Republic RC-3 Seabee!

[Gibbage]

Just wanted to drop this quick update and get some user feedback. Here is the final model of the 1947 Republic RC-3 Seabee! Please look it over and if you find any errors, LET ME KNOW ASAP!!! Its best to fix them NOW then after I put in the cockpit and get textures on it.

Also, an update for all the customers who purchased the SportStar. Service Pack 1 will be out VERY soon!!! The service pack includes 5 new livery's, enhanced cockpit details, and bug fixes. This will be free to all current and future customers! Sorry for the delay, but I had a computer crash and a family emergency. Silver lining is, I had everything backed up, and I did get to visit Oshkosh out of it. :d

Please note, before commenting, that this is a factory fresh 1947 Seabee. In the past 65 years, owners have done EXTENSIVE modifications to there Seabee! If you find something you think may be wrong, please make sure that its not a modern modification. I will be making a modern Seabee with modifications (extended wings, bigger engine, modern gauges and much more) later, so customers will be getting TWO aircraft for the price of one!

48677486784867948680

[monk1]

Wow, beautiful!! Been wanting one of these for a long time. Keep up the great work!! :jump:

[CG_1976]

Now I didnt buy your first model, but this one is on my list. I need a Amphib hopper for parts of Arctic Canada. This one is a oldie and perfect fit.

[jankees]

looking very nice to me!

[Gibbage]

looking very nice to me!

I was hoping to get your attention with this one! She is screaming for paints from someone who KNOWS how to do good bare aluminum! ;)

[Gizmo]

Looks great & will be on the shoppinglist for sure i gota a soft spot for amphibius aircraft,the Goose Redux Expansion pack was the last thing i had the crayons out for but this might just get me back in doing a few non total overhaul repaints

look forward to checking her out

Cheers
steve

[Railrunner130]

Lookin' good!!

Any chance of a Twin Bee to accompany it?

[Gibbage]

Lookin' good!!

Any chance of a Twin Bee to accompany it?

Sorry, but no. The cockpit would be a complete re-do forward of the seats, and considerable work to be done on the external. Only 60 of the twin Seabee's were made so they are very rare. I may do the V8 engine mod though, along with the Lycoming. The V-8 would put out as much power as the twin (180HP x 2 vs 350-400HP x1) without adding to the complex control's and gauges.

You can read a lot about the twinbee here, http://www.seabee.info/twinbee.htm

I think I will leave the Twin Bee to Piglet ;)

[Piglet]

Look at them wheel rims! How many polys in that model??
Too bad the Seabee at my airport has left.

[Kiwikat]

She's looking great thus far! :ernae:

There's one major thing missing though, perhaps the thing I remember most about this aircraft, the ridgey tail. The rudder and vertical stabilizer would look a LOT better if the ridges were modeled rather than painted on.

[Gibbage]

Look at them wheel rims! How many polys in that model??
Too bad the Seabee at my airport has left.

Honestly, not that much. Right now im at 51K tri's and I think the cockpit wont add more then another 20K or so. After modeling aircraft for 10 years, I have found ways to keep the polycount low and the detail high. The good thing is, FSX can push a LOT of polygons. The P-38 I did for FSD had over 200,000!!! Im making these with performance in mind, and the SportStar had 60K TOTAL (external + cockpit + pilot!).

Are you interested in doing the twin bee Piglet? Ill lend you my model once its done and you can convert it and give the twin bee out for free!

[Gibbage]

She's looking great thus far! :ernae:

There's one major thing missing though, perhaps the thing I remember most about this aircraft, the ridgey tail. The rudder and vertical stabilizer would look a LOT better if the ridges were modeled rather than painted on.

I did a small scale test modeling in the ridges/corigation and it would shoot the polygon count through the roof. I really want performance to be first on this thing, so I nixed modeling the ridges. I will have then on normal map and it will look good, trust me! I will do some previews later once I get the UV maps set and do some normal mapping test's.

[OBIO]

Gibbage

While I am not an expert on the Seabea, I did note one glaring error. You are using the wrong kind of lug nuts to hold on the wheels. What you have now are left hand twist, semi-fine thread lug nuts made of case-hardened silly-putty. To be totally accurate, the lug nuts should be right hand twist, semi-course thread lug nuts made of tempered cold-rolled steel. There aren't many folks around who can tell the difference between case-hardened silly-putty and tempered cold-rolled steel, but I am one of them!

Seriously...the Seabee looks amazing! Can't wait to see it with some textures wrapped around it. Just took another look at the pics...those rolled edges on the window frames are super smooth and flawlessly executed.

OBIO

[Gibbage]

Gibbage

While I am not an expert on the Seabea, I did note one glaring error. You are using the wrong kind of lug nuts to hold on the wheels. What you have now are left hand twist, semi-fine thread lug nuts made of case-hardened silly-putty. To be totally accurate, the lug nuts should be right hand twist, semi-course thread lug nuts made of tempered cold-rolled steel. There aren't many folks around who can tell the difference between case-hardened silly-putty and tempered cold-rolled steel, but I am one of them!


Good eye! I will fix it right away! I was hoping to slip one by yall, but your good!

