David Rapasi

Air Corps Bulletin #41, 16 September 1940 listed eight colors (Dark Olive Drab #41, through Identification Yellow #48) for use in all factory applied camouflage. COLOR CARD Quote from Air Force Colors Vol.2 By Dana Bell “In May of 1942 the Joint Aircraft Committee’s Subcommittee on Standardization agreed to eliminate redundant paints needed for camouflaging AAF, US Navy, and British aircraft produced in the US. Under this plan, AAF Neutral Gray (QMS #43), and Navy Blue Gray (QMS #12 & M-485) were superseded by RAF Extra Dark Sea Gray , which became known simply as Sea Gray. Ho

On January 5, 1943 the Navy issued a Specification SR-2c, for the application of the Tri-Color paint scheme. On January 30, 1943 the Navy issued a directive giving instructions on how to make the new colors that are directed in SR-2c from paint in stock. This directive was issued to help speed up this changeover by using available paint to obtain the new colors and reduce waste by utilizing existing stock on hand. (Aer-E-2574-MVS.F39-1,14708) These are the specs by volume; N.S. Sea Blue 6 parts Blue Gray #12 or M-485? 4 parts Insignia Blue #47 2 parts Black #44 or 4 parts Dark B

Intermediate Blue color comparison Air Force Colors Vol. 2 by Dana Bell has a color cross reference on page 92. He lists FS 35164 as the equivalent to ANA 608 Intermediate Blue. These are the color chips from Dons Color that are compared using Adobe Photo shop to get the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. Dave

To get the lighter shade of primer in the photos I mix the following Model Master Paints. 33% MM 1705 Insignia Red 33% MM 1745 Insignia White 33% MM 1785 Rust Dave

F4U-1 CORSAIR PRIMER AND INTERIOR COLORS For those who don’t look at the main page I am posting this article here also. The three Corsair photos were scanned using Adobe PhotoShop 5.5 to get the hue, saturation and brightness of the colors. Measurements were taken at the darkest areas and the lightest areas. Arrows from the color chips point to the areas measured. The Federal Standard chips,30108, and 30109 are the closest match to these colors I could find. The right side of the FS chips are made 20% lighter to give an idea of how these colors might fade. The color hue degree

Mario I used Adobe PhotoShop 5.5 to create the HSB paint chips. I am not trying to color match from color photos. I am just trying to point out that the aircraft in these photos are a darker color than QMS #12 Blue Gray. I also did this with black and white photos. I keep getting e-mails telling me I am painting my WW ll Navy models the wrong color. They tell me that the models should be painted QMS #12 Blue Gray, not ANA 603 Sea Gray. Dave

Don Color is the source of my QMS #12 blue gray color chip. Under the pre-WW ll paint chips, #12 is listed as a Navy top color for 1941 carrier and land based aircraft, and a 1942 Navy utility aircraft topsides color. http://www.jpsmodell.de/katalog/jpsusww2_e.htm#qms30 Most modelers and manufacturers agree that QMS #12 blue gray is a close match to F.S. 35189, that is why I included it with the #12 chip. F.S. 35237 is also a close match to #12. Then you have these descriptions of Blue Gray. Quote from Air Force Colors Vol.2 By Dana Bell “In May of 1942 the Joint Aircraft Committ

Birdcage Corsair Colors Unraveled? On January 5, 1943 the Navy issued a Specification SR-2c, for the application of the Tri-Color paint scheme. On January 30, 1943 the Navy issued a directive on how to mix the required colors from paint in stock to help speed up this change and reduce the waste of old paint. These are the specs by volume for N.S. Sea Blue; N.S. Sea Blue mix #1 6 parts Blue Gray #12 4 parts Insignia Blue # 47 2 parts Black # 44 Or N.S. Sea Blue mix #2 4 parts Dark Blue # 29 5 parts Insignia Blue # 47 2 parts Black # 44 1 part Insignia White # 46 N.S. Sea

