May 1995 then Szolnok. Dec2017-Jan2019. Overhauled by 419th Aircraft Repair Plant (419 ARZ), a subsidiary of Rostec`s Russian Helicopters holding and changed Reg No. to 331 at 86th "Szolnok" Helicopter Base, Hungary.

Details of note:
1) The GDR Mi-24P's had bare stainless ring seal plates around the exhaust stacks which had a high temp flexible seal contacting the exhaust stacks. I assume that they were supposed to keep dust, soot and FOD from entering the engine compartment through the gap between the stack and the fuselage skin. Please comment if you know more about them. I couldn't depict the flex seal without the ability to mod the 3d model.
2) Photos show that the APU cover was bare metal (stainless?).
3) Photos also show the lower portions of the pylons were bare metal.
4) I don't think that they used the IR suppressors but I can't stand the plain brown default ones so I painted to match the camo and made connecting parts bare metal.
5) It looks like the GDR flight crew had orange helmets and gray uniforms and this is depicted. The pilot also got an 80s style moustache.
6) I made an additional version of this skin with selectable Bort numbers. Look for "GDR Mi-24P No. 3xx Bort"

Submitted to User Files. Links: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3341792/ and https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3341793/
 

[Klaiber]

Looks great, Von!  Good luck in the contest!

 

[Vonrd]

Three (well, actually six) new Fishbed skins. Just uploaded to User Files.

Links: 
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342236/
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342237/
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342238/

This is from the blurb:

This livery is one of three total (JG1_MiG-21Bis_=Q=Green 511, JG1_MiG-21Bis_Tan 478 and MiG-21Bis_Silver 737) that I made for our squad use but I thought that others might enjoy them. All of the three are based on historical aircraft. I have included a second livery for each that has selectable Bort numbers and you can see several different Borts in the screenshots.

Some special features of these skins:

1) I mimicked the East German helmet of orange with a white stripe and three ventilation holes. Also made the visor more transparent. East German flight suit also included.

2) For the camo planes I simulated the dullness of the paint along the overspray edges.

3) I did my best to simulate the "Silver" (aluminum) paint that was applied to Soviet aircraft. There were generally no bare metal aircraft in service AFAIK. Due to in game lighting it sometimes appears too metallic but that's a game rendering limitation.

4) Exhaust cone darkened and slight bluing.

5) Wheels darkened to match photos. They were probably heavily covered in brake dust.

6) I applied German placards / stencils. They're likely not accurate since I used Google Translate from the Russian. I searched long to find official references but found nothing. I also discovered that the default roughmets had the Russian placards in the green channel so I had to erase them to remove the "ghost" placards. I made default roughmets with the placards removed and am posting them on User Files. Look for "MiG-21Bis Roughmet Placards Deleted".

Edited November 21, 2024 by Vonrd
Links added

[Klaiber]

They look great, @Vonrd!  Can't wait to check them out in game.

[Klaiber]

The 21s have been posted:

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342238/

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342237/

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342236/

[Vonrd]

@Klaiber please note, the two recent Hind skins have been revised. Links are the same.

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/358936-mi-24p-hind-livery-competition-2024/page/2/#findComment-5556206

Two more (Luftwaffe) to be published within the next couple of days.

[Klaiber]

9 hours ago, Vonrd said:

@Klaiber please note, the two recent Hind skins have been revised. Links are the same.

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/358936-mi-24p-hind-livery-competition-2024/page/2/#findComment-5556206

Two more (Luftwaffe) to be published within the next couple of days.

Are these the ones that have been updated?

• GDR Mi-24P No. 3xx Bort: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3341793/
• GDR Mi-24P No. 361: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3341792/

Also, I checked out the new MiG-21 skins last night.  They look phenomenal!  I especially liked the bluing exhaust cone and the revised placards / stencils.  And the new position for the DDR roundel on the underwing is really nice.  It looks great!

[Vonrd]

4 hours ago, Klaiber said:

Are these the ones that have been updated?

Affirmative

4 hours ago, Klaiber said:

They look phenomenal!

Thank you!

