Transall C-160Z camouflage colours

[Truro Model Builder]

Hello one and all

 

With the reissue of Revell's Transall C-160 in 1/72 I am finally procuring an example for myself, with the intention to finish it as a South African Air Force C-160Z. As much as I think the very early white and natural metal finish is very smart indeed I will be going down the drab route and painting it in the camouflage scheme that the fleet wore for most of its service life. I understand that the colours are olive drab and dark green, with the underside of the wing and tailplane being a mirror image of the upper surfaces. The underside of the fuselage is painted in a single shade that I have seen described as dark sea grey.

 

Can anyone out there offer any clarification or detail on this?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Des]

Histoire & Collections Les Materiels De L'Armee De L'Air No.7 has a single colour side view of a camouflaged South African Transall and gives the colours as simply "Sand and Green above, Light Gray below'.     In the artwork the light grey is clearly seen to have been shown under the main wing and tail plane but the lower fuselage has been drawn in shadow which does not really help.

 

However there are a number of images here some of which give the impression of the undersides of the fuselage being a dark grey or have merely been photographed in shadow while others are very clearly light grey although maybe with the camouflage continuing under the main-wheel sponsons  -  http://www.saairforce.co.za/gallery-and-media/28/c-160-transall#viewport  -    There was an main feature article on the SAAF many years ago in an early issue of Scale Aircraft Modelling supported by pages of black and white camouflage drawing with colour details , mine is in one of several dozen sealed boxes in a shed at the bottom of the garden and not readily accesible in this weather but maybe someone will have theirs closer to hand.

[gregair]

Aside from the Silver / White scheme, SAAF C-160's only had one other scheme and that was overall wraparound dark earth/olive drab with the only exception being the fuselage underside which was in either dark sea grey or sometimes reported as PRU blue, I am not sure which is correct but here are two photos for you to decide, you can look at SAAF C-130's from the 1980's as well because they were in the same scheme and that might help you decide which is correct dark sea grey or PRU blue

 

 

[Truro Model Builder]

Many thanks to you both for your replies. It really does look like PRU blue on the underside in that gorgeous photo doesn't it?

 

I did find an RFI topic on the SAAF Forum of a rather nicely made Transall: http://www.saairforce.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3751

 

The modeller used the following:

 

Buff: 60% Pactra IE85 Dark Earth, 40% Tamiya XF60 Dark Yellow

Olive green: Pactra IW52 Green

Blue-grey: 60% Model Master 35164 Intermediate Blue, 40% Tamiya X2 White

 

I am totally unfamiliar with Pactra, though I imagine their dark earth is not dissimilar from anyone else's. I haven't the foggiest about the green quoted, but looking at various photographs the shade on the C-160Z reminds me somewhat of FS34102 medium green. The modeller's choice for the underside would definitely suggest PRU blue.