Color Choices - Part I

While at times I do include in my posts what paint colors I use on my aircraft, I wanted to offer a short series of posts in which I do discuss some of my projects and the aircraft colors in greater detail. 

I prefer, when the colors match, to utilize the Vallejo Model Air series. While designed for airbrush work, I have found these paints are good for applications via brush if one is willing to apply two coats. Some of the other acrylics go on a tad too thick, causing some "gunkiness" and loss of detail. I have not experienced that when using the Model Air range, even when I have had to use several coats.

Before painting the planes I apply a coat of primer. I have used a variety of primers in the past, but have now settled on Tamiya's Fine Surface in light grey. It provides complete coverage with a light coat that seems to enhance the details on the model. 

Korean War

• Yak-9 - I hemmed and hawed on what to paint the North Korean Yaks for some weeks before I finally settled on UK Azure Blue (71.108). To be honest, it is probably a shade too dark and a shade too azure, but once I put decals on the planes, I really liked the end result.
• F-80 - One of my favorite colors for natural metal planes is Aluminium (71.062). Metallic paint is where the Model Air range really shines as my experience with most metallic paints yields a thick and gunky result. The aluminium goes on smooth, even with multiple coats.
• F-82 - As the F-82s were night fighters, I went with NATO Black (71.251) for the Twin Mustangs. It is a hair "lighter" than straight black, and while it took three coats (over light gray primer) there are no issues with loss of detail. 

In various stages of completion

1950s Jets

• Saab J 29 - I used Aluminium for these Swedish jets for the same reasons given above for the F-80s.
• FJ-4B Fury - The United States Navy had by the time of my scenario setting had gone to the scheme of upper surface and fuselage in Light Gull Gray (71.121) with under surfaces in Insignia White (71.279)
• MiG-15/MiG-17 - While I could have used Aluminium for the "silver darts" I decided to use...drum roll, please...Silver (71.063)...just to give the MiGs a slightly different look than the Saabs. However, there really is little visual difference between the two.

Need to get cracking and start adding decals

Heinkel He 100 - Part II

Some months ago I posted a bit about the Heinkel He 100, including some rough stats for Check Your 6! You can see that post HERE. Also, I have created a scenario, titled The Factory Defense Unit, which utilizes the He 100, that can be found on the Downloads page. 

A beautiful replica at the Planes of Fame Museum

I finally pulled out some planes that needed a coat of primer, including the Heinkels. The details on the Table Top Flights planes really pop once primer has been applied (in this case I used Tamiya Fine Surface Light Gray). 

With primer in place...

...and with a thin coat of Vallejo Air Schwarzgrün.

I need to do a bit of cleanup of a few nubs on the planes before adding more coats of paint. I have found that I like using the Vallejo Air series - while the Air line is intended for airbrushes, I have found that using this thinner paint with a brush works well and avoids some of the issues of a thicker acrylics, if one does not mind doing a few coats. 

Above we have a second coat of Schwarzgrün applied, and a couple of relatively sloppy coats of Hellblau applied to the undersurfaces. A third coat of Schwarzgrün will be added and at that time I will clean up the delineation between the upper and lower surfaces.

Now the third coat has been applied to the upper surfaces, and ready for the RLM71 Dunkelgrün splinter pattern after some touchup.

I am not enamored with the Vallejo Dunkelgrün from a color perspective - it is barely discernable and the color seems "off" a bit. My splinter pattern is fairly random and probably not very historical in appearance, but as one needs to look closely to even notice, I am not overly concerned. I have painted the exhaust pipes in natural steel, and have added a bit more touchup to the undersurfaces, while adding in my typical light blue canopy (Foundry Bavarian Cornflower Blue Shade 73C).

Next step is to order decals. I do want to obtain white numbers along with some sort of squadron insignia. I might go full on hypothetical by using some Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals from their Dockfighters range. 

Rehabbing Rickenbacker

Yuck, yuck, yuck!

We hates it, we do! Nasty little hobbit...er, hideous Wings of Glory SPAD XIII of Eddie Rickenbacker. It has one of the worst, if not THE worst, color scheme of all the Ares/Nexus planes for Wings of Glory. And in their infinite wisdom when Ares had a chance to correct the horror that is Rickenbacker when they re-released the plane, they chose to keep the same incorrect colorations in place. Pink? Really, pink? Okay, maybe more like mauve. Lime Green? Seriously? It is to this day one of the most common planes you will find on eBay and some retail sites, and usually for a good price. Why? To be honest, it's a crappy looking plane! Not only that, but the SPAD XIII has been woefully under rated within the construct of the rules (more on that in a later post) and so while it was a very common plane in 1918 gamers avoid using it.

A little more like it!

So, what do we do with the pair of Rickenbacker SPADs that I own? REPAINT! I recently ordered some Tamiya paints that are purported to be pretty darn close to the colors of the French five color camouflage, and already owning a more properly done Frank Luke SPAD, I decided it was time to give Luke a wingman, in this case Joseph Wehner's #8. 

This is the first of a few posts showing my progress as I move forward with this rehab of a piss poor color scheme. I've never tried painting a five color camo scheme, but with proper colors (or close to them) at hand, and 27th Aero Squadron decals from Miscellaneous Miniatures, the first step, painting the undersides of the SPAD, has been completed. Tamiya color XF-57, Buff. As you can see it is a much more subtle shade, the paint flowing nicely onto the model. The shade is actually about the same as the wheel carriage, which Nexus/Ares should have used for the undersides of the SPAD as a whole.

I have never used Tamiya paints before, but am quite happy with the ease the paint moves from the brush and the smoothness of the paint once applied. I am actually happy that the single coat did not cover the American roundels as now they will serve as a guide as to where to place the decals.