[Klaiber]

5 hours ago, Vonrd said:

Affirmative

Great, thanks.

[Klaiber]

@Vonrd - I noticed you posted a new Reunification Hind:

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342265/

I've downloaded it and added it to the upcoming skin pack.

[Vonrd]

58 minutes ago, Klaiber said:

I noticed you posted a new Reunification Hind

Sorry, I thought I had announced it here. There will be one more showing that airframe as it is now in the Hungarian Air Force. I wanted to show one airframe's lifespan.

[Klaiber]

11 hours ago, Vonrd said:

Sorry, I thought I had announced it here. There will be one more showing that airframe as it is now in the Hungarian Air Force. I wanted to show one airframe's lifespan.

Cool, can't wait to check it out.

[Vonrd]

So, this is the best I can do with selectable Bort numbers for post unification MiG-21. The numbers have to be this large due to the kerning (horizontal spacing) of the Bort numbers being fixed. I can make the font smaller but they would be spaced too far apart and would look strange. Even though they're slightly larger than historical, I think they look pretty good.

Should I proceed?

[Klaiber]

16 hours ago, Vonrd said:

So, this is the best I can do with selectable Bort numbers for post unification MiG-21. The numbers have to be this large due to the kerning (horizontal spacing) of the Bort numbers being fixed. I can make the font smaller but they would be spaced too far apart and would look strange. Even though they're slightly larger than historical, I think they look pretty good.

Should I proceed?

I like it a lot.  I think you should keep going.

It's not 100% to scale, but you do what you can with the tools you have.  And I completely understand the kerning problem.

And if you include a historical skin, with the correct scale, you should offset the complaining on the DCS user files.

[Vonrd]

Post Germany unification MiG-21 with selectable Bort numbers

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342481/
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342480/
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342482/

[Klaiber]

1 hour ago, Vonrd said:

Post Germany unification MiG-21 with selectable Bort numbers

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342481/
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342480/
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342482/

These look fantastic!

Do you think you'll have any more skins coming in the next week?

I'd like to organize the new pack and get everything together.

[Vonrd]

59 minutes ago, Klaiber said:

Do you think you'll have any more skins coming in the next week?

I'm working on some Phantoms for Rohrkrepierer and his squad for the next Reforger but they probably won't be done within a week. I'd say go ahead with the pack.

[Vonrd]

Luftwaffe F-4F-53-MC, 37+22, SN 72-1132, CN 3722 of JG71 (formerly JG72) in painted in NORM 81B camouflage circa 1992.

Link: digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342755/

I used this as the basis for individual personal skins for the 1./JG71 guys:

Alex (Rohr) 37+14
Nils 37+23
IUlrich (Retnek) 38+64

for use in REFORGER. 

Link for all (including the original 37+22) here:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xcks1vps3vi793ka6depm/JG71-Phantoms-V2.zip?rlkey=lus6dhjdvbuwy0sl1mn9hwk9c&dl=0

[Klaiber]

19 hours ago, Vonrd said:

Luftwaffe F-4F-53-MC, 37+22, SN 72-1132, CN 3722 of JG71 (formerly JG72) in painted in NORM 81B camouflage circa 1992.

Link: digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342755/

I used this as the basis for individual personal skins for the 1./JG71 guys:

Alex (Rohr) 37+14
Nils 37+23
IUlrich (Retnek) 38+64

for use in REFORGER. 

Link for all (including the original 37+22) here:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xcks1vps3vi793ka6depm/JG71-Phantoms-V2.zip?rlkey=lus6dhjdvbuwy0sl1mn9hwk9c&dl=0

Thanks Von!  They look great.

[Vonrd]

This is a continuation of my previous skin "37+22_JG71_NORM81B [Revised Feb 1, 2025]" depicting Luftwaffe F-4F-53-MC, 37+22, SN 72-1132, CN 3722 of JG71 which has now been be painted in the NORM 90J scheme and has served numerous years in this scheme. It has weathered substantially and has had corrosion control touch-up paint applied in various areas. It is shown as it appeared when at Wittmundhafen Air Base - ETNT, Germany, circa 2010. It will later be freshly re-painted in that scheme for participation as one of four Phantoms in the "Heritage Flight for the Phantom Pharewell send-off celebration on June 27, 2013 at Wittmundhafen Air Base, Germany. All Phantoms were subsequently retired from service with the Luftwaffe. At that point, 37+22 had accumulated nearly 7,100 flight hours in its years of service.

