Gloster Gladiator in Africa (Middle East?) question.

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

Managed to get a Gladiator finally (1/48 Merit Mk.2, I know, boo hiss, cowling is made of suck). So browsing AM decal sets to replace the rather iffy looking kit sheet, ran across this one. 

Can someone tell me more about the 94 Squadron machine, specifically what the bloody hell the Red Sand and Dark Red Sand colours are and what I can use from currently available paint lines? I'm assuming I need to brush up on my British armour in Africa paint guides myself. 

 

[Ed Russell]

There's some reference on this modelling site called "Britmodeller"

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234956194-please-does-anyone-know-about-these-three-esoteric-raf-colours/

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234968097-red-sand-dark-red-sand-dark-sand-referencesmixes/

The Ian Huntley articles seem to be the best reference.

[Graham Boak]

The Sand colours were produced in small quantities and used in trials prewar.  A small number of aircraft of different types were painted in them to test different possible Tropical schemes.  The information was collected by Paul Lucas and published in a number of articles for Scale Aircraft Modelling and Guideline booklets (sorry, I don't have a better reference to hand).  The existence of these schemes can be used to explain a number photos showing odd examples of camouflage seen in East Africa, notably that on a Fairey Gordon (or two).  There are a number of photos of aircraft, including Gladiators, where the colours are difficult to identify using the standard schemes, even allowing or some variation in colours in 1939/40 and considerable fading.  Particularly, those apparently showing three distinct colours on the upper surfaces, and it seems likely that this 94 Sq. example is one of these.    The basic problem is that although we know about the presence of these colours in trials, and suggested patterns, we don't have full reports linking these colours and patterns to specific aircraft.  So we can only make interpretations from b&w photos, with all the known problems of this method with little-known paints.

 

AFAIK there are no producers of model paints representing these colours, no doubt because of the small size of the market.   The best known representation of them is in the Lucas articles.  Clearly samples do exist in the National Archives.