This is the current state. There are still a few things that need fixing.
I would be careful going in the direction of the Blue Zeros. Dark Green can take on a bluish cast depending on time of day and angle to the viewer. I have a remnant of Dark Green rudder fabric and I noticed that when looking at it outside. I think the same effect fooled a lot of people with the 361st FG Mustangs. Colors tend to reflect their environment somewhat, depending on conditions.
I love the story of the 361st P-51’s color scheme. I built a model of one in the 70’s when the current thinking was it was a light blue, lol…
And it is funny what people say about it to this day… one guy even saying they used two different colors, because he felt that way because of the change at the rudder/horizontal stabilizer shadow line…
Right, as opposed to the blue shift you get in Kodachrome as it ages. Or if the 361st FG photos were done in Ektachrome, as seems likely - well, that starts out with a blue cast that then gets bluer (if that’s a word) over time.
My repaint for Blackbird Simulations’ A6M5 Zero Type 0 Model 52 Zero (bare-metal livery) is now available here: Blackbird A6M5 Zero Bare Metal Livery (including modifications to rivets and exterior surface shape) - MSFS Add-on - Flightsim.to
This livery includes extensive modifications to the normal map of the aircraft’s surface, including the rendering of dimples in the skin and countersunk rivets.
This livery is a fictional color scheme. I do not believe the Imperial Japanese Navy actually operated bare-metal Zero fighters.
That looks truly excellent! Looking forward to downloading and flying it later today.
Realize that it’s not authentic to the Zero, but there do seem to have been some bare-metal examples of your namesake aircraft, so if it’s a what-if, it’s at least somewhat plausible.
Looking forward to your weathered examples to follow.
I finally figured out how to make my extra English language labels work properly as an attachment. This tiny little mod is available here if anyone wants it! It simply adds “LEFT”, “RIGHT”, FUSE" and “BELLY” labels to the fuel tank selectors, since I could never remember which was which!
Very nice, thank you!
It’s great to see so much love for this one. It’s great to see Hayate’s gorgeous paint work but also John’s warbirds - those are exactly what I love to fly in the game. I live in the hope the Xbox gets access to these in future.
Thank you.
Regarding the Ki-84 Type 4 Fighter “Hayate,” the Japanese Army originally always painted its aircraft. However, with the advent of Alclad, a material that coated the easily corroded aluminum alloy surface with highly corrosion-resistant pure aluminum, it seems that bare metal aircraft began to be used.
The Japanese Navy operated bare metal aircraft up to the Type 96 Carrier Fighter (A5M), but from the Zero Fighter (A6M) onwards, they were fully painted. It seems that bare metal military aircraft are rare in other navies as well. Perhaps the need to protect the metal surface was high for operations at sea.
Incidentally, there are photographs of bare metal aircraft with the paint stripped off, such as the Zero Fighter “TAIC-8” captured by the US military and the Zero Fighter captured by the Australian military.
Thank you for your feedback. It really satisfies my need for recognition.
I fly either the Zero Fighter A6M5 or the F-15C Eagle in MSFS2024 almost every day. I also participate in every [Official] Community Fly-In Friday.
Let’s fly together sometime.
Thank you, JohnnyT.
I think Blackbird Simulations’ Zero Fighter Type 52 is wonderfully made, but the rivet and unevenness of the exterior in the livery were of a quality I personally found unacceptable.
I really wanted to play with this Zero Fighter Type 52, so I spent several months developing a dedicated program to create normal maps and created a livery to my liking.
I respect the livery you created.
In particular, when I fly your Planes of Fame Museum Zero (61-120) in VR, I get the illusion of flying a real aircraft.
However, even here, I think the round rivets and terrible unevenness of the exterior detract from the atmosphere.
If you’d like (whether you actually use it or not, just to try it out), I can provide the following assets for free.
