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British Caledonian DC-10 wings question?


Julien

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Not sure if this belongs in Modern or classic now :D

 

However have this one to build from the Airfix kit, my question is how were the wings painted/left etc the kit instructions give 2 different types for the kit instructions but im not using the kit decals.

 

Thx

 

Julien

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Hi Julien,

There aren't many images available of the top of BCal DC10 wings but here is a link to one which might help.

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-british-caledonian-mcdonnell-douglas-dc10-30-on-test-light-over-the-81995430.html

Looks to me like natural metal leading and trailing edges with a light to mid grey inspar area possibly Humbrol 127 or 128.

I wouldn't go with what the kit instructions suggest.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Ian

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I agree with Turbofan. I've just finished an Airfix DC10 in Finnair livery and had the same problem with wing finishing. I went for Dark Gull Grey centre section with Light Aircraft Grey in the area near the fuselage. The rest is natural aluminium, which of course varies from shiny and polished when new, to matt metallic grey when well used. I used these two photos as a guide as I couldn't find any pictures of Finnair aircraft where I could see the wing upper surface:

 

mcdonnell-dc10-CONTENT-2019

 

FINAL-DC-10-FLIGHT-BG008-WING-TAKE-OFF-FEB-2014-4

 

Even with the second photo its very difficult to tell what's natural metal and what's painted light grey, but I guess the important thing is to give a bit of variety to overall surface so it looks realistic.

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If I had known this question was going to crop up I would have taken notes when I flew to Hong Kong on G-BEBM 34(!) years ago. 

 

I have started gathering info for a DC-10 model and my thoughts are similar to Ian's - natural metal fore and aft with light-ish grey in between. I have a DC-8 going through the paint shop just now and I have done its wings with AK Interactive Aluminium and Mr Hobby 338. I will almost certainly use the same formula when I get round to the DC-10.

 

This is how the DC-8 wing looks just now before any weathering:

 

49473742073_bc90919c9e_z.jpg

 

The other point to make is that in the absence of clear photographic evidence it will be very difficult for anyone to prove us wrong!

 

Dave G

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1 hour ago, Skodadriver said:

If I had known this question was going to crop up I would have taken notes when I flew to Hong Kong on G-BEBM 34(!) years ago. 

 

I have started gathering info for a DC-10 model and my thoughts are similar to Ian's - natural metal fore and aft with light-ish grey in between. I have a DC-8 going through the paint shop just now and I have done its wings with AK Interactive Aluminium and Mr Hobby 338. I will almost certainly use the same formula when I get round to the DC-10.

 

This is how the DC-8 wing looks just now before any weathering:

 

The other point to make is that in the absence of clear photographic evidence it will be very difficult for anyone to prove us wrong!

 

Dave G

Thx was 1984 when I flew to HK, never took the number down tho. As a spotty youth I did manage to sit in the cockpit taking with the Pilot and Flight Engineer. Was allowed to sit in the Co-pilots seat with it moved right back. 

 

Good days, hence my wanting to build it now,

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Hi Julien.

I agree with the info from both Ian and Dave regarding the inspar colours Photographs are few and far between on the upper wing surfaces and those available vary from pale grey to dark metallic grey.  There is one here which is almost a chocolate brown which illustrates the tonal variations under different lighting conditions and photographic processing techniques. https://www.flickr.com/photos/iberialineasaereas/5811492636/sizes/h/ If it helps, I have some decal inspar panels for the Airfix DC-10 although I think they are a little on the dark side. They do illustrate the peculiar shape to the rear edge of the panel and s shown in the linked picture and could be used as masks when you're ready to paint.

 

Chris.

 

Just found another picture that confirms the info supplied by Dave and Ian.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/corkspotter/45992376871/sizes/k/

 

 

 

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15 hours ago, stringbag said:

Hi Julien.

I agree with the info from both Ian and Dave regarding the inspar colours Photographs are few and far between on the upper wing surfaces and those available vary from pale grey to dark metallic grey.  There is one here which is almost a chocolate brown which illustrates the tonal variations under different lighting conditions and photographic processing techniques. https://www.flickr.com/photos/iberialineasaereas/5811492636/sizes/h/ If it helps, I have some decal inspar panels for the Airfix DC-10 although I think they are a little on the dark side. They do illustrate the peculiar shape to the rear edge of the panel and s shown in the linked picture and could be used as masks when you're ready to paint.

 

Chris.

 

Just found another picture that confirms the info supplied by Dave and Ian.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/corkspotter/45992376871/sizes/k/

 

 

 

Thing is, that's a late aircraft. Earlier ones seem to have more natural metal than grey paint. 

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17 minutes ago, CT Modeller said:

Thing is, that's a late aircraft. Earlier ones seem to have more natural metal than grey paint. 

Interesting also to compare the colours of the wing and tailplane box areas on EC-CBN, the latter appears to agree more with the graveyard image; I wonder if MD changed the materials spec on later jets.

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The center wing section on all DC-10s (as from the factory) was painted with Coroguard anti-corrosion paint.  It looks different under different lighting conditions.  The real thing is a clear carrier to which is added a specified amount of finely ground aluminium powder (pounds per gallon).  It results in a rather dull, very slightly metallic looking finish.  Under bright sunlight it looks different from the way it looks under cloudy conditions, and it looks different when wet vs. when dry.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Julien,

 

I used this photo as a guide to painting my B. Cal DC-10 and went with the same colour for the centre of the wings and the lower fuselage centre section ( it makes masking easier!!).  The photo certainly doesn't suggest that the wing centre is a dark grey but as others have said, if you can't find a definitive picture of the actual airframe then nobody can say you are wrong!

 

Mike

 

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