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Thunderbird 2 - which paint?


RobertF

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Hello all,

 

I am planning to build the IMAI /350 Thunderbird 2 but I can't decide on what shade of green to use for the big lady. Trying to avoid the "correct colour" minefield, any suggestions as to the most suitable paint would be most welcome. I try to steer clear of mixing recipes for several reasons.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Robert

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On 29/11/2019 at 23:51, RobertF said:

Hello all,

 

I am planning to build the IMAI /350 Thunderbird 2 but I can't decide on what shade of green to use for the big lady. Trying to avoid the "correct colour" minefield, any suggestions as to the most suitable paint would be most welcome. I try to steer clear of mixing recipes for several reasons.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Robert

 

Join the Gerry Anderson Model Kits and Scratchbuild  Facebook page. There are loads of experts on there and it is a frequently discussed topic.

 

Tommo.

 

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Sounds like a great tip Tommo, will do. Tamiya F5 also seems good Mark, especially for an egg version of TB2 that is still laying around here.

 

BTW I can't help thinking they probably used car paint for the original, seeing that they did so for TB 3 and probably also TB4

 

Robert

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Humbrol 80 is a good match, I've also heard of the Ford Apple Jack colour.  Question is whether this was on the original Thunderbird 2 builds or a later rebuild, have heard that Apple Jack was not used on all the studio models.  Derek Meddings chose all the colours, Thunderbird 2 was originally Blue before he saw the light ;) 

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19 hours ago, mekon said:

Humbrol 80 is a good match, I've also heard of the Ford Apple Jack colour.  Question is whether this was on the original Thunderbird 2 builds or a later rebuild, have heard that Apple Jack was not used on all the studio models.  Derek Meddings chose all the colours, Thunderbird 2 was originally Blue before he saw the light ;) 

Yes .it's also important to assess the effect of the weathering on the base colour as TB2 got knocked around quite a bit and Meddings teams distinctive weathering style darkened the base colour a lot . For example TB 3 although having a base coat of Pueguot Saville orange car spray also has a lot of red panels close to the base shade but distinctly different that give it its very distinctive red/orange shade as the human eye blends both shades together

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  • 5 months later...
On 12/3/2019 at 10:35 AM, stevehnz said:

Try as I did, I could find no reference to that on google t'other night. Any refs for it?

Steve.

According to Derek Meddings the original green used for Thunderbird 2 was a bespoke mix. When it ran out they were in trouble because nobody could remember what the make up of the paint was.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 5 months later...

Bit late but I use Tamiya XF-5 - I think people obsess over the colour of TB2 too much, its GREEN, there were multiple versions used

 

DSC_3399.JPG

 

 

DSC_4719.JPG

 

I made up two further shades of XF-5 for panelling, one slightly darker and one lighter, however what these two photos show is how different the same colour can look under different lighting conditions. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Kallisti
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This is the thing, there is NO exact colour, all the various 'definitive' answers are all approximations and are all sort of right because they'll match various models under various lighting conditions. If your model is green and looks like Thunderbird 2, job done :)

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We didn't have a colour telly prob til the very late 70s /early 80s..

As kids we were aware of the colours of stuff like this from the comics and annuals etc, and the plastic toys of course ! ...it was quite weird later on seeing some programs you were used to in B/W were actually made in colour.

My TB2 was a slightly darker green than many of the illustrations above, it was a dull finish plastic as I recall...my mate had TB3 and remember that as quite a bright red..

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  • 1 month later...
On 29/03/2021 at 12:07, Pig of the Week said:

I had an early Metro in "applejack green" and I'd say that was way to light, limey and leery of a colour to look right for classic Thunderbird 2

I wasn't aware that Ford made a car called a "Metro" in the 1960s. If they had, they could have sued British Laylow Leyland in 1980!

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8 minutes ago, Paws4thot said:

I wasn't aware that Ford made a car called a "Metro" in the 1960s. If they had, they could have sued British Laylow Leyland in 1980!

No of course not !... the Metro was a Leyland creation, and as far as I know "Applejack Green" was a Leyland standard colour of the day... I had the AJ green Metro ( & good little motor it was ) but I also remember the colour used on Range Rovers  ( & no doubt a whole bunch of other BL motors too)

My point being I don't think it's a right colour for TB2... just IMHO    :)

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