JackG

The surrounding vehicles being lighter is normal as they are further in the background. Analyzing each Sherman in the panoramic view am still obtaining purplish hues, but if one wanted to they could be described as sort of brownish with purple overtones. If your screen monitor is showing the purple version of COUGAR is a close match to Mikes painted swatch of SCC2, then I must bow out from the conversation as my screen is showing two decidedly different colours.

There is not just film quality but also film type/brand to consider, the latter of which would be difficult to test in a camera if a particular film is no longer being manufactured. Anyhow my screen settings show that particular Sherman in mid background with the noted white 45 AoS is all muted purples. COUGAR also briefly appears similarly, so the problem is the tan beige version is being compared to when the sun came out while earlier it was overcast.

Totally agree about the effects of camera and and lighting concerning color. Just like we don't mix our hobby paints to match photos, so too one cannot match an actual paint swatch to a photo. As for the latest image posted, yes it is a very sharp and detailed image but that does not automatically translate to perfect colour capture. Kodachrome colour chracteristics are defined as in the statement below

Back to the period film and the SAR parade, was reading up on Technicolor 3 to understand the process used back then. Of course not sure if that was the exact type employed in the discussed film of this thread but gives a good idea of the complications. The linked video explains it better but basically inside the camera was a glass prism that separated the light into Red, Blue, and Green negative film. This was then flipped to create positive film and dyed with the associated complimentary colour of cyan, magenta, and yellow. It seriously gives an idea of why colour would be hard pressed to be highly accurate, and even less so in conjunction with varying outdoor lighting conditions.

It depends on which digital swatch is used but this one representing FS33105 is very close to the SCC4 swatch painted by Mike in his pamphlet. Mind you not much help as everyone has a different screen brand and setup.

Sunward Hobbies in Canada shows Humbrol 84 in stock. Whether it is the same formula that Mike had in his tin is another question https://www.sunwardhobbies.ca/84-mid-stine-humbrol-enamel-paint/

@esaum for the above colour studies, the paint swatches before being manipulated digitally, were all scanned from Mike Starmer's pamphlets which contain his physically painted samples. Well except for the OD which was created from a modern photo. So the SCC4 version is all Mike but take into consideration that digital scanning has altered the appearance and has more pronounced yellow. Mike's hobby paint formula is to Mix: 2 x Humbrol 110 + 2 x Humbrol 119 + 1 x Humbrol 84 https://mafva.co.uk/?p=2607&fbclid=IwAR0bAL1iInW6JfWND3Tz4tX_lq7TJTha9q78N3GdUrHzHdX__3krO6ie9jU

If we accept an overall repaint of the Sherman in British paints while stationed in the UK, I wonder the reason. It cannot be from wear or weathered paint as that was ruled out above as not being possible in the time frame while training with SAR. Even the pamphlet that was released prior to 1944 concerning camouflage, it stipulates that lend lease vehicles only required the addition of a camouflage colour over the OD finish, while entire repaints were considered a waste of time and supplies. Relevant page 34 of the pamphlet dealing with the UK and NWE.

Maybe just adopt the date guidelines as was used in the 75th anniversary GB which were 5th June to 30th August 1944

MiniArt has announced for 2024 an initial production M3 so might be an option for some if it is released early enough for the GB

In the last build photo I had posted, was trying to remember what the four white arrows were pointing to at the tail end. I see it now and that is the fairing on which the tail plains sit on are not identically shaped on either side of the fuselage. Just surprised this is the quality being brought to the table in these times . . .

A possible demarcation example circled in red, but the bottom portion could be hand painted identity mark either white or yellow?

I have only built the one AVI kit and just happens to be A5M1. The contents in my boxing reminded me more of a short run kit. Yes surface detail is quite good but there was some slippage in the mold halves, so a lot of the smaller parts that should be round were not. It was bad enough that I rebuilt an entire new tail wheel unit. Three details not included in the kit: - no exhaust pipes at the bottom sides of the cowl - no detail on the instrument panel nor a decal to place over it - no pitot tube but at least some dimensions are provided to make your own which I would of done so anyways Tail planes mating surface had problems with really short tabs that were too thick to fit in the holes of the fuselage. Some general gaps in the wings and fuselage that was filled with sheet styrene. Also the cowl has no attachment point and just floats around the engine cylinders so little blobs of putty on the cylinder heads to keep it in place. No longer have an account with flickr but my photos from the build progress still there: Putting in the extra time gives a decent result:

the linked photo There is particular detail in the above photo that is misleading. At the front of each gun are the sleeves which are the blast tubes, designed to minimize the amount of muzzle residue coming back into the aircraft when the MG17 are fired. In the image they look staggered but I think the near one is unstrapped and was slid backwards, otherwise they should line up parallel.