This depiction was based on the default skin "37+24_N81B_JG72" with some variation of the camouflage as noted in period photographs of this particular airframe.

Some items of note:
* Corrosion control paint lines modeled.
* All placards / stencils re-done in text and graphic vectors.
* Crew given period gray flight suits with appropriate patches.
* Crew given period Luftwaffe side caps (garrison caps).
* Crew's gloves specified as white gloves by custom args and gloves depicted as worn and grimy.
* Engine exhausts darkened to reflect the appearance in period photographs.
* The gray flight suit and dirty white gloves will show in the first person pilot view. The default command to turn the pilot body on / off is LShft+P.

Colors match the default skin "37+45_N90_JG74" but adjusted to simulate the weathering / darkening of  the base colors as shown in historical photographs.
Colors for NORM90J:
Darkening overlay @50% opacity 585858. Removed areas for corrosion control paint.
Dark Gray: 778085
Med. Gray: 8b959a
Lt. Gray: 939ca5

Link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3343179/

[Klaiber]

On 2/10/2025 at 3:26 PM, Vonrd said:

This is a continuation of my previous skin "37+22_JG71_NORM81B [Revised Feb 1, 2025]" depicting Luftwaffe F-4F-53-MC, 37+22, SN 72-1132, CN 3722 of JG71 which has now been be painted in the NORM 90J scheme and has served numerous years in this scheme. It has weathered substantially and has had corrosion control touch-up paint applied in various areas. It is shown as it appeared when at Wittmundhafen Air Base - ETNT, Germany, circa 2010. It will later be freshly re-painted in that scheme for participation as one of four Phantoms in the "Heritage Flight for the Phantom Pharewell send-off celebration on June 27, 2013 at Wittmundhafen Air Base, Germany. All Phantoms were subsequently retired from service with the Luftwaffe. At that point, 37+22 had accumulated nearly 7,100 flight hours in its years of service.

This depiction was based on the default skin "37+24_N81B_JG72" with some variation of the camouflage as noted in period photographs of this particular airframe.

Some items of note:
* Corrosion control paint lines modeled.
* All placards / stencils re-done in text and graphic vectors.
* Crew given period gray flight suits with appropriate patches.
* Crew given period Luftwaffe side caps (garrison caps).
* Crew's gloves specified as white gloves by custom args and gloves depicted as worn and grimy.
* Engine exhausts darkened to reflect the appearance in period photographs.
* The gray flight suit and dirty white gloves will show in the first person pilot view. The default command to turn the pilot body on / off is LShft+P.

Colors match the default skin "37+45_N90_JG74" but adjusted to simulate the weathering / darkening of  the base colors as shown in historical photographs.
Colors for NORM90J:
Darkening overlay @50% opacity 585858. Removed areas for corrosion control paint.
Dark Gray: 778085
Med. Gray: 8b959a
Lt. Gray: 939ca5

Link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3343179/

Looks great Von!  I'll add it to the growing pack.

[Vonrd]

Depicted is a Luftwaffe F-4F-53-MC, 38+66, SN 72-1276, CN 4784 of JG71 painted in NORM 72 camouflage with red rudder, stabilizer tips and fuselage patch to ease identification during air combat training. As photographed during the 1979 Neuburg air show. 

It would subsequently be one of the Phantoms in the "Phantom Pharewell" send-off celebration on June 27, 2013 at Wittmundhafen Air Base, Germany. All Phantoms were subsequently retired from service with the Luftwaffe.

This depiction was based on the default skin "37+36_N72_JG74" with some variation of the camouflage as noted in period photographs of this particular airframe.

