Skins by Aelius

[aelius]

The pdf shared by 69th Stonehalo prompts me to make a contribution as well.

It is a Bf-110C-4 from 6./ZG 76 stationed in Argos, Greece from where the Haifischgruppe flew in the Balkan campaign. In addition to the shark's mouth, the planes were given yellow identification markings on the engine cowlings and rudders that were retained for the invasion of Greece and Crete in April and May 1941.

Although not appropriate for the Battle of Britain, it is a colorful example of the type and a good plane with which to practice skinning. I used the template for the ZG 26 but, given how little detail is provided, was obliged to overlay it with a checkered pattern and then fly the plane to discover where the various cowling panels were to be placed. The tail rudders and size of the nationality markings were an exercise in repeated experimentation as well.

What one discovers in doing this for the first time is that various representations of the Bf-110 are not consistent. The placement of codes on the fuselage, for example, which have been taken from Messerschmitt Me-110 from 1939 to 1945 by Dominique Breffort and Andre Jouineau, simply cannot be reconciled with the model in IL-2. Or, for that matter, with a similar example in The Messerschmitt Bf 110 in Color Profile, 1939-1945 by John Vasco and Fernando Estanislau--two of the best books for skinnng the Bf-110. Interestingly, the placement of insignia in IL-2 is not consistent either, with the balkenkreuz on the upper and lower wing surfaces wandering from type to type. I should say, by the way, that the most difficult mark to construct accurately is the hakenkreuz, virtually all the examples of which are asymmetrical.

Although a great deal of time is required and the repeated placement of insignia is numbingly tedious, skinning a plane truly is exhilarating. And I thank the developers for making such beautiful examples available, especially the Bf-110, Ju-87, and He-111, although, in comparison, the Me-109 seems unexpectedly bland. I only wish that they or some community member would provide detailed blank templates for all aircraft types. And that the mottled grey camouflage pattern (RLM 71/02), which became more prevalent during the Battle of Britain, could be exemplified as well.

You can download a template for the 6./ZG 76 here.