RAF Aluminium - good model paint match

[GrahamB]

Hello cooped-up modelers.

 

I don't know if this has been dealt with here before - probably, though. Has anyone a good recommendation for a model paint to convincingly replicate the  Aluminium as used by RAF pre and early WW2 as an overall or under-surface paint? Don't mind  acrylic, laquer or enamel.

Best wishes from NZ and please take care, especially back in Blighty with the appalling Covid-19 there. Not so bad here, so far.

 

GrahamB

 

 

 

[Seawinder]

Alclad has RAF High Speed Silver (ALC 126), if that's what you're after. It's rather shiny.

[Scott Hemsley]

I've always found Humbrol #11 (?) Silver to be a good candidate.

 

Scott

[Work In Progress]

Pre-war / early WW2,  it is literally just clear cellulose dope with finely ground aluminium powder stirred into it. As with any cellulose finish that was not highly polished and waxed it was not the shiniest thing in the world.  Every paint range has a basic silver paint, and on its own I find those to be a little bright for aluminium dope, and generally cut whatever is to hand with about 30% of some compatible white. That ensures it doesn't look too metallic and sparkly, as it is never sparkly in the way that a car metallic paint usually is these days. In dull lights, especially when a year or two old, it can look quite like a grey. Gloss before decals of course but then satin top varnish, never gloss.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Work In Progress

[dogsbody]

This is a great topic. Thanks for starting this, Graham.

I was wondering what might be a good paint for the underside of my Airfix fabric-winged Hurricane. I have a few options.

 

 

 

Chris

[GrahamB]

Thanks for the replies. I could experiment with a few silvers/aluminiums I've got here. Vallejo has a dull aluminium that might work. The key is, as WIP says, to attain dull finish. My objective is to paint the Valom D.H.91 Albatros with Aluminium undersides (see a previous post about this topic). The various photos of AX904/G-AEVW/BJ-W show this with a dull colour that is almost certainly not Yellow or Sky but might be Aluminium or a Sky substitute (Eau de Nil?). Playing safe, I'm going with Aluminium. I might post up some in-progress photos of the conversion. I was dreading doing the rear wing fillet back to the prototype( E.3 and G-AEVV) form (straight dorsal margin) but this appears to have been modified by the time period in question, after its crash/broken back episode (also for the other mailplane G-AEVV).

 

Cheers,

GrahamB

Edited April 13, 2020 by GrahamB

[Julien]

moved to the correct section

[malpaso]

I used a mix of Tamiya Flat Aluminium and Royal Light Grey for a weathered aluminium dope/paint finish on a Sunderland.  Just a small amount of grey seems to disguise the metal flakes in the aluminium whilst remaining metallic.  More grey just makes it look more weathered.  I would think that unless pampered or frequently reapplied, the aluminium paint on wartime aircraft would have dulled down fairly quickly, or even deliberately allowed to do so, as no one would have wanted to fly a big sparkly look at me target, at least in the early days of the war.  

[Chris Bryant]

I used hataka blue line silver for my meteor, came out beautifully! They sell it as a match for High Speed Silver

[Scott Hemsley]

_{GrahamB and Chris …}

_{You were wondering what 'flatted' Humbrol #11 looks like?  Since Chris specifically mentioned that he was looking for a silver for the underside of an Airfix (rag-wing) Hurricane, I thought I'd post a shot of the one I finished a while back.   This is Humbrol #11 Silver after a final coat of MM acrylic, Clear Flat.}

 

_Scott

 

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Scott Hemsley

[dogsbody]

56 minutes ago, Scott Hemsley said:

_{GrahamB and Chris …}

_{You were wondering what 'flatted' Humbrol #11 looks like?  Since Chris specifically mentioned that he was looking for a silver for the underside of an Airfix (rag-wing) Hurricane, I thought I'd post a shot of the one I finished a while back.   This is Humbrol #11 Silver after a final coat of MM acrylic, Clear Flat.}

 

_Scott

 

Nice! And an RCAF Hurc, too. I'm going to do 313.

 

 

 

Chris

[Duncan B]

I used Vallejo Metal Color White Aluminium on my Hawker Fury I. I was going for a clean look though so maybe the Matte Aluminium would be better for a more used look?

 

 

Duncan B

[ckw]

59 minutes ago, Duncan B said:

Matte Aluminium would be better for a more used look?

I'm using AK extreme metal and was unsure whether their white or flat aluminium would work best. In my case I had fabric control surfaces on a metal airframe, and wanted the fabric to look different. In the end I decided to mix the white and matt 50/50 and I think that did the job pretty well.

 

Cheers,

Colin

[Duncan B]

4 hours ago, ckw said:

I'm using AK extreme metal and was unsure whether their white or flat aluminium would work best. In my case I had fabric control surfaces on a metal airframe, and wanted the fabric to look different. In the end I decided to mix the white and matt 50/50 and I think that did the job pretty well.

 

Cheers,

Colin

AK Xtreme Metal are nice too, I use them a lot.

 

Duncan B