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AIRFIX DOGFIGHTER CUSTOM SKINS PAGE

As I don't have time for a long tutorial, here's quick instructions on how to make your own skins:


NO GUARANTEE this will always work as expected!!!

first, the easiest way:

  • after installing the missions skins above, there will be a directory \Graphics\Models\Acxxx for every plane model, any new folder in this directory with correctly named texture files will be considered a new skin by the game(e.g. 'Mission' should be there already)

  • make a copy of the 'Mission' folder into the same directory(drag with right mouse button -> "Copy Here") and rename the copy to whatever name you like, just don't use whitespaces!

  • if you extract the file Resource.up with the UP extractor, you will find lots of texture files(*.GTI) inside! Just copy the ones you like to the new skin directory

  • replace the original *.GTI files with the new ones! The names are pretty distictive: "hellc_leftwingov1.gti" is the top of the Hellcat's left wing, "hellc_bodyri1.gti" the right side of the Hellcat's body etc... All you have to do is give these names to the texture files you just copied from somewhere else! If you don't want to delete the original files just rename them to "hellc_bodyri1.gti.bak" etc...
NOTE: As most textures won't fit exactly on the planes you can get pretty weird looking result. The file size can be used as an orientation to find textures of approximately the same size that probably fit better...

the complicated(but more rewarding) way:

Magnetic has made the UP extractor a GTI <-> TGA converter which can be used for making REAL custom skins! Get it here!
  • use the UP extractor or the mission skins to get your hands on a set of GTI files as described above

  • drag&drop the GTI files you want to change(probably anything named "body" or "wing") on the UP extractor(upx.exe) to convert them to TGA

  • edit the TGA file with your favourite graphics program, while taking care...
    • ...not to resize the image
    • ...to keep the color depth at 24 or 32 Bits
    • ...not to add any color maps(mostly when applying filters), creating a new image and copy&pasting the modified image generally helps
    • ...not to modify the existing alpha channel(transparency information)
    • ...to add a blank alpha channel to images that don't have one
    • ...to save your work under a different name with NO COMPRESSION

  • drag&drop the result(new TGA image file) on the UP extractor(upx.exe) to convert it back to the GTI format

  • compare file sizes of the original and your creation - if your file is smaller than the original, there's probably something wrong(see above)

  • install your skin by using a copy of the original skin directory in \Graphics\Models\Acxxx, replacing the original GTI files with the ones you created

  • launch the game and verify the result, the game reloads the skins every time a multiplayer level is loaded, so you only have to go back to the main menu after making a change
NOTE: I use Paint Shop Pro 4.14™ to handle the alpha(mask) channels, as I can save and load them separate of the rest and the GIMP™ for all other transformations

this is the list of the currently available custom skins:


IMAGE NAME PLANE AUTHOR DATE ADDED DOWNLOAD
not availableMission SkinsallUDS16.01.2003download!
BeerBeerHellcatziggomorphic16.01.2003download!
BoomBoomHellcatziggomorphic16.01.2003download!
SB_HellcatSB_HellcatHellcatSpeedBump20.01.2003download!
Midas_TouchMidas_TouchHellcatSpeedBump22.01.2003download!
AquaManAquaManHellcatSpeedBump22.01.2003download!
ExplosionExplosionHellcatPirlone22.01.2003download!
ScratchedScratchedKometMagnetic22.01.2003download!
KraftEiKraftEiKometziggomorphic28.04.2003download!
Camouflage greyCamouflage greyKometFrank Phantom01.11.2003download!
Camouflage brownCamouflage brownKometFrank Phantom01.11.2003download!
TigerTigerKometFrank Phantom13.12.2003download!
Scale Ost WinterScale Ost WinterBf109Frank Phantom13.12.2003download!
Bf109 old movieBf109 old movieBf109ziggomorphic13.12.2003download!
Bf109 skeletonBf109 skeletonBf109ziggomorphic13.12.2003download!
sharkysharkySpitfireziggomorphic13.12.2003download!
Race MustangRace MustangMustangFrank Phantom14.12.2003download!
PhantomPhantomKometFrank Phantom01.03.2003download!
NightflyerNightflyerKometFrank Phantom01.03.2003download!
last modified on: 17.05.2007

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