The only point I was trying to make with this article is the aircraft in the color photos and the black and white photos are darker than QMS #12 Blue Gray. ANA 603 and #12 Blue Gray are close in color hue, 603 is almost just a darker shade of #12 Blue Gray. ANA 603 is the only color I could find that is a close match to the color photos. Dave

MARINE FIGHTER PILOT WWII from Victory films, has to be the best video I have seen about World War II in the Pacific. From Avenger to Ventura, the color footage shows exactly how these aircraft appeared, and how the men lived, worked, and fought during WWII. The black and white footage covers the early days in the Solomon Islands. The best $30.00 I ever spent for any reference material. The video is almost 2 hours long, 1 and ½ hours are in color. If you want to see what real WWII aircraft looked like, get this video. Dave

Chuck In May of 1942 the Joint Aircraft Committee's Subcommittee on Standardization replaced QMS #12 Blue Gray, QMS # 43 Neutral Gray, and RAF Extra Dark Sea Gray, with ANA 603 Sea Gray. Studying the videos that I have of the early Birdcage Corsairs used by the Navy and Marines, they were to dark of a color, when new, to be Blue Gray. All the color photos I have of fairly new Birdcage Corsairs match ANA 603 Sea Gray. Comparing the colors in Adobe Photoshop 5.5, QMS #12 and ANA 603 have close to the same color hue, 203° for QMS #12 and 208° for ANA 603. The color saturation is close

CORSAIR SERIAL NUMBERS From all of the information I can find on serial numbers for the Vought F4U Corsair, the change from the F4U-1(Birdcage Canopy) to the F4U-1A (Bubble Canopy) was from 17455 to 17456. What I can’t find. At what serial number did the Vought Factory switch from the Sea Gray/Light Gray paint scheme to the Sea Blue/Intermediate Blue/White Tri-Color paint scheme? Dave

Thanks Phil, I really appreciate your comments. Dave

Thanks Hal. I don’t know what the cooling grills are. Dave

Christian Send me an e-mail and I will send you some color photos from a video taken at the factory during assembly. These may help some. Dave

Thank you. Just send me an e-mail from the F 100 E-mail Contributor link and I will send you the full resolution photos. Dave

Thank you. I built this model about five or six years ago and I am trying to remember how I did the burnt paint on the rear of the fuselage since I am constantly trying new methods of weathering. I believe I painted the rear of the aircraft in silver lacquer first, then a heavy coat of white, and then the camouflage colors. I then moisten a Q-tip with lacquer thinner and gently rubbed off the camouflage colors, through the white to the silver lacquer. In some areas I had to touch up the silver and white, and then sanded the area to blend it all together. To make the colors “fuse†toget

If you have any questions or comments about my F100 D Super Sabre, please make them here, or e-mail me from the forum link. The E-Mail Contributor link goes to my old e-mail address that I can no longer access. Dave

Holmes Thank you. I don’t have plans to build any airliners in the future. Dave

If you have any questions or comments about my AIRLINERS, please make them here, or e-mail me from the forum link. The E-Mail Contributor link goes to my old e-mail address that I can no longer access. Dave

If anyone wants a copy of the article on weathering, please send me an e-mail message from this forum by clicking on my name. Dave

Thank you. I submitted a step by step article with photos that covers the methods used to weather this model earlier today. Dave

If you have any questions or comments about my P 400 Airacobra, please make them here, or e-mail me from the forum link. The E-Mail Contributor link goes to my old e-mail address that I can no longer access. Dave

The silver lacquer that I use on natural metal aircraft or as a base for some painted aircraft is custom made. I use Floquil Rail Road Enamel # 110101 Bright Silver for the pigment. To start, the paint should not be shaken or mixed in any manner. I pour as much of the carrier and thinner out of the bottle as possible, leaving the pigment at the bottom. The bottle of silver pigment is filled with lacquer thinner, mixed thoroughly and allowed to set until the pigment is settled at the bottom. I will let this mix set for a few days until the silver pigment has completely settled to the bot

What happened to the new P61 kit that was going to be produced a few years ago? The last I had seen of it was the resin die proofs. Dave