review on Armorama also has a screen shot of the options so here it is at 200 percent https://archive.armorama.com/review/4218/index.htm

super-hobby.com has the instructions and include the last page with profile options https://ca.super-hobby.com/products/Sd.Kfz.7-2-3.7cm-Flak-37-w-Armor-Cab-2-in-1-Smart-Kit.html

@Troy Smith 3 inch stroke looks bang on while 18 inches height is a minimum if no fuselage curve is in that area. The fuzzy edges to the markings makes it easy to lose or gain an inch depending where the edge is determined to be. Outer yellow roundel could be 42 inches so that would give it a 3.5 in thickness.

Went ahead with a test with the Technicolor 3 film emulation. Firstly googled an appropriate meadow landscape for the background and placed the Starmer swatches over top. The skies seem to already have misty look but went ahead with desaturation and added lighting Then the image was altered with the default setting of Technicolor 3, which was set at retro and extra intensity. Crazy how much the colors returned to being vibrant So another round of destatuarion and lighting One final small adjustment to the gamma after comparing COUGAR swatches from the SAR film Results are interesting, no clear winner, it is a draw. Swatch C and D are a near perfect match to olive drab, but SCC2 is not that far from the darker brown samples either. So another quick study but only posted the final result. This time did not use the extra intensity setting on film emulation, only applied the desaturation/lighing effects once, but had to use triple the gamma to approach the COUGAR swatches. Maybe this one is more accurate as the SCC1A very closely resembles the dark camou patch. Oddly the SCC2 looks to have a bit more yellow, but the olive drab has a decrease in yellow.

The Ausf L had the rear smoke rack mounted internally underneath the rear armour. The switch to turret mounted style became available October 1942 but already in April the former type was discontinued. Unclear to me if the turret system was available as a field modification as it would require drilling a small hole through the turret armour to accommodate the wiring. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/panzer-iii-ausf-n-in-n-africa-t335990-s20.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebelwurfgerät

Well yes at 1:1 scale a hand painted stripe well look less perfect at arms length than from a greater distance like it were at 1:72 scale. Just like a one inch over spray for a camouflaged aircraft will only be about 0.35mm on a 1:72 model.

With the variety witnessed in photos it does require some extra research for the specific Kittyhawk being modeled. In general red centers were eliminated entirely to avoid confusion with the Japanese Hinomaru aircraft markings. Curious why the RCAF still sported a smaller red dot. Concerning the yellow ring I have only found from RAAF source that the yellow was dropped August 31 1942 but no reason provided. On those aircraft already operational the yellow was to be over painted with camouflage. See page 41 in the link below https://issuu.com/adfserials/docs/adf_telegraph_vol_10_issue_1_autumn_2020

According to Sovereign paints, ANA606 was introduced mid 1943, while the photo with the sheen on the outer roundel is considered to be before October 18, 1942 https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/products/acus07-ww2-usn-semi-gloss-sea-blue-ana606?_pos=1&_sid=84c60be0e&_ss=r Also not sure if any naval paints would qualify since Elmendorf was an Army Air Base.

Difficult to say without some doubt if SAR was doing entire repaints. If they did, they did not bother mentioning it in their diaries until May 9th 1944. By that time a month had already past since it was declared Olive Drab and SCC15 were to be the basic colour.

I've still an iron or two in the fire concerning colour quality of the film, so if Mike or anyone has some insight on the film type/brand name please post. Been looking at Technicolor 3 strip film as it does have that old look to it. Even found a script designed that emulates it for GIMP software but the results give a huge shift to colour density. It requires additional post de-saturating and turning up lighting, probably to mimic a misty morning setting. Have read mist in the air can have a cool colour shift to objects within it and even more so those in the distance. Yellow can also be affected in that it would be decreased somewhat. The exhaust fumes were already mentioned, and I sense a more violet looking haze.

https://coastalkits.co.uk/cubecart/airfields/1/72-scale