BlackHellHound1's Skin Museum 2.0

[viperGerson]

Hi

Im new to the game and would like to install your skins without loosing the games default skins.

Is it possible?

I dont understand what is the planes  "normal map"

Does the plane have a "map"

I use to install custom skins in the older il2 1946 but I realized that is bit diferent in the new IL2

Do I have to activate the 4k textures in the systems tab to be able to see the 4k skins?

Even if my monitor just support  the resolution of1920x1080

Sorry for the questions

 

[BlackHellHound1]

1 hour ago, viperGerson said:

Hi

Im new to the game and would like to install your skins without loosing the games default skins.

Is it possible?

I dont understand what is the planes  "normal map"

Does the plane have a "map"

I use to install custom skins in the older il2 1946 but I realized that is bit diferent in the new IL2

Do I have to activate the 4k textures in the systems tab to be able to see the 4k skins?

Even if my monitor just support  the resolution of1920x1080

Sorry for the questions

 

 

Welcome to the IL-2 GB!

And no worries mate. Happy to answer some questions.

 

1. You won't lose any Default skins. The game has a dropdown in the plane customisation where you can choose custom skins. The default skins are there forever.

2. The normal map is one of many elements that make up the "Skin". In truth, a skin is made up of several "Maps". These are the Texture Map (the one that most people (somewhat incorrectly) call a "the skin"), the Normal Map, Specular Map, Damage Map (for when you are damaged). The Normal Map is used to create a fake 3D effect. Which you see on rivets, screws panel edges etc. The 4K skins need these matching 4K Normal Maps. Otherwise, some detail such as panel lines, rivets, etc. don't line up with the rivets, panel lines, etc. on the Texture Map. The complete story is too long to tell here so I hope you understand it well enough.

3. I highly recommend that you turn on 4K textures in the game settings! There are already some (4 IIRC) planes with complete 4K skins in the game. You don't see these high-resolution skins unless you have it turned on! There are more reasons but I am not going into detail now. Turning 4K textures on won't affect your custom skins and It is completely unrelated to your monitors' resolution.

 

Hope this helps.

 

BlackHellHound1

 

 

 

[viperGerson]

Thanks a lot for your reply

So to install your skins I just have to copy the graphics file into the right place and Im done and I keep all the default skins as well? 

Right?

Thanks for your kindness to answer my questions so quickly and thouroughly

 

[BlackHellHound1]

2 hours ago, viperGerson said:

So to install your skins I just have to copy the graphics file into the right place and Im done and I keep all the default skins as well?

 

Yep

[viperGerson]

thanks again

[Gl-l0st]

Hi BlackHellHound1 I have a couple of small questions, is it possible to stop the game from rendering reflective surfaces on all the aircraft, and does the reflection consume fps if you combine all the aircraft that are currently flying?

 

Many thanks for your dedicated painting and history that goes with each skin.

[BlackHellHound1]

7 hours ago, Gl-l0st said:

is it possible to stop the game from rendering reflective surfaces on all the aircraft

 

Technically yes, but it requires "Mods on" and thus limits you from multiplayer but it takes a lot of work and is completely impractical and honestly, also very unrealistic.

 

7 hours ago, Gl-l0st said:

does the reflection consume fps if you combine all the aircraft that are currently flying

 

I don't think there is a difference in FPS between with and without aircraft reflections. It is hard to tell and I haven't done any tests. However, 4K skins don't consume more FPS over 2K skins. Which I have tested and sometimes even improves your fps. I highly doubt that removing the reflections will improve your FPS.

 

BlackHellHound1

 

[Gl-l0st]

14 hours ago, BlackHellHound1 said:

 

Technically yes, but it requires "Mods on" and thus limits you from multiplayer but it takes a lot of work and is completely impractical and honestly, also very unrealistic.

 

 

I don't think there is a difference in FPS between with and without aircraft reflections. It is hard to tell and I haven't done any tests. However, 4K skins don't consume more FPS over 2K skins. Which I have tested and sometimes even improves your fps. I highly doubt that removing the reflections will improve your FPS.

 

BlackHellHound1

 

Thanks for answering my questions BlackHellHound1, so bf109's and fw190's were shiny, ok.

So I can delete this DDS file that belongs to the planes that aren't reflective.

(I saved it as a jpg so I could upload it, as it's 21.3MB).

