BEA red

[Bill Neill]

Working my way into a string of post WW2 British airliners, mainly BEA and BOAC.

Looks to me like the red color used by BEA morphed from a dark brownish red in the 1950s up through a reddish brown then into a nearly orange color. Anyone help me with a better guide as to what colors applied to what period?

Thanks

Bill

[Eric Mc]

The official name of the red colour used in the 1950s was "Peony Red". It had a pinkish/purplish hue to it. It normally was incorporated in lettering and cheat lines etc so I've only come across it in airliner decal sheets.

The red used for the wings in the 1960s and 70s is available as an enamel fro Xtracolor (X552).

[Bill Neill]

OK thanks for the info. Reason I asked is that I got some 144 LPS decals for an early BEA DC3 (dark brown) some 72 Liveries Unlimited decals for a late DC3 (brownish red), some 72 AIM decals for an airspeed Ambassador (same brownish red) and some later Trident etc decals in the reddish orange Peony Red.

Was wondering if the color actually changed or if LPS owe me some proper decals (the LPS website has the decals is a much brighter red)

Thanks

Bill

[viscount806x]

The early colour was quite different and much more purple than the one used in the later 'Red Square' scheme. I did have a match up many years back with some fuselage stripes which appeared under the paint being stripped from a BKS Ambassador and from memory (1968) , the AIM colours seem close. Memory is always a dodgy thing but hey, it's only a model and close enough is to my mind close enough. Heresy I know, I hope the accuracy police don't read this.

There is a Viscount V701 at preserved Duxford which received the old 1950s scheme during it's refurb a few years back, have you tried the team there?

http://www.vickersviscount.net/GetTogether2010.aspx

As noted earlier in the thread the later bright red is in the Xtracolour range.

[Eric Mc]

OK thanks for the info. Reason I asked is that I got some 144 LPS decals for an early BEA DC3 (dark brown) some 72 Liveries Unlimited decals for a late DC3 (brownish red), some 72 AIM decals for an airspeed Ambassador (same brownish red) and some later Trident etc decals in the reddish orange Peony Red.

Was wondering if the color actually changed or if LPS owe me some proper decals (the LPS website has the decals is a much brighter red)

Thanks

Bill

The reddish/orange red used in the 1960s and 1970s is NOT Peony Red. Peony Red is the shade used in the 1950s - seen on early Viscount 700s and 800s, Ambassador/Elizabethans, Vikings and C-47s etc.

The orange/red came in when they decided to paint the wings red. It was used initially with the red square markings and survived with the change to the halved Union Flag "Speed Jack" introduced in 1968. It probably would have lasted beyond 1974 but the merger with BOAC to form British Airways brought about the end of the red wings - although red winged Tridents, 1-11, Viscounts and Vanguards continued on well into the 1970s as the fleet took a while to be repainted.