BuNo02100

Wardog, I can only hope that this masterpiece will one day make it into some public venue because I would love to see it in person. While I understand that the photography probably magnifies areas that our eyes would have a hard time picking up, each and every time you post I am blown away by the cleanliness of your work, your attention to detail and can only imagine what this jewel looks like in person when one could take in the entire airframe. This is one of only three threads on the many modeling forums I visit that I am subscribed to and can hardly wait to log on after receiving notification of a new post. Thanks for sharing your work with us, it is truly inspiring. BW

I can only echo what the others have stated Wardog as this WiP inspired and terrified me at the same time. Terrified may not be 100% correct, but it was damn near paralyzing as I was reluctant to work on my A-6A knowing that it would never even come close to what you had accomplished. But anytime I needed a boost, I would click on the bookmark and scroll through a few pages and wonder when the next installment would be posted. BW

I think that the photos of the models that have been posted is a good example of the challenge Blue-Grey is. When trying to account for scale effect, fading, oxidation and the fact that some of the pigments that were called out for in the original mix are no longer produced, it is hard to say just what is "right." Nick Millman, along with Dana Bell have both taken a stab at the issue. Del Palmieri in in 1981 article "USN Camouflage of WW2" has consistently been referenced back to and he stated that the color was based on Iron (Prussian) Blue, Titanium Oxide, Antimony Oxide and Lampblack. He gave a 1929 Munsell value as 5B 4/2 and that FS35189 was a good match. However, he did not provide a source for his pigment data or Munsell Value For those that are interested, here is a sample from the fabric of a USMC SB2U-3 circa late December 1941. The question that one might pose is whether paint that was applied to fabric was the same as what was applied to metal, and did it "look" the same. This blue-grey was applied over the light grey that the aircraft had previously worn. You can see it peeking through in the second pic along with the black side code of the aircraft. I think that we have all come to expect something more along the lines of "baby blue" or so. For an aircraft that has baked out in the harsh South Pacific sun, that may be more appropriate. I have seen another fabric sample that is even darker. The pieces of metal that I have seen are also rather dark, almost hard to see any blue.

Blue grey is harder to get right then most believe. The first batches tended to "chalk up" and fade rather quickly which apparently resulted in a tweak of the formulation. Color experts (Bell and McMillan) do not completely agree on what fresh blue-grey looks like as there are some differences of opinion. The Monogram book by Elliot has some chips in it but they suffer from mis-labeling and also a match from a mid-1943 General Motors FM-1 rather than an earlier Grumman F4F. The WEM, now sovereign, paint for blue gray is to me a tad too green. I have a mix chart for both model master and tamiya that I can dig out. The out of the bottle blue grey from almost all of the companies is too light and blue based upon documents others (bell and McMillan) have reviewed. I have viewed two pieces off of early Grumman built F4Fs and I lean towards either mixing my own and then lightening for scale effect/fading/oxidation or using WEM and doing the same. One thing is for sure, looking at actual relics caused me to reconsider what I had come to believe was blue-grey. BW

Another great pic Manuel, is it from the same photo set and 1978 time period?

Manuel, any info on the time frame of those three pics?

That is one of the pics that caused me to wonder, thanks for posting it. I have a few others from the Eagle Claw era and plan on that time frame.

I believe that the two pics Manuel posted show something I have been trying to reconcile, and that is whether some of the shoulder weapons pylons and possibly AIM-54 fuselage pallets were still in white during the 1980-81 cruise aboard Nimitz. Other photos seem to indicate that they no longer had white painted flying surfaces which is usually the indicator for the overall light grey scheme with no white undersides. BUT, to my eye, several of VF-84s birds on that cruise seem to have white weapons pylons. It could very well be a lighting trick but the AIM-9 carried appears to the the same light color as the shoulder pylon, and this was during the change over in schemes for both aircraft and missles, so anyone with an opinion and photos that cares to weigh in, please do.

My kit just showed up (Sunday delivery?) and it is an absolute masterpiece. I spent the past 30 minutes reviewing the instruction booklet and parts and I am very impressed with the level of detail and approach they took to several construction steps. I really hope it goes together as good as it looks. My only issue is that I may be hard pressed to soldier on with my Hasegawa kit, may have a lot of aftermarket I need to unload in order to purchase another ZM kit. If they do a B/N, my savings account is going to take a big hit......... BW

Dave, will the decals be released under your brand or another? And any chance a trip trey mig killer will be included? BW

Just ran across this build, great job. I sent a pm so as not to hijack your thread. BW

Looking for any pics of A4D-2s (later redesignated A-4B) assigned to H&MS-32 while aboard the Essex in 1963. Have scoured the web without success and was hoping someone here may have one hidden away or tell me if any of the Ginter publications has some. BW

Indian, I am pretty sure I have seen the shield in full color some where, just cant seem to remember where. You may try contacting the National Museum of Naval Aviation or the Navy Historical Center-Aviation Archives Section. Good luck. BW

Indian, the pic is of a VF-6 FB-5 in the late 1927/early 1928 time frame. The shield type insignia, which confuses some people whom mistake it for an early version of the Flying Chiefs insig, was later replaced by Felix in 1928. Is/was (is -31 still around?) allowed to claim lineage to the VF-6 that was disestablished in 45? If so, then you have a pic of the squadron insig prior to the adoption of Felix, although I am not completely clear if that was your question. As you can tell by the lineage you posted, Naval Aviation was in a constant state of flux in the 20s and it seems that hey redesignated the squadrons almost every FY. USMC squadrons are even worse for this time period! BW

Oldman, I ran across another photo of 10-F-2 from the rear quarter which clearly shows the upper wing. There was no chevron and the "U.S. MARINES" legend was NOT present, verifying earlier statements and assumptions. BW