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Paint scheme designs

T

Trapper

Member
I'm managing to stump myself on choosing a paint scheme. It would help if there was a user-friendly CAD program out there specific to the RV-8 that would allow me to see different paint schemes on a virtual airplane from different angles. I found one program for around $25 but it appears to cater to RC models. Anybody got any suggestions?
 
Google

Try Google Sketch Up. It's a free download and they have some planes already drawn by folks that are really good at it. All 3D.
 
Send me a PM with your email.. If you just want to lay out your paint job with out all the fancy stuff. I have a nice 2-D RV8 drawing that I made using the less than accurate Vans drawing.
 
Flyingguido said:
Try Google Sketch Up. It's a free download and they have some planes already drawn by folks that are really good at it. All 3D.
Click to expand...

I downloaded Sketchup. Looks like a very neat free program! Haven't had any luck finding previously drawn RV's to color.
 
Sketch Up

Flying Guido: I think you mentioned that I can import RV templates to Sketchup. Do you know how I can get them? I've played around with it but am totally clueless, unless I want to paint a house.
 
Sorry Guys

I've searched the 3D Warehouse on SketchUp and in 63 pages of templates I can't find an RV already drawn by someone. Found an Extra and a Long EZ but no RVs, seems odd...
I'm guessing it's just a matter of time...... :rolleyes:

PS: the Extra is close for a conventional gear monoplane......
 
Trapper said:
I'm managing to stump myself on choosing a paint scheme. It would help if there was a user-friendly CAD program out there specific to the RV-8 that would allow me to see different paint schemes on a virtual airplane from different angles. I found one program for around $25 but it appears to cater to RC models. Anybody got any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Hahaha, user-friendly CAD program is a bit of an oxymoron. People spend thousands of hours in front of a CAD program and still have things they don't know.

Learning a new program is frustrating. You might be better off getting a three-view of the plane somehow and sketching in with markers freehand-style. Then you'd have some results rather quickly.
 
wildblue37 said:
Hahaha, user-friendly CAD program is a bit of an oxymoron. People spend thousands of hours in front of a CAD program and still have things they don't know.
Learning a new program is frustrating. You might be better off getting a three-view of the plane somehow and sketching in with markers freehand-style. Then you'd have some results rather quickly.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have over 40,000 hours of CAD experience in my day job but I used PowerPoint to do my paint. Very fast and easy to make lots of iterations and you can toggle back and forth in presentation mode and see what iteration you like best.
 
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paint Scheming

Hey guys, I'm all for 3D modelling. there is nothing like it for trying different paint schemes, and seeing how they'll look from the ground.
When my Dad was building an Osprey II, I built a balsa model, right off the paper plans ( 1/12 scale I think?)
It received about a dozen coats of latex house paint and tons of striping trying to find a good scheme.

What was MOST informative, that may not show on a 3D program, is you quickly learn the areas that are a real bear to run lines over, and it makes you stop and think....'how the heck would I mask 14 lines anglesd across the elevator and onto the fin without losing my mind, and having it look awful unless the elevator was in perfect trail.(0)
Of course, a good painter will point some of this out to you, perhaps by way of his estimate!
 
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Has anyone looked at x planes lately ?

I see they have all the RVs in the "fleet" now and the whole project seem much more robust than it did this time a year ago. I haent the bandwidth where I am at work to d/l it but will have a look when next I am in town. Annoyingly you need the pro version of Goole Sketch up to import the DXF files like the ones van's have on the download. The demo lasts 8 hours. I dont like chewing thorugh expensive prepaid internet on speculative demo tryouts. I feel sure someone has been down this path before.

My best paint layouts are all on paper but it would be interesting to do it on a CAD of some kind.
 
I have some files from Expression Design that I can forward without the color layers. See http://jimshangar.com for some examples of side views. I don't have the top views so you'd have to do your own there.

For what it's worth, there's an RV-8 download for MS Flight Sim. If you knew the process, you could do a repaint of that model for 3D use in Flight Sim.

Jim
 
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