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Re-colouring the Ford Trimotor by Peter Zorn
First of All, proper credit where it’s due This paper model was designed by Peter A. Zorn Jr. Originally published in 1982 as a soft-cover book, it is a detailed model of Ford’s famous aircraft. In July 2010, Deckape started a building thread of this airplane. His report can be found here: Ford Tri- Motor 1/33 Scale You will surely enjoy reading his experience building this model, and viewing the construction photographs that show how beautiful this model is and how his building skills are. Deckape’s wonderful build was finished after 133 hours of work, as he states here: Ford Tri- Motor 1/33 Scale Right after Deckape finished, Mr. Peter Zorn (the original designer) shared his thoughts on Deckape’s build, as well as gave some insights on his design of the Ford Trimotor. You can read Mr- Zorn’s short but wonderful words here: Ford Tri- Motor 1/33 Scale Quote:
Billy made available the scans on December 20th, 2010: Ford Tri- Motor 1/33 Scale It was a wonderful gift from Billy, with the blessing of Mr. Zorn, to all the paper modeling community. Soo… If there’s someone to thank, please send your appreciation to all the people mentioned above: Deckape for his building thread, that triggered it all. Mr. Peter Zorn, the great designer of the model for allowing the scanning and digital distribution of his book. Billy.leliveld, for the huge work that he made scanning the original book and uploading the pages. And also Ron40 for the continuous support to Billy’s work and for the contributions he’s made. Also important are the people who have encouraged and supported with their words all the time, and who provided important information and tips on this model. (I hope I didn't miss someone. If I did, please let me know). With those credits cleared, now we can move onto…. |
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#2
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This re-painting of Peter Zorn’s Ford Tri-motor. 1. Why? I read Leif Ohlsson’s considerations on printing this model to achieve different scales ( Ford Tri- Motor 1/33 Scale ) I found them a bit complicated for me (even though he explained quite clearly). So, in a rush of laziness, I decided to re-arrange the pages to be printed in a much bigger paper size. Several pages at a time, by sending them to plotter in A1 or A0 paper size. My mind soon drifted to other realms: Why not better re-tracing the lines using Corel? That way the model could be drawn with very clear lines…. Why not thinking on re-painting the model with other colours, closer to my own country’s aviation history? Why not better making an all-clean-version of it, so that several liveries could be added? That’s why. I soon found myself tracing over the original scans, and realised it was possible. Why keeping it for myself? Why not sharing this with the community? This forum has taught me a lot in the few months I’ve been a member here. Not only about model building, but also about sharing. That’s why. 2. How? Even though it is one of my favourite programs, I decided to avoid Photoshop for one reason: PS is a bitmap edition software. And a new-clean re-tracing of a wonderful model as this Trimotor is needed a proper rendition that can only be achieved with a vector program. Since I don’t know how to use Adobe illustrator, I went to another program I love. Corel Draw. Vectors also mean that the pattern can be scaled to whatever you wish without loosing definition. From the original 1:33 down to 1:200 or even to 1:16, 1:8 1:4… though I really doubt someone would attempt such a behemoth. First, I exported Billy’s PDFs to high quality JPGs. Then I imported them to Corel. Then, I set the image transparency to 70%, and blocked the objet. This will allow me to work on the tracing without much visual interruption, and I will avoid selecting the image by accidentally clicking on it. The next step is to really start tracing. I use the bezier tool, and define the nodes. I use a very thin line at the beginning, and try to mark on the exact middle of the original lines. After I’m happy with the shape, I set the line width to “2” points: Correct small deviations and add details: I believe that’s a rather good approximation, with the proper line width and respect for the details. This process also helps to get rid of those small drawing-printing mistakes, like the lines that go beyond their supposed limits. |
#3
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Correction of mistakes is also possible at this stage, like a small distortion/offset in the wheels drawing:
