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SBD-Dauntless Camouflage 1942 Midway


dov

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Modelmaster 2055 in enamel, 4847 in acrylic, Polyscale 505088 in acrylic, Mission Models MMP061 acrylic, Vallejo 70-943 acrylic, Gunze 367 acrylic. I would suggest Coluorcoats USN blue grey enamel, as  Jamie seems to be very accurate and consistent with the paints he has released so far. I haven't used any of these myself as of yet, because I have a bottle I hand mixed several years ago using now OOP Floquil paint that matches the color chips in the Monogram books and the OOP Floquil color chip set. You can look at an FS 35189 color chip for a close approximation. I have read some accounts that the MM blue grey is very close, but needs a little neutral grey added, as it was stated as being a little too blue. Best I can do from my references, I'm afraid. (That being said, I do have the Colourcoats blue-grey on order.)

Mike

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6 hours ago, dov said:

Star still with red dot and ruder still red and white.

Ummm..

Battle+Midway.jpg

 

This was shot during the battle itself, so I'd say prime source material :)

 

 

Also, some nice details mentioned here with regards to oft-repeated errors with markings.

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/army_paint.html

 

 

 

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See the link below. The Battle of Midway took place from June 4-7, so supposedly, the red centered national insignia and rudder striping should have been removed, but I'm guessing, as is often the case with a directive and common practice, it took time and there had to have been exceptions. I would say it's always best to follow the @Troy Smith corollary and find photos of the SBD you want to model.

Mike

 

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/aircraft-markings.html

 

http://www.pmcn.de/English/USN Markings II/USN Markings II.htm

 

758eb7b0d12843b83d6a4664a8e9584f.jpg (640×515) (pinimg.com)

said to be a photo taken on the Hornet during the Battle of Midway

 

Beautiful Warbirds (tumblr.com)

Life magazine photos of  Battle of Midway SBD's

 

 

Edited by 72modeler
corrected spelling
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Whatever you choose, be prepared to fade and weather!

 

Some excerpts from Life photos:

 

spacer.png

 

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These are Navy aircraft, probably sometime after Midway, but late 1942 -- not sure exactly what month.   Marines were similar, with white numbers, single machine gun in the back...

 

Ed

 

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You can clearly see where the top coat has been worn down to the zinc chromate primer in these photos! The areas re-painted with fresh blue-grey really stand out against the faded paint. Thanks for posting them, @TheRealMrEd!

Mike

Edited by 72modeler
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Amazing photos, Ed!  I wonder if there are any bonefish down on those flats, and what sort of fly they'd prefer?  😎

 

As far as colours go, I have started with Tamiya's suggested mixes: XF-18 and XF-2 in a 3:1ish ratio for the blue, and XF-19 and XF-2 in a 2:1ish ration for the grey.  Then you can get crazy with pre- and-post-shading, as you desire.

 

Hope that helps, Dov.

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14 hours ago, theplasticsurgeon said:

Humbrol 125,  over 128. 

Fwiw, even though yours looks great with that super paint job Tim, 125 is too grey for the USN blue gray shade, maybe with about 15-20 % of the old Humbrol 157 Azure, the dirty grey blue shade, would blue it up enough. To my eye, 125 is closer to dark gull gray. FS35189 is supposed to be a close match is the FS series.

Syebe.

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43 minutes ago, donaldAnderson said:

Love those LIFE color photos!  I always wondered if plane #5 had damage on starboard horizontal tail or if that is an artifact of the film?

I agree the LIFE photos are excellent. I also wondered about the tailplane and also the front of the cowl looks a bit secondhand as well.

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12 hours ago, TheRealMrEd said:

 

 

 

spacer.png

 

These are Navy aircraft, probably sometime after Midway, but late 1942 -- not sure exactly what month.   Marines were similar, with white numbers, single machine gun in the back...

 

Ed

 

Looking at the state of the cowl ring I'd say it could quite easily be damage.

 

Duncan B

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6 hours ago, Duncan B said:

Looking at the state of the cowl ring I'd say it could quite easily be damage.

Bird strike?  Cowl doesn’t have chipping in the paint so I’d have to assume a soft mass, not a crunch on the flight deck. 
 

Tim

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On 2/2/2021 at 9:37 AM, donaldAnderson said:

I always wondered if plane #5 had damage on starboard horizontal tail or if that is an artifact of the film?

Looks like the remnants of said bird

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  • 1 year later...
57 minutes ago, brinjal said:

Any chance of using tamiya's raf ocean grey or sea grey for a midway dauntless?

I would not. Both these colors are a bit darker and grayer than Non-specular Blue-Gray. Your favorite PRU Blue would be a much closer match. 
 

Mix I have used that looks okay to my eye:

Non-Specular Blue-Grey From Tamiya Kit 61034: F4F Wildcat 

XF-18 MEDIUM BLUE: 3 XF2 - FLAT WHITE: 1 

 

I would lighten it more for a well worn finish like at Midway or Guadalcanal. It faded quickly and unevenly. 
 

Tim

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