 

Thinking this through, having 2x21.3MB files per plane ie; (the texture + this file) needs to be loaded into ram as opposed to a single shiny texture, it's a toss for which uses more graphics card resource I suppose.

Anyway thanks for your answers BlackHellHound1 I'm off to experiment with deletion.

[BlackHellHound1]

9 hours ago, Gl-l0st said:

So I can delete this DDS file that belongs to the planes that aren't reflective.

 

DO NOT DELETE THAT FILE!

In fact: Don't delete any files!

It has nothing to do with what you want to achieve and it won't solve whatever your problem is. It will only mess up and ruin the game.

 

Removing the shine requires a different file and you can't just delete stuff. The amount of stuff you have to do requires in-depth knowledge of how the IL-2 Skins system works, Photoshop (or Gimp) and you clearly don't know enough about skins to do this properly! Even if you do it correctly, I can guarantee that it won't help with your RAM.

 

You are best off just leaving the skins alone and find some other way to reduce your RAM usage. 

 

BlackHellHound1

 

Edited January 26, 2019 by BlackHellHound1

[Gl-l0st]

Thanks for your reply, all's good I removed the file then used the viewer to check what happened, the skin went slightly darker with patchy reflections at high angles and almost no reflection at shallow angles. Then I loaded a quickmission, at high angles the reflections can't be seen, at shallow to medium angles patchy reflections. The game doesn't seem to mind not having that bumpmap.

 

Wow I turned mods enable to off then loaded quickmission now I got a very shiny plane LOL, it's like a sheet of rippled glass, super slick. This makes a new type of mod that doesn't need mods enabled. Noticed something else 4K custom skins aren't as glassy as 2K default skins

 

The ram is good, I was just thinking through if 2 files have to be loaded to generate what the player see's ingame, how this has to add up quickly.

 

Thanks HellHound.

[BOO]

[BlackHellHound1]

Bf 109F-4 Template + Skin Update

 

It has been a while since I posted here and no, I did not add any new skins (Sadly).

I have yet again removed some download links since these skins are now in 4K part of the game. 

The following skins have been removed (both 2K and 4K versions)

Bf 109 F-4 Max-Hellmuth Ostermann

Bf 109 F-4 Eberhard von Boremski

Bf 109 F-4 Georg Schentke

 

These can be used by enabling 4K skins ingame. 

 

The new template can be downloaded from the officicial template page

 

BlackHellHound1

[BlackHellHound1]

P-51D-5NA Lou IV/Athelene and E2 S

 

2 P-51D skins have been added to my museum. You can find them here.

And of course, they have been added to the complete skin pack as well.

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by BlackHellHound1

[KoN_]

Thank you for all your hard work gents ..!!!

[spitfirejoe]

Thank you very much for doing such amazing skins and share it with the great community.

 

Thank you and best regards from a normal user with no skinning skills.

 

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by spitfirejoe

[150_GIAP-Red_Dragon]

Really very cool skin for P -51

[BlackHellHound1]

P-51D-20NA "Big Beautiful Doll"

 

This magnificent beauty has been added to my museum. You can find it in my museum here.

And yes, she comes both with historical Hakenkreuz and without for those who want it.

 

UPDATE!!! P-51D-5NA Lou IV/Athelene (NAME CHANGE) and E2 S

 

Firstly, I changed the name of Lou IV/Athelene. It had a spelling error in it. Make sure to remove the old and install the new! 

Secondly, I updated a few other elements that should make the skin just that bit more realistic.

You can get the correctly named and fixed versions by downloading the same file again here.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[JGr2/J5_W0LF-]

why when i download your P-51 skins does it have 2 folder one with Hakenkruz and another without....These are American planes.

[Stolle]

1 minute ago, 361st_Bugsy said:

why when i download your P-51 skins does it have 2 folder one with Hakenkruz and another without....These are American planes.

I think he is referring to the kill markings

[JGr2/J5_W0LF-]

Ok that makes sense then thanks

[Docjonel]

BlackHellHound1, 

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the new P-51 skins, in particular E2 S!!!

When I was about 11 or 12 years old (I'm 57 now!) I spent a long time painstakingly building a Revell 1/32nd scale P-51D that perched proudly on the bookshelf in my bedroom until the infamous garage sale that took place while I was away at college.

