Blank textures for Rammjager's version 1 "SixGun Whore" P-51D model.
(Submitted by John "Skycat" Turner.)
----------------------------

This file contains natural metal skin textures for Rammjager's "Six Gun Whore" (v.1) P-51D model for Jane's WWII Fighters game. It is not intended to be used a complete skin, but rather a starting point and resource for skinners.

Please notice that no damage textures are included in this set, as it is best to add damage to your already-painted skin. However, I have tried to bridge this gap by placing notes on the included textures to help you first paint your 'undamaged' skin and then make the damage proper textures from your finished skin. I have not included some of the common textures like pilot, wheels, color tabs and landing gear doors.

All of the textures are located in the folder named BMP; you can install the basic undamaged skin if you wish by using the "INSTALL_Basic Metal P-51" icon; this is for testing purposes as you work.  The installation script is not designed to install damage textures or any other textures other than what is included in the BMP folder; when you have a finsished paint scheme with damage textures you can simply put your textures into somebody else's 'full' skin mod pack and use their install script.


Painting notes:
------------
1. All textures must be saved in Indexed Color Mode, 8 bits per channel, and as Bitmaps. If you use an Ultra-basic graphics program like Microsoft Paint, you can simply open these textures, draw on them, and Save. 

2. If you use a more advanced program like Adobe Photoshop, you can get better paint results by first converting the textures to RGB color mode and also by using layers. When you save your work to use in the game, be sure to Flatten your layers, then convert your canvas to Indexed Color Mode, and then save as a .BMP file (don't change the file name on your final version or the texture won't be recognized in-game). I use the following settings in Adobe Photoshop 6 when I save: 
         Palette: Local (Selective)
         Colors: 256
         Forced: Black and White
         Transparancy: No
         Dither: Diffusion
         Amount: 75%
         Preserve Exact Colors: no

3. The included Spinner texture is white, but you can paint it different colors. A general thought to keep in mind is that the center of the square is the the tip of the spinner (nose) and the art radiates out.  Kind of like putting the center of a piece of paper on the pointy end of an egg and trying to wrap the egg.

4. The texture P51_256SHP.bmp is your very far distant texture (planes almost out of view). You don't have to put very much effort into painting this, just some color approximations in the right areas will be fine. Also, you don't have to make a second copy for a damage texture. If you are a Photoshop or Paintshop user, you may wish to use Hammerd's layered texture for the Jane's P-51D model instead; I simply flattened his template and saved it under the right name and format for use in the game. (Note: I believe the antenae wire in normal distance view gets it's color from this texture; also, I believe the wing pylon hardpoints come from this texture.)

5. The Cockpit Art and Noseart textures I've included are designed to render these options as invisible, and therefore are reduced in size to take up very little file space.  If you wish to paint a separate noseart or cockpit photo texture (like on the original "SixGun Whore" skin), enlarge the included textures to 256x256 or 512x512 resolution first.

6. Magenta on any texture is seen as invisible in the game, but only if it the right color quality. In RGB mode, this color is 255/0/255.  Any deviation may result in purplish-pink glass and damage areas. Since the proper color is an indexed color, you can use Microsoft Paint to easily 'clean up' any areas on your final bitmaps that should be invisible but are appearing as pinkish purple in the game.


In creating these textures, I borrowed freely from earlier Mustang skin mods created by other artists:
-- Rammjager, of course, who created the original model, textures and paint kit that is this set's basic foundation;
-- Hammerd's original 'Jane's' P-51D paint template to create the distant view texture;
-- "Angel's Playmate" skin (artist unidentified) for the weathered anti-glare panel on the nose;
-- The Flying Dutchman's P-51B "Ding Hao!" for the white spinner texture;
-- Johnny Red's "Troublemaker" for wing textures without black identification stripes. 
 


Installation (included textures only)
-------------------------------------
Before installing this, or any other, custom modification, you are advised to make a backup of your original ww2.sqs archive. Note also that Rammjager's P-51D v.1 model must be installed prior to installing this skin; this skin will NOT work with the game's default Mustang model or with Rammjager's "Whore" version 2 model.

This package includes high resolution (512x512) textures only.  Older video cards may not be able to handle this higher resolution. If the high resolution version is installed on a system with an inadequate video card, a crash to desktop will likely occur during the game. 

Extract the contents of this Zip file and then move, copy or place the enclosed "P-51 Metal kit" folder into your WWII Fighters\Data directory.  Assuming the game is installed to the default location on your drive, the folder will go here: C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\WWII Fighters\Data. Then, double-click the "INSTALL_Basic Metal P-51D.bat" icon inside the "P-51 Metal kit" folder to install the skin.
     
This will open up a DOS session and the installation will proceed in this window. A message "INSTALLING P51D" will be displayed. When the installation is complete, a message saying "INSTALLATION OF P51D COMPLETE...CLOSE DOS SESSION AND GO SHOOT DOWN SOME JETS" will be displayed in the window.  Close the DOS session by clicking on the X close button in the top right corner of the window.

