Chaotic Mike Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Quick question... Were there any? Plenty of references to aluminium paint, but I can't find examples of NMF. I'm asking because I have a supply of Vallejo metallics that seem pretty realistic, and am hoping to deploy them on a SH Tempest II. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 No natural metal aircraft, they corrode, Policy was silver painted for corrosion protection. Selwyn 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Well, the official scheme was silver paint, so the likelyhood of finding one operational in natural metal is small. I vaguely remember that in one of the articles by Lucas for Model Aircraft Monthly there was one aircraft that could have been in natural metal, but I can't remember if this was a Mk.II or a different variant, I'll dig the magazine out and have a look. The same applies for all postwar RAF fighters with the exception of the Lightning, 99% of the times it's silver/aluminum paint 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 @Chris Thomas is your man but as the others have said, more likely to be aluminium paint. I did read somewhere that initially this was just sprayed over the existing Ocean Grey/Dark Green/Medium Sea Grey scheme but weathered badly and ended up looking quite tatty. AFAIK, the only NMF Tempests may have been the Mk5 Srs 2 aircraft used by 501 Sqn/FIU for anti-diver ops but I've yet to see a photo to confirm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 24 minutes ago, Wez said: AFAIK, the only NMF Tempests may have been the Mk5 Srs 2 aircraft used by 501 Sqn/FIU for anti-diver ops but I've yet to see a photo to confirm. There is at least one photo, it's in one of @Chris Thomas books, the late 80's Typhoon/Tempest story IIRC, not a full airframe, but shows black codes. HTH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 2 hours ago, Troy Smith said: There is at least one photo, it's in one of @Chris Thomas books, the late 80's Typhoon/Tempest story IIRC, not a full airframe, but shows black codes. HTH I'll take a look, I may have overlooked that, thanks Troy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted July 22, 2022 Author Share Posted July 22, 2022 Thanks everyone. It looks like I will need to find a different subject for NMF... Trumpeters P-38 looks promising! Eventually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Chaotic Mike said: Thanks everyone. It looks like I will need to find a different subject for NMF... Trumpeters P-38 looks promising! Eventually... Really proper natural metal finishes have been used relatively rarely on aircraft and the best known examples are probably the USAAF/USAF aircraft from late WW2 into the early '60s. A P-38 would work pretty well and if you really want a model in RAF markings then you could choose a P-47s or a P-51 (I know, the Mustang wings were painted... but then other parts were painted on other aircraft types). I'm a very happy user of the Vallejo range of metallics, in my case I've found myself drawn more and more often to subjects in natural metal after having discovered these paints. You'll not be disappointed Edited July 22, 2022 by Giorgio N 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Completely agree with a P-47 or a P-51 as a subject for NMF. If I would add one other point it would be to spend time preparing the plastic first before applying any paint. NMF finishes can look wonderful but are also very unkind and will show up any blemishes or scratches on the plastic. Good luck. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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