Adolf Galland's He 100D-2/N Build Thread

[Logan Hartke]

Would you guys like a build thread for a profile?  It should give you a bit of an idea of what all is involved in the creation of a profile like this.  The relevant comments for each stage will be UNDER each image.



So, this is how I first got the line art for the profile from Talos.  It all came like this, packaged as a single layer image.  That does complicate things, but it's enough for a start.  This is at 12.5% size.  Talos is awesome enough to give me line art at a size that lets me incorporate all that fantastic detail that makes it come alive.




Here's the initial establishment of fill layers.  The dark bits are separate from the red layers since they're essentially just unpainted details that won't change from profile to profile.




This is the initial lighting attempt.  None of this will generally make it into the final profile, but it gives an idea of how the lighting will need to be done.




This is the first version to separate the lighting and shading to the wings and horizontal stabilizer.  For me this is the first time it really starts looking 3D.




At this stage I introduce the hard shading under the horizontal stabilizer and play with the opacity of the shading a bit.




It may not look like much, but this was actually a major overhaul of the lighting and shading.  In addition to the exhaust shading, I added more lighting and shading layers to give a much more elliptical look than before.  Most of these layers will remain in one form or another in the final profile.




I added the lighting and shading to the propellor blades, underside of the wing, and the rudder fabric ribbing.




Further refinements of the propellor and exhaust lighting are the minor fixes here, but more importantly I added the shine layer of lighting that starts to give it some life and a greater sense of realism, at least to my eye.




A number of small improvements were introduced at this stage.  The biggest lighting and shading changes have already been made, but there's still a ton of work to do.  The canopy and canopy rails are lit and shaded with detail, and the flight controls (ailerons, elevator, and rudder) are shaded that they're better defined.




We're nearly there on the lighting and shading.  Pitot tube is added, the fairing on the underside of the wing is shaded, the radiator is detailed, and the lighting and shading under the elevator is refined.




More lighting and detail work is added.  The most visible additions are the cowling clips and the wingtip light.




So, here it is on the familiar template that I use.  It's an initial, crude attempt at a paint scheme and markings.  There is little weathering and I still don't even have all the lines I need.  At this point, Talos is getting me the line art in separate, sectioned layers so I can determine what parts I want to show and what I just wanted to let the lighting and shading show off.  More on that later.




At this stage the paint scheme is basically done.  This is the point where many profilers would be satisfied and call it finished.  Looks pretty close, certainly not bad.




Initial weathering, grime, and detail markings have been added.  It starts to make a difference in how realistic it looks.




That's where this detail shot comes in.




Nothing's changed!  Actually, there have been a TON of changes, you just can't see them at this scale.  This is where the rivets were lit and shaded.  They make a big difference at 100%.




Here's where this detail shot was made.  Rivets are coming along nicely.




Major improvements to the propellors and propellor hub, radial aerial lit, and I accidentally turned off a marking layer that I won't catch for another few days.




You can see the propellor detail in this shot.




Lots of changes here.  Rivets receive more lighting and shading, the aircraft skin is dented in various locations, the canopy lighting is totally redone, and the gunsight is added.  You'll see that below.




This is when I got the gunsight from Talos.  Here you can see it evolve.




I remember the markings I turned off, but more importantly I did the paint chipping.  At 100% this actually adds quite a lot to the look of the aircraft.  Want another detail shot for proof?




This is what this stage looks like up close.




The last details added in at this stage.  Galland's telescopic sight, built from line art newly delivered from Talos, is put in the windshield.  Armor plating is added behind the pilot's seat.  More weathering is added around the panel lines.  The step is put in the wing root, and--last but not least--Talos provides the finishing touch with redone victory markings for the rudder.

Ironically, the better the line art, the less of it you actually see.  In the end, Talos' line art is mostly discarded, having acted as the scaffolding and the framework for the building I'm constructing around it.

And after a month and a half of hard work after getting the initial line art from Talos, the first profile is done.  Finished profile reposted in the reply below.

Cheers,

Logan

[Logan Hartke]

And here's the finished product.