Since you have a good eye for detail, can you check to see that I have the proper nuts and bolts on the wing brace and outrigger?

48716

Now, in the above renders, you will notice that this area is covered in a fairing. I made sure to model this for the later "modern" Seabee's since a lot of pilots remove them because the area is prone too corrosion and needs to be inspected often. Last thing you want is corrosion eating away your wing brace in mid air just because you wanted a cool looking fairing covering up that nasty bolt!!!

[StormILM]

Looks great Gibbage! Incidentally I used to work for an Aviation company that gave full time support to the Columbus-America Discovery Group. At the time they had a pilot who flew surveillance/security over the shipwreck site off South Carolina and for some time they operated a Seabee. This was before GPS was up and running and the pilot would fly out very low(50 ft asl) using Loran and Dead Reckoning out to the wreck and back checking the area for vessels that were capable of mounting dives which could pirate the gold discovery when there were no CADG vessels available over the wreck. They later replaced the Seabee with a Piaggio Royal Gull. They used to "tripwire" the USCG, Customs coastal surveillance and usually a 30 mins after either the Seabee or Gull had landed, we'd get a heated visit from Customs Special Agents or DEA. LMAO! That Seabee was the only one I ever saw up close and after 23 years, I can't remember squat about that plane except the basic outline. Always liked the plane.

:salute::applause:

[Jim Goldman]

Kevin:

Nicely done, great modeling, I look forward to this one. BTW will it be available with the Flight1 installer, I hope so.

Jim


Just wanted to drop this quick update and get some user feedback. Here is the final model of the 1947 Republic RC-3 Seabee! Please look it over and if you find any errors, LET ME KNOW ASAP!!! Its best to fix them NOW then after I put in the cockpit and get textures on it.

Also, an update for all the customers who purchased the SportStar. Service Pack 1 will be out VERY soon!!! The service pack includes 5 new livery's, enhanced cockpit details, and bug fixes. This will be free to all current and future customers! Sorry for the delay, but I had a computer crash and a family emergency. Silver lining is, I had everything backed up, and I did get to visit Oshkosh out of it. :d

Please note, before commenting, that this is a factory fresh 1947 Seabee. In the past 65 years, owners have done EXTENSIVE modifications to there Seabee! If you find something you think may be wrong, please make sure that its not a modern modification. I will be making a modern Seabee with modifications (extended wings, bigger engine, modern gauges and much more) later, so customers will be getting TWO aircraft for the price of one!

48677486784867948680

[Helldiver]

Will the aircraft have it's distictive corrugated wings and flaps? It made the airplane very different.


48719

[jankees]

regarding the ribbing, the Sibwings birddog has ribbing on the tail and I must say that it looks brilliant, much better than any painting can ever hope to achieve. Maybe have a look there for inspiration?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/rogera/th_birddog-2.jpg (http://media.photobucket.com/image/sibwings birddog/rogera/birddog-2.jpg)

[Gibbage]

Will the aircraft have it's distictive corrugated wings and flaps? It made the airplane very different.




The trademark ribbing will be there, but its over such a large area that I cant do it in geomitry. It will be in normal map.

[Gibbage]

regarding the ribbing, the Sibwings birddog has ribbing on the tail and I must say that it looks brilliant, much better than any painting can ever hope to achieve. Maybe have a look there for inspiration?



Thats what I considered doing, but on the Seabee, its not just on the control surfaces, but on the entire wing, tail, and elevator PLUS the control surfaces. It would easly double the polygon count and drop the performance.

[Gibbage]

It seems a few people were rightfully concerned about me "painting" in the ribs and not modeling them. So I did a quick test to prove my therie, and I think it turned out very nice. Here are two renders showing the results!

The right wing has the normal mapped ribbing in place. From this distance, you cant tell. Also, the wings will have there own dedicated 2048x2048 texture to keep the textures nice and sharp.

http://www.kcflightshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/seabee_21.jpg

Here is a closer look at the ribbing. Even this close, they hold up very well.

http://www.kcflightshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/seabee_22.jpg

Again, these were done only as a test and took me all of 30 minutes. The final textures will be a lot better, I assure you! You simply cant this sort of detail modeling it in without TONS of polygons and a big loss in performance. Hope this helps people!

[Gibbage]

Kevin:

Nicely done, great modeling, I look forward to this one. BTW will it be available with the Flight1 installer, I hope so.

Jim

I think so. We are still looking into things, but im sure F1 will be an option. Since the SportStar was our first product, we are learning a lot and adapting to our customers needs based on that experience.

[Piglet]

I think I will leave the Twin Bee to Piglet ;)
I wish my schedule would allow for it, but there's so much to do....:kilroy:

[jdhaenens]

These two liveries? I have plenty of pics of these two from Fallon a couple of years ago.

48764

48763

Jim

[Gibbage]

I wish my schedule would allow for it, but there's so much to do....:kilroy:

Like I said, if you wish to do it later on, you can have my model as a starting point. =)

[N2056]

That's a pretty classy offer! :salute:

[falcon409]

These two liveries? I have plenty of pics of these two from Fallon a couple of years ago.

