Mask Categories

[Kevin Futter]

As I post this, the site is brand-new, and in its infancy. To kick things off, I've created a basic set of categories for file uploads, but with the intention that they will evolve over time to meet the needs of both the site and our members.

 

So with that in mind, I'd like to initiate a discussion on the types of categories you guys feel might be useful as we grow. I can certainly see the category of 'Aircraft - Military' being entirely too broad for the long haul, but I'm also mindful of the fact that too many categories can also be a problem. Splitting up a large category like that could be done in many ways (by scale, by country, by aircraft type, by era, etc), so it's no easy matter! At the same time, some of the smaller categories are probably just fine as they are.

 

One way to handle this is to sit back and wait to see what gets uploaded, and then mould the categories organically around that. While I'm happy to take that approach, I'd also like to hear what you guys think!

 

Kev

 

 

[Mozart]

Something I've I've always had to research is the way in which national marking evolve, the roundel and German crosses for instance.  I know Thomas has uploaded some very useful masks for different categories of roundels, and very useful they are too but it would be good to cross reference this to photographs for positions, dates, dimensions and critically colours linked if possible to the range offered by companies such as MRP, Tamiya, Vallejo etc.  I'm struggling at the moment to tie down a good Cold War colour range for my Echelon Lightning for instance.

[Out2gtcha]

I might suggest breaking it down first by Scale/Era/Country or something of that nature. As an example, Ive got a TON of Luftwaffe designs Ive made, along with a lot of codes, of all varying countries.  (all 1/32nd in my case)

[Kevin Futter]

6 hours ago, Mozart said:

Something I've I've always had to research is the way in which national marking evolve, the roundel and German crosses for instance.  I know Thomas has uploaded some very useful masks for different categories of roundels, and very useful they are too but it would be good to cross reference this to photographs for positions, dates, dimensions and critically colours linked if possible to the range offered by companies such as MRP, Tamiya, Vallejo etc.  I'm struggling at the moment to tie down a good Cold War colour range for my Echelon Lightning for instance.

 

I always thought someone should bring out a series of booklets that cover that stuff, and if I knew more about it, I'd do them for KLP! But unfortunately I struggle with that stuff too.

 

Kev

[Kevin Futter]

1 minute ago, Out2gtcha said:

I might suggest breaking it down first by Scale/Era/Country or something of that nature. As an example, Ive got a TON of Luftwaffe designs Ive made, along with a lot of codes, of all varying countries.  (all 1/32nd in my case)

 

Thomas and I had a discussion on Facebook about the scale thing, which prompted my starting this thread. I've always thought that the scale was less relevant, as the software could literally scale the design to whatever you want. But Thomas pointed out that it's not so desirable to do so in the case of canopy masks, or camouflage masks designed to fit a specific kit.

 

And speaking of canopy masks: do they deserve their own category? Or should they just be grouped in with whatever broader category they belong too? Are they something that modellers even bother to design themselves?

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

In actuality Kev, now that you bring that up, you have a very good point. Im now going back over my Silhouette cutter files and designs and almost none of them are in scale due to me drawing them in the largest possible size to get the maximum detail. Then, as you mention, I just usually scale them out by measuring and scaling up or down as needed on the model itself, and saving that as a whole new file off of the "base" file of large size. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Out2gtcha

[Thomas Lund]

Yes, as mentioned I think that except for a few topics, scale is irrelevant.

 

I would suggest that we do some grouping by topics, and from my point of view they should be (as an example): 'National insignia', 'Numbering', 'Camouflage', 'Unit insignia', 'Canopy masks' and 'Miscellaneous'

 

I think we should encourage that the file name contain a good description of the content plus scale, kit etc as appropriate

[Kevin Futter]

21 minutes ago, Thomas Lund said:

I think we should encourage that the file name contain a good description of the content plus scale, kit etc as appropriate

 

We do need to be careful not to overload the file name with descriptive content, as there is a field for description where expanded information can be supplied. I haven't bothered to work out a naming convention yet, as it's too early to tell if it will be required, or even useful. I'll see if I can add a custom field for scale, so that if it applies at all, it can be added as explicit data. Maybe the same for target kits, too.

 

Kev

[Greg Meggs]

For the majority of designs, we could just have, as example, RAF type B Roundels, USAAF markings with Red surround, standard USAF, Russian post war, and the various type faces such as Amarillo and RAF type etc. . They would be easy to find.  Then an offshoot with non standard dimensions and fonts. Another section covering markings for a complete aircraft, maybe matched to a certain kit, and this could include canopy masks.

 

[Kevin Futter]

OK, I've just added a few new categories, based on what we've seen uploaded so far. It's obvious that national markings under Military Aviation will be popular, so I've created an explicit category for that, along with a few subcategories for what I see would be the most popular areas under that. Any national insignia markings that don't currently fit any of those subcategories can just go in the main subcategory of National Insignia. The same goes for anything related to military aircraft that doesn't fit any subcategory created so far. New categories can always be created as necessary, and files moved to more relevant categories.