   By 1938, it was becoming clear that, given the same engine, the Heinkel He 100 would out-perform the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in maximum speed, range, and altitude.  As a result, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium decided to get the most out of the limited supply of Daimler-Benz DB 601 engines available.  Priority was given to the He 100 while Messerschmitt received the balance.  The Heinkel He 100D soon entered full-scale production, the first units receiving their aircraft in early 1939.  By spring of 1940, the Bf 109 remained the backbone of the Jagdwaffe, but the He 100 was quickly replacing it in front line units.  By the invasion of France, the He 100 would comprise roughly half of the fighters in Jagdgeschwader stationed on the Western Front.  The He 100 cut large swathes through French and British fighters opposing it, making aces out of many of its pilots during the campaign.

   One such pilot was the flamboyant Adolf Galland.  A veteran of Spain, Galland mentored under fellow Condor Legion veteran and accomplished ace Werner Mölders, quickly becoming an ace and leader in his own right.  After scoring 14 kills flying the He 100 with JG 27, Galland took command of III./JG 26.  He would remain with JG 26 throughout the Battle of Britain, achieving dozens of kills throughout the summer in the skies over Britain.  The He 100 had greater range than the Bf 109, effectively making it the only escort for German bombers over London.  Despite the successes of German fighter pilots, bomber losses continued to mount and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring eventually ordered the Jagdgeschwader to remain close to the bombers they were escorting.  As Galland recalled:

   We had the impression that, whatever we did, we were bound to be wrong. Fighter protection for bombers created many problems which had to be solved in action. Bomber pilots preferred close screening in which their formation was surrounded by pairs of fighters pursuing a zigzag course. Obviously, the visible presence of the protective fighters gave the bomber pilots a greater sense of security. However, this was a faulty conclusion, because a fighter can only carry out this purely defensive task by taking the initiative in the offensive. He must never wait until attacked because he then loses the chance of acting.

   We fighter pilots certainly preferred the ‘free chase during the approach and over the target area’. This gives the greatest relief and the best protection for the bomber force, although not perhaps a sense of security for the latter.

   Obviously, the advantages of the He 100 over the British fighters such as the Spitfire were greatly marginalized under such circumstances and losses began to mount.  While the large daylight raids by German bombers began to wind down near the end of October, German fighters continued to engage RAF fighters in large-scale combat throughout 1940 and into 1941.  The speed of the He 100 meant that it could engage in combat and disengage almost at will.  Its range also allowed the He 100 considerable time over Britain to seek out RAF fighters.  In this environment, Galland found great success, scoring over 60 kills before the year was out.

   This profile depicts Galland’s personal He 100D-2/N as it appeared in late 1940.  The /N sub-type of the He 100 was powered by the 1,270 hp DB 601N, an uprated version of the DB 601A used in earlier Doras.  The new engine had flattened instead of concave piston heads for improved compression, produced an additional 75 hp at altitude, and used 100 octane C3 synthetic fuel.  Also seen is Galland’s distinctive telescope, used to distinguish friend from foe at greater range.  Behind the cockpit is the additional armor installed behind the pilot’s seat, a feature that would save Galland’s life in 1941.  Finally, painted under the cockpit is Galland’s personal emblem, Mickey Mouse, used by Galland since the Spanish Civil War.

Cheers,

Logan

[GTX_Admin]

Outstanding!

[taiidantomcat]

Not just great quality but a great idea too. It works really well 

[Talos]

Logan did a great overview of the process, at least from his end, so I don't have too much to add, really. Biggest thing is I never initially intended to do rivets, but he insisted and the profile's all the better for it. 

I initially sent him the single layer line art so he could get started while I chopped it up into the components, like the fuselage outer line, the panel lines, the rivets, etc. That took a bit of time.

This is a heavily-reduced version of the final line art. I believe the layers I was sending him were something like 6815px by 2600px. The gunsight I sent him two versions of, one sized to fit the rest of the plane, the other doubled in size so he would have even more room to work with it in, since it was so complicated.

[Brian da Basher]

Now that's really showing off your talent, Mr Hartke! I always enjoy your work, but this one has got to be one of my favorites!

Brian da Basher