A year or two after building my model I picked out a book "The War in the Air" by  Major Gene Gurney, Major USAF with forward by General Curtis LeMay, for my birthday. Leafing through the pages I was very excited to find a photo of my P-51D, E2 S flying among a formation of other P-51's.  

 

 

Even the serial number on the tail was identical!

 

So it was personally very exciting for me to see that you had skinned that very plane. Only one problem- you used olive drab whereas the Revell model used dark blue. Doing some research I found that your skin showing olive drab paint on the engine cowling and upper fuselage was correct and the Revell model was not. Although I still like the dark blue paint scheme, I prefer authenticity, and it is a thrill to be able to finally pilot my late beloved E2 S serial number 413926 in virtual reality. 

 

P.S. My parents were moving house so I forgave my mom for the infamous garage sale. And yes, they did leave me a forwarding address. 

[spitfirejoe]

Hello BlackHellHound1 your Skins look amazing, very nice, thanks a lot.

 

I am a bit confused about the antenna, the new BBD which crashed 2011 in Duxford had a black antenna ( see link below ) and some graphics shows that the original one had a red antenna!? Which one is correct?

 

https://www.meiermotors.com/index.php/aircraft/north-american-p-51-mustang/c-a-c-ca-18-mk-22-d-fbbd

 

Are you planning to add the maintenance stencils to your P-51`s ?

Edited October 10, 2019 by spitfirejoe

[BlackHellHound1]

4 hours ago, Docjonel said:

BlackHellHound1, 

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the new P-51 skins, in particular E2 S!!!

When I was about 11 or 12 years old (I'm 57 now!) I spent a long time painstakingly building a Revell 1/32nd scale P-51D that perched proudly on the bookshelf in my bedroom until the infamous garage sale that took place while I was away at college.

A year or two after building my model I picked out a book "The War in the Air" by  Major Gene Gurney, Major USAF with forward by General Curtis LeMay, for my birthday. Leafing through the pages I was very excited to find a photo of my P-51D, E2 S flying among a formation of other P-51's.  

 

Even the serial number on the tail was identical!

 

So it was personally very exciting for me to see that you had skinned that very plane. Only one problem- you used olive drab whereas the Revell model used dark blue. Doing some research I found that your skin showing olive drab paint on the engine cowling and upper fuselage was correct and the Revell model was not. Although I still like the dark blue paint scheme, I prefer authenticity, and it is a thrill to be able to finally pilot my late beloved E2 S serial number 413926 in virtual reality. 

 

P.S. My parents were moving house so I forgave my mom for the infamous garage sale. And yes, they did leave me a forwarding address. 

 

It is a shame you lost your model. But it is great to hear that you have had a passion for aviation from such an early age. Myself only being 23, I remember my life filled with aviation and I hope it stays that way for another 23 years
And eh... Now you do have a good excuse to make the plane again ?
 

1 hour ago, spitfirejoe said:

Hello BlackHellHound1 your Skins look amazing, very nice, thanks a lot.

 

I am a bit confused about the antenna, the new BBD which crashed 2011 in Duxford had a black antenna ( see link below ) and some graphics shows that the original one had a red antenna!? Which one is correct?

 

https://www.meiermotors.com/index.php/aircraft/north-american-p-51-mustang/c-a-c-ca-18-mk-22-d-fbbd

 

Are you planning to add the maintenance stencils to your P-51`s ?

 

Thank you.

I am aware of the black or red antenna. When looking at the historical photos I wasn't too sure. Some showed signs that it was likely red, others that it was likely black. But it is hard to tell for sure. However, from the cleanest and most convincing picture that I found, red was the most likely candidate after a quick greyscale analysis. That one image showed a very clear distinction between red and black parts of the plane and antenna was leaning much more towards red. Although I believe it is impossible to know for sure, for now, I believe red is the most likely. 

 

Spoiler

Also, those maintenance stencils are removed because they don't belong on the plane. It is not uncommon for such elements to be removed (especially when repainted or painted over) and all of these planes show signs that at least a part or all of the maintenance signs are removed. 

I make these planes as the real planes shows it. If the real plane shows it not to be there, why would I put it there?

 

BlackHellHound1

Edited October 10, 2019 by BlackHellHound1

[spitfirejoe]

Thank you very much for explaining about the antenna colour…...indeed very interesting. About the maintenance stencils…..didn´t know that they were removed back in those days. Thanks for all explanations. Looking forward to the next skins to come. Have a nice day.

