Mike Starmer

When I worked for Brooklands Aviation at Sywell aerodrome in the 1956-57 period on Valetta and Varsity aircraft. A lot of chaps who had worked there during WW2 on Wellington aircraft whom I asked about some of the damaged machines and how they repaired them. I was told that at times they combined undamaged fronts and rears then fitted repaired flying surfaces for an airworthy machine. The repaired flying surfaces didn't always come from the original airframe. The repainted serial was that of the front section. We had in a crashlanded Valetta with the entire belly destroyed. It was jigged and the entire structure below the main spar replaced.

Yes, I did those mixes after several emails asking if I could recommend Vallejo colour for British vehicles. Since I use brushes those were the choice. BTW NEVER, EVER never cross check colours in sunlight and always on a flat surface. (not spoon backs) A bright cloudy day is best if you cannot use a north light source. This is the advice in the Methuen Handbook of Colour which includes a grey view card and in the preamble text of the F.S.959 swatch book. Unfortunately it is not with the colour fan-deck.

I checked out the Coronado Tans in US auto-company colour lists for the late 1930s. There are at least 6 if not more shades of a 'sand colour' in those charts used by Ford, Chevrolet, Buick at least. Colour of that name existed and one of those may have been chosen for use as an acceptable substitute for Light Stone due to immediate availability. I am not suggesting that it was used on AFVs, but simply the B vehicles built in Canada may be that colour.

The high demarcation line between upper and lower surfaces indicates the pre-war tri-coloured scheme. However there are 4 to 6 possible pattern layouts. The dark area could be the RLM81 brown for pattern B , the reverse of A. To paint the scheme on a model you are going the need the correct diagram of the segments layout as these were quite precise. Google may or likely not help.

Using The RAF Aviation colours book I found H125 as slightly faded Extra Dark Sea Grey and H224 as Dark Slate Grey. This may also mixed with 5 x H102 + 1 x 33 or 5 x H86 + 1 x H92. Either of these will provide a close representation of the colour. Keep in mind that on operation aircraft in the oversea environment that these paints faded and deteriorated

I am not convinced that Coronado Tan is a red herring . Why would it be in formal documents and why would an ordinary gunner remark that their new quads were in Canadian Sand and noticeably different to the usual colour of vehicles?

For SCC.2 on metal and wood Revell aqua is 5 x 86 + 6 x 84. In Vallejo I found 3 x 70873 + 2 x 70871 is nearest. The canvas was either dyed brown supposed to match the paint but never did so something much lighter than the mix. Or natural canvas colour which about 70914,

Thank you for your answer, No definite specified colour then. May it have been decided by the factory building the aircraft, I know that this sort of action did happen.

I have unbuilt kits of La types and not begun since I read that the numerals were factory applied with medium blue outlines and not red as has been believed for many, many years. Are there any aftermarket sheets of the La font with blue outlined numerals in 1/72?

My first impression of the colour on the Pullman was Middle Brunswick Green which is a blue green. Many years ago, I read somewhere that 'Michael' originally had black disruptive patches which resembled the pattern No.9 for a large tank (M3 Lee in this case) in the Corps of Engineers FM5-1 October 1942 and the photograph with the article did show dark patches. It may have been one of Steve Zologa's articles.

UDF Green was the South African basic colour for vehicles. My original swatch is just slightly lighter than FS.34089, There is no BS.381 or RAL swatch even close. It can be closely matched with Humbrol paints mixed 2 parts 226 + 1 part 86. The pattern is Drawing No. ME/D/171A 17/6/41 and specifies Portland Stone No.64, Silver Grey No.28 and Slate No.34. The drawing colour demarcations do not all match in each aspect of the drawing and the model doesn't quite match it either.

Gun ports were usually covered by red adhesive patches peeled from a backing sheet manufactured for the purpose. You will see doped patches in red and Azure Blue too in M.E. The covers for cannon barrel were essentially condoms, again made for the purpose.

A lot of these OXA type vehicles were not painted with colours specified by the War Office. The companies building them used 'camouflage' colours selected from paint ranges produced by companies in hope of obtaining government contracts. I have a picture of these being built at Wolverhampton in what is whole range of shades and pattern styles.

A very interesting video but I had no sound. The model seems to be painted with UDF green, Silver Grey and a pinkish sand shade. The offset pattern is that devised by the South African Service. I have a picture of what might be the the only car painted so since all other photographs show the standard scheme as set out in MTP.20/1941 booklet.

I once worked with a chap in the 1960s who was with 36 squadron on Singapore in 1941 with Wildebeests. He told me that they were all 'silver' until late 1941 then they were painted like the other RAF planes, 'green and brown on top' the underneath was still silver. Due to losses, 36 squadron was combined with another squadron there, until only four planes remained at which time he and others were evacuated to Ceylon. Bearing in mind the time scale of 20 years this was about as good as it got when I was trying to find out about colours.