 

I also created another top-level subcategory under Aircraft - Military, called Camouflage Patterns, which pretty much does what it says on the tin. Again, this can be subdivided down the track if demand warrants it.

 

Note that I haven't made corresponding forum areas for all these new categories, since I don't think that's warranted at this stage. Just as with the categories themselves, we can revisit and revise that in the future.

 

One thing no one has done so far is provide any screenshots, so I might backfill a few when I get a chance.

 

Kev

[Kevin Futter]

@Out2gtcha Brian, I've just added screenshots to your uploaded files. @Thomas Lund Thomas, I'll try to get some done for your uploads in the next round.

 

Kev

[D Bellis]

On 7/19/2020 at 3:56 PM, Kevin Futter said:

And speaking of canopy masks: do they deserve their own category?

Yes, and those should be labeled with the scale and kit they are designed to fit. 

 

I'd also suggest having a sticky post in each category with some sort of index for the files available in that category. That approach is common on gamer and R/C airplane forums (probably many others, too) with user-uploaded content, and it really helps other users find what they're looking for without digging through 500+ pages of topics/posts.

 

D

[Kevin Futter]

3 minutes ago, D Bellis said:

Yes, and those should be labeled with the scale and kit they are designed to fit. 

 

I'd also suggest having a sticky post in each category with some sort of index for the files available in that category. That approach is common on gamer and R/C airplane forums (probably many others, too) with user-uploaded content, and it really helps other users find what they're looking for without digging through 500+ pages of topics/posts.

 

D

 

The Downloads section is organised based on the assigned categories, and works quite differently to the Forums section (i.e., you can't make posts there, only comments and reviews on uploads). If any single category gets too big, then we can break it into more specific subcategories. But we're a long way from having to worry about that just yet.

 

What you see here in the forums under Scale Model Paint Masks is merely a set of automated notification posts - every time a new file is uploaded to the Downloads section, a corresponding notification is automatically posted to the forums. So you can track what's new using the forums, but for searching or browsing the catalogue of available files, you'd use the Downloads section.

 

Kev

[Kevin Futter]

OK @Thomas Lund, I think I've added screenshot thumbnails to all your uploads now. Let me know if I've missed any!

 

Kev

[Kevin Futter]

OK folks, I've added a new subcategory for canopy masks under the Aircraft parent category, and also added new optional fields to the submission form for Scale and Intended Kit. These two fields only need to be filled in if they're relevant for the mask files you're uploading.

 

Kev

[Kevin Futter]

Another question for you guys: would you prefer a separate category for things like code letters and serial numbers, or just include them in the relevant National Insignia categories? I'm leaning towards the latter personally, as otherwise we'd probably have to have a whole bunch of subcategories under Codes & Serials, probably with hardly anything in them. But, I thought I'd throw it out to you guys for some input before committing.

 

Kev

[Kevin Futter]

While I wait for your collective thoughts on the question above, I'll let you guys know that I've just created another new subcategory under Aircraft - Military, called Specific Aircraft. Hopefully the name explains well enough what it's intended to cover, but it's for masks for a specific aircraft in the same way that most decal sheets contain decals for specific aircraft. It can be limited to just codes and serials, but can go all the way to having everything including camouflage and canopy masks. At the moment there are no subcategories under this new one, but I can see that changing pretty quickly.

 

I've also moved two of our previous uploads into that category.

 

Kev

[Thomas Lund]

On 7/25/2020 at 6:43 AM, Kevin Futter said:

Another question for you guys: would you prefer a separate category for things like code letters and serial numbers, or just include them in the relevant National Insignia categories? I'm leaning towards the latter personally, as otherwise we'd probably have to have a whole bunch of subcategories under Codes & Serials, probably with hardly anything in them. But, I thought I'd throw it out to you guys for some input before committing.

 

Kev

 

I agree - lets just run it in parallel with the national insignia

[Thomas Lund]

22 hours ago, Kevin Futter said:

While I wait for your collective thoughts on the question above, I'll let you guys know that I've just created another new subcategory under Aircraft - Military, called Specific Aircraft. Hopefully the name explains well enough what it's intended to cover, but it's for masks for a specific aircraft in the same way that most decal sheets contain decals for specific aircraft. It can be limited to just codes and serials, but can go all the way to having everything including camouflage and canopy masks. At the moment there are no subcategories under this new one, but I can see that changing pretty quickly.

 

I've also moved two of our previous uploads into that category.

 

Kev

 

Very timely - I've just come on to upload one of those 😄

[Kevin Futter]

5 minutes ago, Thomas Lund said:

 

I agree - lets just run it in parallel with the national insignia

 

Thanks, Thomas. I'll amend the descriptions for the relevant categories so that they explicitly mention codes and serials.

 

Kev