48764

48763

Jim
Two of my favorites. . .did those liveries for the PAD Seabee. . . .good choices Jim.:salute:

[Helldiver]

That ribbing looks terrific, i know it effects the count but it add so much to the plane.
I understand Luis Pizzaro of "Operation Repo" flies a Sea Bee.

[roger-wilco-66]

That ribbing looks terrific, i know it effects the count but it add so much to the plane.
[...]


I second that, the 3d ribs look great! Would be interesting how much this would actually effect the frame rates if you would do them all.
Maybe it's not that bad after all.

Cheers,
Mark

[AckAck]

That ribbing looks terrific, i know it effects the count but it add so much to the plane.
[...]



I second that, the 3d ribs look great! Would be interesting how much this would actually effect the frame rates if you would do them all.
Maybe it's not that bad after all.

Perhaps I misunderstood Gibbage's comments, but aren't the renders being gushed about as 3d renders actually done with normal maps? At least that was the impression I got from "The final textures will be a lot better, I assure you! You simply cant this sort of detail modeling it in without TONS of polygons and a big loss in performance. Hope this helps people!"

(Although he did say the right wing, which in the renders appears to not have anything done to it, so I assumed he meant the one on the right of the picture, not the right of the plane.):isadizzy:

[jdhaenens]

Yeah, I think Kevin is snickering under his breath as the geometry folks fawn over his normal maps. Normal maps will generally always show a shadow so the ribs will be visible all the time even in lighting conditions (rare) where they shouldn't. I think they look great and Kevin has made his point.

Jim

[Gibbage]

Yep. What your looking at is normal maps, not geomitry! =) I didnt intend to trick people, but it shows the power of a properly made normal map.

As for the Navy livery, YES YES YES! Its one of the best looking Seabee's out there! I also plan on doing the James Bond Seabee from the movie "The Man With The Golden Gun" =) I hope that there will also be an active skinning community adding to the Seabee, so I will enlist Jankees to test the paint kit and make sure its easy to paint on!

[khaast]

Superb model and superb bump maps/normal maps ;-) I look forward to this one :-)

[Helldiver]

I notice that both "Navy" airplanes have been rengined with a six cylinder engine and are sporting four bladed props

[OleBoy]

Kevin, the Seabee is a nice vintage craft. I was at my local airport about a month ago and crawled all over a 1947 type that was being restored. I spoke to the man doing the restoration, and learned that a man from Seattle, Wa was the owner. I spoke to this person (the restorer) for a lengthy time and got to really eye over the SeaBee as much as I liked. Great little craft it was. I was told that they weren't much good for anything really, not even as a mail carrier or cargo type due to the lack of weight that they could carry to remote areas. I paid no mind to the negativity really, considering that I was not concerned about becoming the owner (it was getting sold after restoration was completed) But they are rather unique for the era. I believe that the Navy was one of the first to have them built (if I recall the conversation correctly) and they later found that they were not the right plane for the intended use as planned. Anyway, not meaning to throw a curve in the topic!!

Your mastery of modeling abilities shine. It looks real nice from the renders!!! A great asset the the FSX reality!

[Gibbage]

The Navy painted bird had an engine change. MOST flying Seabee's today have one of three engines. The original Franklin 215HP engine, a newer Lycoming GO-480 from Simuflight that has 295HP and is much ligher engine, and new coweling. The Navy painted Seabee uses the 3rd engine, a Chevy V8 from a Corvette!!! These engines produce between 350-500HP (depending on the model) and use both 100LL and premium unleaded automotive fuel. They also add air conditioning ;) The V8 engine is also SMALLER then the original Franklin, and can fit under the original coweling, were the Lycoming cant.

You can get more information on the V-8 Seabee here, http://www.v8aircraft.com/ along with photo's of the Navy painted Seabee. I would like to do the V8 powered Seabee, but its all up to what the customers want.

The Army and Navy did have interest in them for coast guard duty in 1944, but cancled there orders after VJ day. Only 3 Seabee ever saw service in the US Army, so the Navy Seabee is a myth and a hypothetical livery. I still love it though!

And yes, Seabee's are NOT practical. But a Lamborghini is also not. Its a good bush flying aircraft and very versitile. It can carry 4 people and has a good useable load with the 295HP Lycoming and extended wings. To put it bluntly, the 215HP Franklin Seabee is and will be a DOG. Like pushing a brick through sand one pilot told me. The 295HP Seabee seems to be the right spot when it comes to performance and reliability, and the 350+ will be a lot of fun!

There is also an outfit in So-Cal thats putting a PT6 turbo-prop into a Seabee!!! Thats 450SHP!!!

http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/canr/images/cgnvs.jpg

I will NOT be building this one-off Seabe. Sorry!

[mikew]

The Seabee model looks great and the V8 has got my vote!

Mike

[warchild]

::shuddering at the thought of headers, hi-rise manifolds, and grass roots blowers on an airplane ::

[Gibbage]

The V8 sounds kinda nice. Here is a few YT video's of them in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP5g10H0MtI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HEfptniXHg&feature=related

[warchild]

that DOES sound pretty decent. not what i would have expected at all.. Thanks Kevin :)..
Pam