Aerodrome Red Baron Animation

[JFM]

MvR’s first aerial victories (as a single-seat fighter pilot with Jasta 2) were attained in the Albatros D.I, soon to be followed by the D.II. I have not read of—nor can I ascertain—any substantiated Richthofen victory tally for each machine, nor can I ascertain definitively when MvR progressed from the D.I to D.II. If these answers are known I’m all ears!

Lothar von Richthofen recalled that when in Jasta Boelcke Manfred felt his enemies saw his airplane much too early and to counter this employed “a variety of colors to make himself invisible.” He at first used “earth colors” before concluding that “there is no camouflage for the flier with which he can make himself invisible,” and so “in order to at least be recognized as the leader by his comrades in the air, he chose the color bright red.”

To me, “earth colors” would be brown or green, although I’m sure everyone has their own interpretation. In photos of the D.II with Richthofen the airplane fuselage appears dark, and although that may be a result of the Orthochromatic film there is no question the white rudder crossfield was overpainted—but from when, to what extent, and with what color? Some of the white is visible, but I just can’t tell absolutely with the fuselage. The fuselage cross is obscured by either the lower starboard wing or Kirmaier, but in at least one photo the upper-right portion of the cross field should be visible and it is not. Overpainted? Or just obscured by reflected light? Early Jasta 2/B machines had precedents for brown and green painted Albs, but I just can’t tell with this machine.

Also, if the Albatros logo is visible on the rudder, the bird “flies” toward the nose. There are exceptions, of course, but the overwhelming majority of photos I’ve studied (although I concede I’ve not seen as many as several people around here) have shown the port rudder logo faced left and the starboard rudder logo faced right.

AND, let’s not forget the serial number, which if visible on his D.II was believed either 481/16 or 491/16, the discrepancy being source dependent.

[backusstudio]

Originally Posted by JFM

MvR’s first aerial victories (as a single-seat fighter pilot with Jasta 2) were attained in the Albatros D.I, soon to be followed by the D.II. I have not read of—nor can I ascertain—any substantiated Richthofen victory tally for each machine, nor can I ascertain definitively when MvR progressed from the D.I to D.II. If these answers are known I’m all ears!

Hi Jim,

Thanks for weighing in on this. My source for MvR's victory record was the Aerodrome's own "Aces" page on MvR: Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen - The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War I. I am quick to yield to the experts on the historical details. It is a lifetime of work to research and debate these facts. I am an artist and my goal is to move forward and produce art. When I write or speak as if I know something I'm only opening the topic. Very little is known definitively on this subject, and certainly not by me.

The knowledge regarding the markings on most of these planes is a patchwork quilt of educated guesses. I chose the version of MvR's DII that I did because I hope that it will be one of the least controversial options and will allow viewers to enjoy the animation and not fume over bad research the entire time. Any option that I chose would involve the opinions of people far more knowledgeable than myself.

Ironically, no one has questioned my paint scheme for Hawker's DH2 but I have come to believe from my own research that I was headed in the wrong direction. The books that I had from my childhood interest in the hobby all showed Hawker's DH2 as chocolate brown with tan underwings and tan canvas side panels on the fuselage. Most of the modern research from the people I typically trust most show his DH2 as olive green overall with tan underwings. I don't find it as pretty as the brown/ tan combo, but that is not the main point of my animation. I'll post the revised olive version soon. Hopefully I will not spark a new controversy.

Thanks again for your input Jim. People like yourself are very necessary to keep us 'creatives' from getting too creative.

[backusstudio]

Not as pretty, but probably more accurate. Refute this now or forever hold your peace. Once I'm on to the animation I won't want to be changing color schemes.

[backusstudio]

Underside view:

[dglewwe]

"Refute this now or forever hold your peace."

well, i wouldn't think to refute it (having absolutely no basis to do so), but i will offer an opinion to muddy the waters: seems a tad dark to me. scale color (atmospheric diffusion creating hue/intensity/value changes) is a real pain to nail down...but if it's handled wrong it's obvious as hell...even though one would be hard-pressed to put a finger on why it "just doesn't look quite right." dunno...

if it's any help, i found (well...stole, acutally...) this recipe for the dope:

For one hundred gallons of PC10 the recipe is :

260 pounds nitro Cellulose syrup

74 pounds of pigments in the following proportions:

40 pounds yellow ochre
30 pounds umber
2 pounds 8 ounces Red Ochre
1 pound 8 ounces Chinese Blue

Which was then added to:

20 gallons Acetone or Methyl ethyl ketone
15 gallons Amyl Acetate
15 Gallons benzol
15 gallons Methylated spirit


--you could always just mix up a batch and see what it looks like...?

[backusstudio]

Originally Posted by dglewwe

--you could always just mix up a batch and see what it looks like...?

More amusing than helpful, but thanks anyway dglewwe!

[TomVrille]

Hi Mike..

I haven't had much to say on this thread lately, but I'm still cheerleading as promised back in the beginning. It looks like great progress has been made!

[backusstudio]

Hey Tom, good to hear from you again!

The project is going pretty well, I think. I've reached that point where, being nearly done, all of the doubts and questions and bar raisings are coming out.
I'm having to come to terms with investing a bunch of time in animating some airplanes that may or may not have the right colors and markings. That's the nature of this beast. Also, as Mark Miller can tell you, it's hard to know where to stop modeling these things. Do I model a full cockpit interior? Do I model every nut and bolt and guy wire and turnbuckle? I'm a bit of a perfectionist and prone to OCD so I have to be careful.

I'm going to tweak a couple more bits and then I want to see these old birds fly! I'm thinking about cutting some highlights into a 'trailer' of sorts, just something to get people's appetites whetted. Stay tuned!

[TomVrille]

Originally Posted by backusstudio

... it's hard to know where to stop modeling these things. Do I model a full cockpit interior? Do I model every nut and bolt and guy wire and turnbuckle?

I would say let everyone who is worried about turnbuckle graphics use their imagination!

There is one detail that would add a lot to the final product, and that would be to give an indication of wing ribs. The flat textures of the main planes on your thumbnail sketches look a bit bland. That, of course, is only a comment from the cheerleading group, none of whom has to do the work.

It might be useful to have one cockpit closeup of an instrument panel with the altimeter as the center of attention. There was some discussion earlier about editing out a good bit of the spiral descent phase of the engagement. The altimeter closeup could be used to show when the low level race to the lines has begun. First show a high altitude state, fade to a blank screen, then show the altimeter again, down on the deck. This comment from a mere cheerleader who aspires to be a director!?

Final suggestion...do whatever feels good!!

[Jenny]

I just posted the recipe in the off-topic section. Any questions? Contact me. Jenny