GrahamB

Hi and the Season's Greetings. Wondering what people think is the best airbrush-able primer paint, particularly for etched-brass and resin? Tamiya's spray-can stuff is excellent but somewhat wasteful when doing small batches of tiny kit parts. Any suggestions gratefully received. Cheers GrahamB

Top class work and you are very productive as well! A nice combination to have.

Hi Tony, I wonder if this last one is really black? Perhaps Dark Mediterranean Blue (as per Ian Huntley articles in the past)? U/C leg is a clue. Cheers GrahamB

WNW Dolphin now out - Christmas Surprise. Not one for me though

I like it! It needs a small DF loop to finish the job though (offset to port behind the antenna) - not the large g3e version.

Hi James, that's the thing - using more contrast in the layered coats and knowing when to stop. Cheers Graham

Nice - but how did the black-basing go for you? I first saw this on the Doogs Models site and tried it on my Spit and have it going on an RS Do17 and Valom Fokker T.V. Somehow difficult to stop oneself applying paint until it there is no effect at all!

Lovely build of an esoteric and important aircraft. Not one that WNW will touch!

Well, that's something you don't see every day. Good choice!

Thanks again. The best representation of the blue is in the middle three photos. In the other photos the blue look too rich and "purple".

Excellent! I've got this kit and thought the surface detail a little heavy but your model looks great.

Excellent job - great paint job and finish.

Thanks chaps. Pretty, ain't she? It should be more worn and scruffy on the DE/DG tpsides but any significant weathering usually turns to custard when I try this. It is wonderful how all these articles are appearing about RAF colours via Paul Lucas and Nick Millman (top man!). Ian Huntley produced similar pieces (e.g., on Deep Sky, PRU blue etc) way back but many have forgotten about them and he didn't often support them with documents. In the Lucas article it is mentioned that another Spit, P7661, was finished in a lighter blue (Dark Ultra Blue, 18% reflectance), with yet another P8021 possibly in PRU Blue (or Cosmic as it was probably called at that time). Cheers GrahamB

Hi All, Remarkably, this is my first Spitfire in about 30 years – the very nice Airfix 1/48 Spitfire 1. The only thing I really didn’t like about it was the undercarriage fittings (legs to base attachment especially). Anyway, this is my take on X4782 that was used for trials at the A&AEE with high-altitude sky blues during 1941 (see Paul Lucas article in SAM May 2017), these ultimately leading to the adoption of Deep Sky. This Spitfire is shown wearing one of the interim, trial colours, Extra Dark Ultra Blue. This was somewhat lighter and brighter than Deep Sky, with a reflectance of 12% - i.e. practically the same as Dark Earth. I concocted this via a long iterative process using Vallejo Azure 902 (not MAP Azure), Dark Blue 930, Ultramarine 893 and even a dash of Schminke ink, Dark Blue. I had a local commercial paint chip (a Resene colour) that was a close match to Deep Sky (thanks Nick!) to work backwards to Azure Blue. Besides a reasonable stab at the correct hue I had to get it to match the Dark Earth in tone/reflectance (took picture of a test piece and then converted to greyscale – haven’t tested to check that it has worked on the model though). Dark Earth and Dark Green were Gunze and Tamiya acrylics respectively. Might do another in the Day Fighter trials schemes next. Cheers GrahamB

Many thanks! I'll certainly check this out and see if any of the ANZAC figures are going to be fit for purpose. Also looking forward to seeing the Copper State Models 1/35 Lanchester Armoured Car, due any time now. Cheers, GrahamB

Thanks Jim, I'll bear this in mind if all else fails. I looked at some Gallipoli figures but they are of Anzacs with slouch hats or caps. British figures generally seem to be not as appealing, desirable or marketable as German or US stuff. Mind you, I'm English and live in NZ and it is impossible to find anything to read other than about ANZACs at Gallipoli - I've yet to find a book in my local, library that actually covers the British-French operations in any detail, apart from the usual slurs about incompetence, cowardice and idiocy . Cheers, GrahamB

Hi, does anyone know of any 1/35 figures of British soldiers of WW1 or post WW1 period, in Middle East uniform with pith (Wolsey) helmets? I'd like to decorate a Roden Rolls-Royce armoured car with one or two (perhaps one standing in turret). Cheers GrahamB

Some of the examples of this oil-paint technique - such as the WNW version above - are very heavy-handed when it comes to the oil-paint application. You need only tiny amounts, well-thinned, to get a proper effect; it is more to get differences in tone and hue than over-scale 'grain' patterns. With this in mind, the brand of paint is not so critical, but buying decent stuff, like Winsor-Newton, is advisable - and will last for ever.

Thanks - very useful.

Thanks. I did read a review (Armarama?) where the mg was considered deficient. I've not seen a kit in the flesh so haven't been able to see how good they are. Cheers GrahamB

Hello, I'm thinking of getting one of Roden's 1/35 British Rolls Royce Armoured Cars (1914 or 1920 Pattern) and wondered if there are upgrade/detail sets that would enhance these kits? Many thanks. GrahamB

Fabulous - kit and finished model. If more 1/48 scale kits like this come along it might even tempt me away from WNW. So good.

Thanks Troy - especially for the Hasegawa hint. I wasn't sure about the Croix de Lorraine kit with its MkI/MkII designation. I see that the Hasegawa 1/48 MkIIb is a future (repeat) release on Hannant's site. I'll take the advice about the camouflage on the photo but it does look odd and the markings blue is not especially diminished as one would expect in orthochrome re the red. Cheers Graham

Very many thanks guys - this forum certainly does the business. The photo is excellent and appears to show a lot of overpainting/repainting on the fuselage (but what colours?). The Paul Lucas-mentioned scheme is the one where Z2346 was given a lightened (10%) Azure Blue under the starboard wing with darkened (10%) Azure Blue under the port wing; these paints were sent to A&AEE on 18th Feb. 1941. Now to track down a MkII 1/48 kit - I think Hasegawa is the only game in town (or perhaps a Revell re-box). Cheers GrahamB P.S. Having looked at this image I reckon the yellow on the fuselage roundel has been roughly overpainted - not an orthochrome effect. The effect overall seems to be of slightly paler patches over a darker background. This could tie in with 1941 upper-surface trials with greys and greens as outlined in Paul Lucas' On Target Special No. 2 Britain Alone (pages 63-65).

Hello, does anyone know what variant the Hurricane MkII Z2346 may have been? I found out that it was one of 50 in the 5th production block by Hawker but not what sub-type (IIA, IIB etc). I'd like to model this airframe as it was used for camouflage trials, seeking a good high-altitude blue (as per a recent article in SAM by Paul Lucas on the development of Deep Sky. It may have gone directly to the trials unit A&AEE in early 1941 (late February?) straight from the production line (first delivery of the batch was 14 Jan 1941). Any pointers gratefully received. Cheers, GrahamB