Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us
Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network
Home
Discussion Groups
General
ModelsRailroadsRockets
Radio Controlled
Air ModelsHelicoptersLand ModelsWater Models
ModelGeeks.com
Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map

Model Forum / General / Models / August 2005



Tip: Looking for answers? Try searching our database.

Zero color confusion still

Thread view: 
Enable EMail Alerts  Start New Thread
Thread rating: 
old hoodoo - 21 Aug 2005 22:48 GMT
I am still failing to find consensus regarding the grey shade for the
A6M2.

I just "learned" that zeros were primed in a darkish brown color
overcoated with the IJN light grey with only a slight hardly noticible
greenish tint.

What then occurs is that slightly weathered abm2's started taking on a
brown tint due to the underlying dark brown?  I have also heard this is
the result of a sealer put over light gray paint.

At what point is there consensus by the experts?

Could it be argued that the A6M2-N's used in the aleutians had a
significant and noticible 'browner' shade (once misidentified as
purple--supposedly to match Aleutian tundra)which  may have to do with
heavily weathered IJN "gray" paint with the brown showing through?  This
would make them appear different than conventional light grey painted
and weathered A6M2's due to the N's
constant exposure to salt water spray and driven rain.

The question then becomes, was the later IJN grey used on A6M5's
actually brown tinted when showing a lot of service or was it actually a
lighter gray finish?  Or were A6m5's knocked off so fast that they
rarely showed heavy weathering?

Right when I think this riddle is solved, someone else comes up with
something new.

Right now a light cream seems right for A6M2's while a light gray
still seems right for A6M5 underbelly's.  A question would be if the
underside of the A6M2 ought to be a lighter shade than the topsides.
William H. Shuey - 22 Aug 2005 03:32 GMT
> I am still failing to find consensus regarding the grey shade for the
> A6M2.
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> still seems right for A6M5 underbelly's.  A question would be if the
> underside of the A6M2 ought to be a lighter shade than the topsides.

Stop me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Japanese do away with the primer
coat on their aircraft which lead to all the peeling paint on later
green schemes? If the brown (some say red) primer was done away with,
the gray would weather to a lighter gray, no tan (ame-iro?) tone.

                    Bill Shuey
Milton Bell - 22 Aug 2005 04:01 GMT
Off hand I'd say the primer was red-brown‹can't give you the specifics right
now‹but if you really want good information check out the J-aircraft site.

MB

> From: "William H. Shuey" <whshuey@starpower.net>
> Newsgroups: rec.models.scale
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
>
> Bill Shuey
old hoodoo - 22 Aug 2005 04:29 GMT
>>I am still failing to find consensus regarding the grey shade for the
>>A6M2.
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
>
>                     Bill

That would definitely keep any brown shades off the A6M5, but maybe not
the A6M2 and A6M2-N.   What caught me was that a fairly experienced
modeler brought up the brown primer under the grey coats on the A6M2 and
A6M2-N.  I actually built a Rufe in the early seventies in the purple
scheme based on a
Finescale modeler article, but of course it was later debunked. Still
looks pretty cool, never have changed it, but I suspected that if the
Aleutian Rufes were overall grey, that there might have been at least
some basis for the claim, maybe after we sifted through the Rufe
wreckage after occupying Kiska were there was a lot of Rufe wreckage
maybe with a lot of brown primer showing through.  This also explains
the reddish brown on the old wrecked Val in Fredericksburg. I haven't
seen it for 15 or so years but then I wondered what that brow was doing
on the wings.  Saw a lot of the blue primer inside the fuselage, a very
metallic looking blue but if i remember not in the cockpit area, where
I think I saw green chromate looking paint which surprized me.
Mad-Modeller - 22 Aug 2005 06:37 GMT
Humbrol went so far as to make that Japanese purple.  BTW, if it was the
'70s it wasn't FSM.  Sounds more like Scale Modeler.  They were about as
accurate as the National Enquirer. ;)

Bill Banaszak, MFE
old hoodoo - 22 Aug 2005 19:25 GMT
> Humbrol went so far as to make that Japanese purple.  BTW, if it was the
> '70s it wasn't FSM.  Sounds more like Scale Modeler.  They were about as
> accurate as the National Enquirer. ;)
>
> Bill Banaszak, MFE

It was indeed Scale Modeler now that you mention it. I am thinking circa
1971 but it may be that I bought and built the kit significantly later
after purchasing the mag and it is quite possible that the purple was
already debunked but I just used that old reference.

Modeling was a bit different then as compared to now.  Not sure if all
these modelers today appreciate the difference.
Mad-Modeller - 23 Aug 2005 04:31 GMT
I know what you mean.  Around 1969 I built the old Revell 1/32nd Bf 109G
and painted it up to look like the 109E featured in the 'Combat'(?)
paints advertisement.  Perhaps no 109G ever looked like that but I
thought it looked cool.  
BTW, that's the only 1/32nd kit I ever finished.

Bill Banaszak, MFE
old hoodoo - 23 Aug 2005 04:24 GMT
> I know what you mean.  Around 1969 I built the old Revell 1/32nd Bf 109G
> and painted it up to look like the 109E featured in the 'Combat'(?)
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Bill Banaszak, MFE

I built the same model about the same time. My first 1/32nd aircraft.
I remember it had two tone green wings a one tone gray fuselage but I
still liked it, looked odd, very crude, at least too me.
Bought a p-40E, then a P-51B which to me turned out to be a big
disappointment, it never looked right...so I switched to 1/48 and was
much happier.

They survived for a long time in my closet. Slowly were ground to
bits by little kid relatives that played with them...they were my
throwaways, I kept my 1/48's hung in the air.
William H. Shuey - 23 Aug 2005 04:47 GMT
> They survived for a long time in my closet. Slowly were ground to
> bits by little kid relatives that played with them...

Little kid relatives!!  Oh Boy!  There is a subject that could probably
start a crying thread longer than the antics of cats on work benches!

                        :-)  Bill Shuey
Mad-Modeller - 24 Aug 2005 05:50 GMT
> > They survived for a long time in my closet. Slowly were ground to
> > bits by little kid relatives that played with them...
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
>                                                 :-)  Bill Shuey

No doubt but think of the kids who've been exposed to models that way.
When my son was little I showed him my collection and told him that he
could look all he wanted but touch them and I'd break his fingers.  I
was kidding but he never got very interested in models except for
spaceships.  I often wonder if I ruined his interest.

Bill Banaszak, MFE
Mad-Modeller - 24 Aug 2005 05:47 GMT
Still have mine, at least until it sells on the Bay as of Sunday next.
Of course E-bay could kick it off like they did once before.

Bill Banaszak, MFE
 
Sign In
Join
My Latest Posts
My Monitored Threads
My Blog
My Photo Gallery
My Profile
My Homepage

Start New Thread
Enable EMail Alerts
Rate this Thread



©2009 Advenet LLC   Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.