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  • I know a lot of people do this.
    My question is why????
    Is it for personal use
    Or is it due too the fact you build missions?
    Or is it that you just have too collect them??
    Or another example so I can have the best skin when I fly online???
    I await some interesting answers.
    Regards Duggy.
     

  • I used to collect skins by the score, but once I started skinning my own, I almost never "collect" them anymore except to see how other skinners work and to get ideas for improving my own skins or I'm flying a plane that I really don't feel all that enthused about skinning but do not care for the stock default and would prefer something more theater specific.

    Always on the lookout for the odd or unusual skins. Historical ones mostly since anyone can do a fictional skin (I've done my share for sure).
     

  • For most plane types of the Luftwaffe I collect at least 10 generic skins for each JG then split those into I,II,III etc with the appropriate Black,White,Yellow fuselage symbols. Not too mention all the individuals like Red1, Red1+I, Red1+- for each unit.
    Historical skins are always best. Doing my own semi-historical skins now.
    Spend most of my time adapting/creating single missions for fighters, which is where I use my collection of skins. Are you still awake out there?

    Cheers
     


  • I used to collect skins by the score, but once I started skinning my own, I almost never "collect" them anymore except to see how other skinners work and to get ideas for improving my own skins or I'm flying a plane that I really don't feel all that enthused about skinning but do not care for the stock default and would prefer something more theater specific.

    Always on the lookout for the odd or unusual skins. Historical ones mostly since anyone can do a fictional skin (I've done my share for sure).

    US_Grant

    Ditto for me! I don't think I've done a fictional skin since 2005.

    I guess in a way I collect my own skins. I really enjoy the research side of historical skinning and tend to make and collect skins of planes and units that I find interesting, even if the skins themselves are not all that unusual.
     

  • That's a good question Duggy. I never really thought about the 'why' of collecting, only that I knew it was something I had to do. Sort of like an addiction I suppose.

    Before I started skinning, I would stuff all my skin folders with everything I could find. It was almost as if I were afraid of waking up one day, and there would no longer be any skin downloads available. I became a skin horder. A skin could look like some 3 year old with a box of crayons painted it, and I'd still download it.

    And then one day, 'IL2Skins.com' went away forever. Sure there were still a few private sites around, but nothing on the grand scale that was IL2skins. I think that's when some of us 'closet artists' decided to pick up a brush and try to help the old timers rebuild. That's when 'Flying Legends' took off, as I recall.

    But once I started building templates and producing skins, I became a little more conservative about what went into my skin folders. I gained a newfound appreciation for what makes a skin a cut above the rest, and I began to recognize the skinners who consistantly produced the highest quality skins. After a while, I became very selective about who's work went into my IL2 installation. Funny, after all this time, I still find myself going back and studying the work of these 'old school' skinners.

    Eventually, I cleaned out every single one of my skin folders.. defaults, voids, everything; and then carefully selected only the best skins to put back in. I even got rid of a lot of my own stuff.

    And now, I find myself surrounded by today's 'best of the best'. If I want to download a quality piece of work, I don't have to look any further than right here at A&A. How cool is that eh?

    So for me, I guess collecting skins is a very personal thing. I don't fly online, and I don't build missons. But I'm completely fascinated when I gaze over a well executed skin. Sometimes I think I get just as much enjoyment viewing them outside the sim, as I do flying them inside the sim. And the good ones really are works of art. It just amazes me sometimes that we're fortunate enough to experience this caliber of art for free, and share the company of the artists who create such works.

    That said, I'd like to cast aside my 'skinner' moniker for a moment, and just say thanks to the good people who keep contributing to our collections. Good on 'ya mates!

    Okay, enough sugar already, but I thought you all could use some; it's certainly well deserved. Uh oh..it's been about 30 minutes since I last checked the 'Latest Downloads' section.. I'm off to look for my next fix smile
     

  • Like US_Grant said I don't really "collect" skins either but I do download 'em if I want to study and be inspired by another skinner's technique and/or to just admire the effort that has gone into them (cheruskerarmin's Ju52 and Gigant packs being a good example).

    Cheers,

    HB
     

  • History. I enjoy flying aircraft representing the men and women who dared to ride these machines during the Second World War. Whether or not it was a high scoring ace or a wingman who never claimed an aerial victory, its the stories behind the airframe that make me put in requests. I want to be able to represent those who were there and use a skin as a piece to a story to those of a curious nature.

    Blue Skies,

    -Doodle
     

  • Simple: As kid I was a plastic-modeller and always loved the painting, the schemes, the weathering etc...

    I collect skins to have as many different paintschemes as possible. Sometimes also because you can't really assess a skin untill you open the bmp and try it in game, so it was always a "download first, check later"... except with some usual crappy skins that are no more than a flat void painted in neon colors in less than 2 seconds work cheesey always wondered why they even bother to upload such shit.

    The rest I mechanically downloaded and checked close up before trashing.

    Also I simply don't have the time to produce amounts of skins, so I usually rather improve a bit skins of a paintscheme I want rather than trashing (like toning down colours and the like).

    I love quality but sometimes I also need a bit of variety (of both schemes and styles). So as long as it doesn't look like something painted by a 5year old, and has something interesting in it, I keep somewhere.
    But it is true that over time, and after starting texturing myself, I tend to get more selective than before.

     

  • Some neat answers.
    I really never collected skins.
    Thanks for all the honest answers.
    But I did collect most of the paid add on's
    Thanks Duugy



     

  • I love collecting skins but I also enjoy collecting any Japanese plane I can get. I love the PTO so whenever I see a new Japanese plane, I'm all over it. smile
     

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