In real life, this distortion is barely noticeable (no more than 1mm), but we must remember that this was originally hand-drawn, and then sent to print. It is a testament to the designer’s skills. Not many of us can say we can do that with such approximation. I can’t. To re-create the texture of the corrugated metal I decided to create a grill of lines spaced evenly at a distance that approaches the original pattern. I decided to avoid tracing over each single corrugated metal line. It would make the vectorizing an endless task. Instead, I chose to use the grill as close as possible. Even though it saves a lot of time, it still is a delicate and time-consuming labour. But it is a labour of love indeed. To save future time, I’m preparing at the same time another version. On the left you see the clean tracing of the original pattern. On the right there’s the pattern without the marks. This will be useful if someone is willing to build a different version of the aircraft. Please ignore the “moiré” effect. It’s an unavoidable optical illusion when the image was reduced and the lines are too close. When you print the page the “gradients” of the screen are not present. And that’s how it is going to be made. Now… 3. Me I’m making this in my free time. I calculate that I can vector at least 3 pages each week. Fortunately, some pieces are duplicates, and others are just the same image but “mirrored”. So it will save some time. But it is possible that if I find a job (I’m unemployed at the moment) things can be delayed a bit. But don’t worry, I will try to make as much as possible every week. You can rest assured that I will finish this vectorization. This is my contribution to the forum in gratitude for the things I’ve learned, and that I hope to apply in my future models. 4. You Every feedback you can give is highly appreciated. Your comments and suggestions are very welcome. Please, if you notice mistakes in my working, let me know. Your support is important to make this as accurately as possible. As Ron40 noted in the other thread, there are a lot of possibilities for liveries. I will start with the original pattern by Peter Zorn. And I plan on making at least one or two for myself with colours used in my country. If you have suggestions for a specific livery, let me know. Depending on my time, I will try to make it. If there’s enough photos and documentation, a proper colouring can be made. All I ask is a little patience Or.... You can use the cleaned version I'm preparing and paint it by yourself according to your preferences 5. Out there… Out there be monsters. You know which kind. I know vectorizing this model is like having a brand new master. Take into account that this is a 300dpi image from a vector. The real resolution of any given page is this: My first thought is to share this only with people of this forum that we know are active participants of the community, who are serious and respectful of the designer’s hard work. I fear that making it too public would be an open door to the model being ripped and mistreated without proper recognition to Mr. Zorn. I would like to know your opinions on this particular issue. This will lead us to decide the best option to upload and distribute this repaint. By the time being, here’s a reconstruction of the original cover. You’ll notice the colours of the title circle are inverted. I chose to do this to indicate that this is not the original, but a repaint. See you in the next installment!
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Rubén Andrés Martínez A. Last edited by Rubenandres77; 12-28-2010 at 12:02 PM. |
#4
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I'll be watching over you, and your graciously undertaken labour of love, with the outmost interest. May you always feel that the best wishes of a lot of us are with you throughout!
Leif |
#5
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Good luck with finding work first and the project second - in that order Sir. You are doing a fantastic job on this. You have the patience of a saint and that's for sure.
I wish you all the best on both fronts. Very well done so far Cheers Jim |
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#6
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Thank you for your efforts, and thank you to Peter for letting you make it available to us!
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Ray Respect the Paper, RESPECT IT! GET OFF MY LAWN! |
#7
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Ruben,
The start of this endeavor is fantastic. I know you will do the Tri-Motor justice. As far as the distribution of the model might I suggest that you upload it to Billy Leliveld who is now providing the main download for the model due to size restrictions placed by the download area on the forum and ecardmodels. I'm sure he will agree to this however he is on a holiday without internet service until Jan 2nd. Whatever you decide I'm sure we can abide by it. Thanks again for your efforts. Peter Zorn is also to be commended for his contribution of this model to the forum members. From what I understand he is working on a larger more detailed model featuring more detailed engines and I know any model he produces will be a favorite.....Ron |
#8
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Your the man Ruben. Thank you, thank you and once again thank you!
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#9
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Ruben,
You mentioned about duplicated parts. Those parts that are white colored are the parts that require the blue coloring for the American Airways livery which Peter was restricted for adding color by his publisher. The RGB for the blue is R=17 , G=98 & B=165.....Ron |
#10
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Thank you very much to all of you for your kind words!!
I will do my best at this project. Quote:
What really worries me is the wings, tail, and cockpit. The metal texture is a bit tedious. But I'll find a way to work it out.
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Rubén Andrés Martínez A. |
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