The files are large, so transferring them might be difficult…
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_FUELTANK_NORM.PNG.KTX2 21,846KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_FUELTANK_NORM.PNG.KTX2.json 1KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_RIVETSSEAM_NORM.PNG.KTX2 21,846KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_RIVETSSEAM_NORM.PNG.KTX2.json 1KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_01_NORM.PNG.KTX2 21,846KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_01_NORM.PNG.KTX2.json 1KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_02_NORM.PNG.KTX2 21,846KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_02_NORM.PNG.KTX2.json 1KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_03_NORM.PNG.KTX2 21,846KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_03_NORM.PNG.KTX2.json 1KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_04_NORM.PNG.KTX2 21,846KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_04_NORM.PNG.KTX2.json 1KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_05_NORM.PNG.KTX2 21,846KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_05_NORM.PNG.KTX2.json 1KByte
If you would like to modify the normal map itself, I can provide the following:
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_FUELTANK_NORM.PNG 900KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_RIVETSSEAM_NORM.PNG 1,900KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_01_NORM.PNG 2,000KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_02_NORM.PNG 2,200KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_03_NORM.PNG 2,800KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_04_NORM.PNG 2,800KByte
A6M5_ZERO_EXT_UV_05_NORM.PNG 2,500KByte
I’m a little surprised this hasn’t been posted here:
A6M5 Zero for MSFS2024
1.0.3 changelog:
- adjustments to collision mesh to reenable climbing on the wing
- fix for multiplayer sounds
- fix cutout of engine sounds in showcase camera
- additional external sounds added
- improvements to gunsight reflector glass
- fix for English cockpit labels
- addition of physic-based pitot flag to pitot cover
- fix some flaps key bindings acting in reverse
- add compatibility with tailhook key binding
- minor fixes to startup logic
- adjustments to navigation services files
- various clean-up tasks for SU5
I can’t wait to fly it!
Everyone who bought it from devs website should have received an email. I got one 5 days ago.
Still, such things generally elicit conversation about it. Hence my surprise.
Plus, I have read more than one post stating that emails about updates hadn’t been received.
Agree - I can’t think of an example of a bare metal naval aircraft in allied inventory. Technically, there were the P-51s that were tested for carrier operations. But I believe those were modified USAAF aircraft since the Navy hadn’t committed to them (and never did).
I’d be interested to see your treatment of the two captured Zeros - but might be even more interested in your upcoming heavily weathered examples.
It occurred to me that your current, highly polished example might be a nice companion for the Silver Spitfire - two aircraft that have left their military roles behind them.
Maybe an idea for a group flight, or at minimum a few screenshots…
True - though in my case, I received it and downloaded it but haven’t had a chance to install it or fly it yet. Was on the road in my other favorite Japanese ride (a Honda Civic hybrid). Hope to catch up with it this week and report back.
I created a checklist for the actual A6M5 aircraft (an aircraft used during World War II) by cross-referencing the following documents.
For your reference.
*I did not try to fill in any gaps with speculation, so there may be omissions.
*While the operation content is reasonably reliable, the accuracy of the operation order is uncertain.
Blackbird Simulations’ A6M5 is very well done, so We can operate it almost exactly like the real thing. It’s fun!
(However, there are some differences. In particular, please note that this list does not include turning on the generator switch. Finding the differences is part of the fun.)
References
• “Instruction Manual for Zero Fighter Carrier-Based Fighter,” October 1944, Naval Air Headquarters
• “Instruction Manual for Sakae Engine Type 20,” First Edition, March 1943, Nakajima Aircraft Co., Ltd., Tama Plant
• “Essential Guide for Fighter Squadron Commanders,” Zero Fighter (Model 52) Flight Reference Chart, 1944, Yokosuka Naval Air Group
• “TECHNICAL REPORT NO. F-TR-1101-ND PILOT’S HANDBOOK FOR ZEKE-52 AIRPLANE,” March 26, 1946, United States Department of the Army, Headquarters Air Materiel Command, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.