[Pierre64]

44-72203 "Sweet and Lovely"  (WZ-S) of Lt Thain had a red antenna. Unfortunately, I didn’t find colour photographs of "Big Beautiful Belle" showing its antenna mast.

 

Spoiler

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Pierre64
Svastikas

[Psyrion]

This is probably my favourite Mustang skin now. 
The brown and yellow just go together so well!

[BlackHellHound1]

P-51D-5NA "Sky Bouncer"

 

The third and final P-51D from the Bottisham four has been added to my museum. You can find it in my museum here.

It doesn't seem right to make the last of the four, a P-51B, until we get the P-51B/C. 

 

UPDATE!!! P-51D Lou IV/Athelene, E2 S, and Big Beautiful Doll

 

A few fixes. Biggest change is the mirror on E2 S, and Big Beautiful Doll. As well as a few small corrections.

You can get the fixed versions by downloading the same file again here.

 

BlackHellHound1

 

[Yankee_One]

Brutal nice update mate!

 

A always well done and thank you

[WWChunk]

These are absolutely stunning mate!!!  Your skins are always top notch and accurate.  Is there any chance you would consider updating your 2K skins to 4K?  The Armin Faber Fw190-A3 is a favorite of mine, and I was just thinking out loud...

[BlackHellHound1]

Looks like I'll be able to finish my Bottisham Four in not too long. Already looking forward to adding the fourth and final plane to the list ?

 

This screenshot really is missing a piece. 

 

On 11/14/2019 at 2:45 AM, WWChunk said:

These are absolutely stunning mate!!!  Your skins are always top notch and accurate.  Is there any chance you would consider updating your 2K skins to 4K?  The Armin Faber Fw190-A3 is a favorite of mine, and I was just thinking out loud...

 

I would love to but I am busy with some other projects and RL. Hopefully one day, but no promises ?

 

BlackHellHound1

Edited November 27, 2019 by BlackHellHound1

[WWChunk]

Thank you for at least considering it. Keep up the great work!!!  

[BlackHellHound1]

P-51D-5NA "Hurry Home Honey"

 

My 5th P-51D skin has been added to the collection. You can find it in my museum here.

 

Small P-51D update

The exhaust pipes and exhaust covers on all my P-51D skins have been fixed. No longer the rusted metal. Instead they have a used metal looks to them. You can see below how it looks now.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[BlackHellHound1]

Hello there fellow pilots,

 

5 May 2020 is approaching and with it 75 years of freedom and peace in The Netherlands. 
Since the world is on lockdown and all "5 Mei" activities have been canceled, this Semisesquicentennial requires celebration in a different way.

As I am inclined to do, I used my artwork to speak for me.

 

I wish you all a fortunate Semisesquicentennial in this most unusual time.

BlackHellHound1

 

(Skin will be made public at a later date)

[-=[LJK]=-KampferAs]

Very nice, thank you!

[BlackHellHound1]

Major announcement!!

All my skins are being moved over to Haluter's Skin Downloader or HSD!

All download links have been removed from this tread. 

 It will take a few days until all my skins are on it but I will continue to post images here though.

 

Hope to see you all over on HSD!

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2021 by BlackHellHound1

[BlackHellHound1]

Spitfire Mk.XIVe "RN201" 

 

I've got another beauty for you all today. This time based on a plane still flying today. The paintjob of which is in turn based on a racing livery from 1947!
You can find it and some history on HSD!

 

 

[jollyjack]

On 4/23/2020 at 9:04 PM, BlackHellHound1 said:

Hello there fellow pilots,

 

5 May 2020 is approaching and with it 75 years of freedom and peace in The Netherlands. 
Since the world is on lockdown and all "5 Mei" activities have been canceled, this Semisesquicentennial requires celebration in a different way.

As I am inclined to do, I used my artwork to speak for me.

 

I wish you all a fortunate Semisesquicentennial in this most unusual time.

BlackHellHound1

 

(Skin will be made public at a later date)

 

Now one with wooden shoes (crocks?) and a hole in some virtual dyke, caused these days by American musk-rats BTW.

[BlackHellHound1]

P-51B-15NA "SUZY-G"

 

The last of the Bottisham Four is finally finished. She's a bit of a well used plane so she has a bit more dirt and leaks than most of my skins. Treat her well though!

You can find the skin on Haluter's Skin Downloader!