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Unpainted 737 color


Doom3r

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It’s a green tinted clear film that is applied to the bare aluminium to protect it during production and shipment from Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas to Seattle.  Tamiya clear green would be a good starting point, over a base of NMF just like the real thing.  The colour varies a lot, as you can see in photos, depending on which part of the a/c you’re talking about.  Some panels are fibreglass or other materials that don’t get that coating, which gives a varied finish.  I’ve always wanted to do some 737 fuselages in the water as they appeared after the derailment accident a few years ago.

 

I have a friend who works in the Boeing factory in Renton where the assemble 737s.  He said it’s not unusual for them to arrive from Wichita with bullet holes in them.  

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On 2/17/2020 at 1:33 PM, NorthBayKid said:

It’s a green tinted clear film that is applied to the bare aluminium to protect it during production and shipment from Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas to Seattle.  Tamiya clear green would be a good starting point, over a base of NMF just like the real thing.  The colour varies a lot, as you can see in photos, depending on which part of the a/c you’re talking about.  Some panels are fibreglass or other materials that don’t get that coating, which gives a varied finish.  I’ve always wanted to do some 737 fuselages in the water as they appeared after the derailment accident a few years ago.

 

I have a friend who works in the Boeing factory in Renton where the assemble 737s.  He said it’s not unusual for them to arrive from Wichita with bullet holes in them.  

Thanks, I noticed that on the photos of the parked planes it looks like the tail section except rudder is covered by something yellow that looks like the Tamiya masking tape :P Do you know what is this, how thick is this and if the remove it before flight or not (in the case they want to fly unpainted aircraft somewhere) as well as what would be a good color for it?

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Best you can do is look at a photo and look at your paint rack and see what comes close.  If you start looking closely, there are all kinds of colours to be seen on those “green” airplanes.  Modelling that would be a great challenge (one I have considered more than once).  Just recreate what you see..

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Heres a few wrapped up in the green cling film!!!!!!!!!

 

Click on image to enlarge...……..you can see the different tones of film

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=boeing+737+max+railway+siding&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVqvSMv9znAhW7WxUIHa3UDIcQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=1920&bih=967

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On 2/18/2020 at 6:59 PM, NorthBayKid said:

Best you can do is look at a photo and look at your paint rack and see what comes close.  If you start looking closely, there are all kinds of colours to be seen on those “green” airplanes.  Modelling that would be a great challenge (one I have considered more than once).  Just recreate what you see..

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post I am trying to figure out what is that yellow thing on the tail. Is it unpainted area or is it just covered by something? Cannot really see it from the photos.

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The green looks a lot like the clear green testors makes in the spray can. I think you’d have do just one or two coats because it darkens. The pale yellow on the vertical fin I have no idea. The other yellow sure looks like yellow masking tape. I’d like to see better pictures views of the black covers. I saw a picture of an HO version on a railcar.

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On 2/19/2020 at 12:56 AM, Doom3r said:

Thanks, I noticed that on the photos of the parked planes it looks like the tail section except rudder is covered by something yellow that looks like the Tamiya masking tape :P Do you know what is this, how thick is this and if the remove it before flight or not (in the case they want to fly unpainted aircraft somewhere) as well as what would be a good color for it?

The yellow areas will be primer. I haven't worked with the 737 for many years now, but I don't think Boeing has changed the Max's Vertical Stabiliser assembly to a composite construction, so the centre section are metal panels left unpainted in their final colour. This is common practice until the whole airframe receives its final livery at which point the clear green finish will also be removed before painting commences. In the pictures in this link https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1411869 you can see different shades of primer appear on the same panels. The grey areas will be composite panels that are pre-painted in BAC707 grey for standardisation and UV protection before the airline's livery is applied. The rudder is a balanced flight control that has to be pre-painted off the aircraft, it's weight recorded then installed. IIRC you're allowed two repaints then the rudder has to be removed, stripped. then rebalanced before it can be reinstalled. The tip cap will most likely be fibreglass.

 

You could start with a zinc chromate like colour from your paint manufacturer of choice and maybe lighten it until you're happy with the result. Don't worry too much about the exact colour - primers are produced to a specification that prioritises the protectve properties, not an exact shade. The panels will be produced in batches, primered then sent to Renton for installation. They may have more than one supplier who use different paint manufacturers hence the different shades in the above photos. For another example, if you look for pictures of unpainted Airbuses you can easily see where the fuselage sections are joined, just by the shade of the primer!

 

HTH,

Jonathan

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