Some items of note:
* All placards / stencils re-done in text and graphic vectors.
* Crew given period orange flight suits with appropriate patches and orange flight suit visible in the the first person pilot view. The default command to turn the pilot body on / off is LShft+P.
* Crew given period Luftwaffe side caps (garrison caps).
* Crew's gloves specified as white gloves by custom args and gloves depicted as worn and grimy.
* Engine exhausts darkened to reflect the appearance in period photographs.

Colors match the default skin "37+36_N72_JG74" and were kindly provided by Ben_Der.
RAL 9006 Weissaluminium: a1a1a0
FS 34079 Forrest Green: 3e3a30
RAL 7012 Basaltgrau: 525658

RAL 9006 Weissaluminium has a RGB 204 / hex cccccc Value of Metallic in the Blue Roughness Channel

Link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3343745/

[Klaiber]

On 3/10/2025 at 2:28 PM, Vonrd said:

Depicted is a Luftwaffe F-4F-53-MC, 38+66, SN 72-1276, CN 4784 of JG71 painted in NORM 72 camouflage with red rudder, stabilizer tips and fuselage patch to ease identification during air combat training. As photographed during the 1979 Neuburg air show. 

It would subsequently be one of the Phantoms in the "Phantom Pharewell" send-off celebration on June 27, 2013 at Wittmundhafen Air Base, Germany. All Phantoms were subsequently retired from service with the Luftwaffe.

This depiction was based on the default skin "37+36_N72_JG74" with some variation of the camouflage as noted in period photographs of this particular airframe.

Some items of note:
* All placards / stencils re-done in text and graphic vectors.
* Crew given period orange flight suits with appropriate patches and orange flight suit visible in the the first person pilot view. The default command to turn the pilot body on / off is LShft+P.
* Crew given period Luftwaffe side caps (garrison caps).
* Crew's gloves specified as white gloves by custom args and gloves depicted as worn and grimy.
* Engine exhausts darkened to reflect the appearance in period photographs.

Colors match the default skin "37+36_N72_JG74" and were kindly provided by Ben_Der.
RAL 9006 Weissaluminium: a1a1a0
FS 34079 Forrest Green: 3e3a30
RAL 7012 Basaltgrau: 525658

RAL 9006 Weissaluminium has a RGB 204 / hex cccccc Value of Metallic in the Blue Roughness Channel

Link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3343745/

This looks great, Von!  I can't wait to check it out in game.

I'm still building the next paint pack.  I'll post it soon.

[Vonrd]

Luftwaffe F-4F-56-MC, 37+92, S/N:72-1202, C/N:4581 of JG74 at Neuburg, June 1983 in a trial "wave" camouflage pattern consisting of RAL 7012 Basaltgrau, RAL 6012 Gelboliv, RAL 9005 Tiefschwarz and a blend of RAL 7035 + 7001 (20%) Hellgrau. This aircraft was nicknamed "Maikäfer" which translates to "cockchafer" or "May beetle" in English.

Hex codes for colors:
RAL 7012 Basaltgrau - 525658
RAL 6012 Gelboliv - 38342c
RAL 9005 Tiefschwarz - 0e0e10
RAL 7035 + 7001 (20%) Hellgrau - a7aaa9

Link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3344525/

[Klaiber]

On 4/26/2025 at 5:18 PM, Vonrd said:

Luftwaffe F-4F-56-MC, 37+92, S/N:72-1202, C/N:4581 of JG74 at Neuburg, June 1983 in a trial "wave" camouflage pattern consisting of RAL 7012 Basaltgrau, RAL 6012 Gelboliv, RAL 9005 Tiefschwarz and a blend of RAL 7035 + 7001 (20%) Hellgrau. This aircraft was nicknamed "Maikäfer" which translates to "cockchafer" or "May beetle" in English.

Hex codes for colors:
RAL 7012 Basaltgrau - 525658
RAL 6012 Gelboliv - 38342c
RAL 9005 Tiefschwarz - 0e0e10
RAL 7035 + 7001 (20%) Hellgrau - a7aaa9

Link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3344525/

Looks amazing, Vonrd!