Modelling mistakes on real aircraft

[Robin-42]

Years ago, Scale Models had a funny page of modelling mistakes on full size aircraft. Not enough weight in the nose, upside down stencils, decal film and it went on.I couldn't find anything online that was similar, so I will start with a photo I took at the NASM Dulles.

Walkways are always masked with hard edges!

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[Parabat]

I can't post the image, but here's a link to a F-14D with its star 'n bar upside down(US Navy not too hot in the paintshop?!).

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/4/7/4/0926474.jpg

[Cheshiretaurus]

This sort of stuff then

XR806 Defuelling incident

[Avgas]

How's this for a mistake - I've just realised I've been painting the wrong plane

Normally it wouldn't be too hard to rectify, but being an Aggressor F-16, with very specific fading, it's going to take complete strip and repaint.

Don't quite know how I didn't see my mistake after days of staring at reference pics. Numpty here will have to live with it.

:dunce:

[Tailspin Turtle]

A cautionary example: http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2012/06/markings-cautionary-example.html

[Deanflyer]

Scribing panel lines too deep can be a problem:

And don't you just hate it when the final matt coat seems to leave a frosted finish:

Dean

[Robin-42]

I can't post the image, but here's a link to a F-14D with its star 'n bar upside down(US Navy not too hot in the paintshop?!).

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/4/7/4/0926474.jpg

Not to mention the "post shading" appears to have been done with a roller!

[garryrussell]

British Air Ferries leased two Bristol Superfreighters to Cie Air Transport

The two aircraft G-ANWM & G-ANWN were delivered as F-BPIM & F-BPIN in an overpainted BAF livery and CAT titles

Both aircraft had the French flag back to front on the starboard side

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shanair/5364632733/in/photostream/

[alex]

I remember a picture of a Hurricane Squadron (or Defiant? Anyway...) where four aircrafts flying in formation had three different type of fuselage roundels...

Alex

[garryrussell]

DON'T use a hairdryer to speed up paint drying

http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/..._200512119.asp

Edited August 23, 2014 by garryrussell

[Julien]

I can't post the image, but here's a link to a F-14D with its star 'n bar upside down(US Navy not too hot in the paintshop?!).

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/4/7/4/0926474.jpg

If the navy can do it so can the USAF

[upnorth]

Of course, there are those times when the actual manufacturers really overdo and exaggerate rivet detail and give us horribly inaccurate overlapping panel lines instead of the nice, recessed ones that we know are there in reality:

[patjb]

When I used to work on Vulcans at Waddington I remember a few had the "no step" stencil on the lower surface of the ECM pack cooling intake. I think it was done on purpose by a bored/humorous painter, but at least one had a boot print placed on to it from below!

[Danny]

On 8/22/2014 at 11:11 PM, Avgass said:

How's this for a mistake - I've just realised I've been painting the wrong plane.

Don't you mean you've just realised you've been making a 'What-if'?

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Danny

[garryrussell]

I have an Eastern Bloc model which looks like a copy of the Airfix Caravelle somewhere. It has Aeroflot marking included as was worn with a French registration in some film.

There was also the prototype Avro 780 that was painted in Soviet Air Force and a Canadair CL-44D-4 in RAF markings with a huge roundel on the tail and a Hercules serial. These were for films also.

Some private owner commit hideous crimes, like, for example, the Aero 45 that was painted up as a Luftwaffe He.111 and of course all those Nord Noralpha types that think they are Bf.109s.

[Paul J]

What about 11 squadron getting the black and yellow unit markings colours reversed on their Typhoons a few years ago.! I recall seeing pics of this in the late lamented Aircraft Illustrated magazine...

[garryrussell]

There was a Guernsey based beech Travelair back in the '60's. G-AREJ...under the port wing the 'J' was back to front

British Airways BAC One-Eleven G-AWBL spent some time with the last two 'BI' on the nose U/C door.

Viscount G-BCZR entered service with Dan Air freshly painted in the OLD colours.

Two Viscounts were leased to BEA and painted in the full pinstripe flag on the tail livery over a year after the Red Square was introduced.

[pigsty]

British Airways BAC One-Eleven G-AWBL spent some time with the last two 'BI' on the nose U/C door.

You're sure that wasn't just a borrowed door? That's my story when anyone asks why my Jaguar IM is JM252 but has 256 on the nosegear door.

[Truro Model Builder]

Well, all I can say is that the B-52 SIG display for Telford is impressive this year:

http://www.aircraftphotos.biz/photos/web-photos/bone-yard/image003e.jpg

[Hepster]

A couple of examples spring to mind;

1 A Romanian AF Mig 21 that appeared at RIAT a few years ago had roundels that were off-centre.

2 Pics of BoB 610 Squadron Spitfires - DW-O has it's tail flash back to front, you can tell by comparing it to DW-K which it is formating with, amongst others.

[Procopius]

Fairly distressed by the over-prominent rivets I saw on a B-25 at Oshkosh.

[Cheshiretaurus]

It was built for a ground diorama.

[Giorgio N]

This is the national insignia on an F-14 Tomcat:

The circle is not circular at all, there's a lot of paint bleed where the mask was and I can assure that the paint was not of an even thickness, with some areas much thicker than others.

Still this is nothing compared to the insignia I saw on a Europe 1 painted Phantom where not only the star was painted terribly but the bars were of different length !

[Hepster]

Pics I took of the Red Arrows at the 1989 RIAT show significant overspray on the tail paintwork of some aircraft.

[Cheshiretaurus]

Pics I took of the Red Arrows at the 1989 RIAT show significant overspray on the tail paintwork of some aircraft.

I think nearly all aircraft will be like that to some degree

On my preflight walk arounds I see plenty of over spray, poor masking, not so straight lines, ridges, trapped crud and orange peel on the fleet I fly.

All seem fly ok though!