Painting Tamiya's Gloster Meteor (616 sqn)

[SeaVenom]

I'm making iit straight from the box and doing EE235 from 616 sqn and it says to paint it  AS9 dark green and AS10 ocean grey on top and AS11  medium sea grey underneath but I was wondering if the Tamiya paints are a good match for these colours?    

 

I know this is a well known aircraft and has been discussed many times before and colours could vary quite a bit but also how quickly would those colours fade anyway seeing as it's 1945?

 

Strangely enough also I can't find that many pics of 616 sqn Meteors of that time.

Edited August 9, 2017 by SeaVenom

[Troy Smith]

42 minutes ago, SeaVenom said:

if the Tamiya paints are a good match for these colours?  

Tamiya did new RAF  colours to  tie in with their 1/32nd Spitfire, XF-81/82/83 IIRC,  which I've not seen any wailing or gnashing of teeth  over.

If the Spray  cans are the same, they should be  good.

 

 From what I have been able to see RAF colours didn't vary much (there were standards to be met) and given the Meteor's position as the new thing,  they were very well cared for, and paint by this point didn't fade really fast.  

 

a quick look at @Etiennedup  flickr..   have a look at other sections,  there are a a lot of 1945 era pics if you want  to  examine how British paint weathered and faded.

 

these may help?

 

Gloster Meteor III by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

Gloster Meteor F.3,  c1945. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

 

[John Laidlaw]

30 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

Tamiya did new RAF  colours to  tie in with their 1/32nd Spitfire, XF-81/82/83 IIRC,  which I've not seen any wailing or gnashing of teeth  over.

XF-81 is too yellow (according to me), too brown (according to Roy Sutherland), but is spot-on according to @Greenshirt, so take your pick. It's close enough.

 

XF-82 is way too blue.

 

XF-83 Is pretty damned close. I have one batch that appears to be greener than it should be... maybe quality control was on holiday that week.

 

If you're OK with enamels, try Colourcoats - @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies is known for his research and accuracy.

[Work In Progress]

The upper of those two pics is what it claims to be but Etienne has wrongly categorised the second one: it is neither a Meteor III nor taken in 1945. It is one of the F.4 Meteors assigned to the High Speed Flight in 1946. Note the faired in gunports and non-standard super-glossy finish.

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

2 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

The upper of those two pics is what it claims to be but Etienne has wrongly categorised the second one: it is neither a Meteor III nor taken in 1945. It is one of the F.4 Meteors assigned to the High Speed Flight in 1946. Note the faired in gunports and non-standard super-glossy finish.

Now you mention it, it has the big Derwent nacelles too.

[SeaVenom]

Thanks all!  Great photo's and info.

[Radpoe Spitfire]

On 09/08/2017 at 2:50 AM, SeaVenom said:

I'm making iit straight from the box and doing EE235 from 616 sqn and it says to paint it  AS9 dark green and AS10 ocean grey on top and AS11  medium sea grey underneath but I was wondering if the Tamiya paints are a good match for these colours?    

 

I know this is a well known aircraft and has been discussed many times before and colours could vary quite a bit but also how quickly would those colours fade anyway seeing as it's 1945?

 

Strangely enough also I can't find that many pics of 616 sqn Meteors of that time.

Hi , sadly photos of 616 Squadron's wartime  aircraft are few and far between, however there are a few B&W images on the IWM website- follow the search under collections  and put in 616 Squadron Meteor.  I  can only assume that fading was minimal as the Squadron only operated the wartime Mk III's for less than a year.

All the best with your build, 

Regards Adrian 

[SeaVenom]

19 hours ago, Radpoe Spitfire said:

Hi , sadly photos of 616 Squadron's wartime  aircraft are few and far between, however there are a few B&W images on the IWM website- follow the search under collections  and put in 616 Squadron Meteor.  I  can only assume that fading was minimal as the Squadron only operated the wartime Mk III's for less than a year.

All the best with your build, 

Regards Adrian 

 

 

Thanks Adrian.    Yes maybe it's because the Meteor was a new aircraft and they were afraid of details getting out, hence the lack of photo's.   I've bought a tub of Tamiya medium sea grey, mixed the ocean grey so it's a bit lighter and not so blue but strangely enough I have 2 tiubs of Tamiya RAF green and one's a bit lighter and more yellow than the other so I've used the less yellowy one.   Mind you the difference is small.    I've finished the greys so when I finish the green I'll start the decals.

[Don McIntyre]

Xtracolour is worth a look too if you want enamels.