niallhall Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Hi - new member here and I've searched the site on this subject and pretty much know what the likely answer is going to be - but here goes; I have the Trumper 1:144 kit of the TU-95MS "Bear H" among my stash of (many) unmade models. Frankly I'm put off starting it by the colour scheme - natural metal. Nothing makes my heart sink faster than a NMF - but if I'm right this is the only scheme for this particular variant ? Anyone got any advice - I've heard of the exotic stuff like Alclad and products like that - but was wondering what people might suggest for a modeller of VERY modest abilities. I could also do with any colour references for the cockpit interior as well. Living in the UK I prefer to use Tamiya or even Vallejo acrylics - though I have been toying with White Ensign Models Colourcoat range of enamels. Thanks Niall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I know what you're talking about. Not a big fan of NMF myself either. And unfortunately that's about the only choice you've got, when talking about Tu-95. That's why I might do a Tu-142 one day or then use some good spray paint for the metal finish on the Tu-95. Interior colours (95MS on Airtime Publ. "Tupolev Bombers" book) consist of the good old Soviet jade/turquoise green, a paler shade of green and possibly grey. I'm sure Ken (Flankerman) should have some great interior shots on his site. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Niall, I've done the Trumpeter 1:72 scale Tu-95MS........ As you are in the UK, get yourself down to your local Halfords and pic up a few cans of their acryllic car sprays - that's what I used on my Bear. There are lots of shades of silver - from the very dark 'Nissan Silver' to Volkswagen, Vauxhall etc - they are all different. Halfords also do their own 'Aluminium' The sprays go on beautifully - as long as its not too cold in the garage where I use them. Try them out on some scrap first - to get an idea of how far away to spray......... I think I used about five shades on my Tu-95 - the white undersides on the nacelles and radome were also done using Halfords 'Appliance White'. The white panels on the engine nacelles is white decal film cut to shape. I use Halfords car sprays all the time - Apppliance White and Ford Polar Grey for my An-22/Il-76 etc, Halfords Grey Plastic Primer makes a good darker grey - as used on my Beriev Be-10...... HTH Ken PS - More of my model pics here and here (although some of the links don't work at the moment - I'm working on it!!!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thom Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I'd second Ken's advice, and add that if you head down to B&Q you might be able to find some Plastikote enamel sprays - they do a remarkable shiny silver spray (clicky) if you can find a can. Just be careful laying it down - I'd suggest an enamel undercoat, which Platikote also do (again, assuming you can find a can), and avoid putting it on too thick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niallhall Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 Thanks everyone - especially Ken - wish I could get my models looking that good ! Talk about setting the Bench Mark !! I do use car sprays for priming - especially my 6mm wargaming stuff which is metal. Hadn't thought about using it on plastic before - I'll give it a go. Looks like I can combine a trip to Halfords for bicycle parts with this ! Hadn't given B&Q any thought before either - think I'll check their paints out as suggested - thanks Thom. I have some White Ensign Colourcoats "Cockpit Interior Turquoise" - I'll that a go with the cockpit. Cheers Niall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Also note (and Ken, correct me if I'm wrong), according to my research, and my own personal observations of Bears, they are *not* at all shiny. All Soviet era aircraft in "NMF" actually have a coat of clear varnish applied, which effectively makes most of them look like they're painted silver. You almost never see a Soviet airplane that's really blindingly shiny (think of an F-100 circa 1959). Also, the Bear-H has a lot of painted panels all over the airframe, many in a very light grey. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Also note (and Ken, correct me if I'm wrong), according to my research, and my own personal observations of Bears, they are *not* at all shiny. All Soviet era aircraft in "NMF" actually have a coat of clear varnish applied, which effectively makes most of them look like they're painted silver. You almost never see a Soviet airplane that's really blindingly shiny (think of an F-100 circa 1959). Also, the Bear-H has a lot of painted panels all over the airframe, many in a very light grey.J That's true and so the NMF is a bit misleading term when talking about Soviet birds. Probably many were coated with clear varnish, but at least the Finnish MiG-21F-13s had a silver-coloured paint on them (if I remember correctly). This was mentioned in a Finnish MiG-21 book by test pilot Jyrki Laukkanen. Aren't those panels on the Bear H white? Might be very pale grey as well, but I've always thought they were white. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 That's true and so the NMF is a bit misleading term when talking about Soviet birds. Probably many were coated with clear varnish, but at least the Finnish MiG-21F-13s had a silver-coloured paint on them (if I remember correctly). This was mentioned in a Finnish MiG-21 book by test pilot Jyrki Laukkanen. Aren't those panels on the Bear H white? Might be very pale grey as well, but I've always thought they were white. True, some (especially, it seems, export a/c) were painted silver. The panels on the Bear-H are a very, very light grey, not white. At least on the ones I've seen. White would be too stark. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 The panels on the Bear-H are a very, very light grey, not white. At least on the ones I've seen. White would be too stark.J Good to know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niallhall Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 True, some (especially, it seems, export a/c) were painted silver. The panels on the Bear-H are a very, very light grey, not white. At least on the ones I've seen. White would be too stark.J So - reading into this - best to paint the panels grey first and then mask them before doing the overall natural metal ? Whatever silver / metal finish you choose it is usually terrible if not impossible to paint over in my experience. Niall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Also note (and Ken, correct me if I'm wrong), according to my research, and my own personal observations of Bears, they are *not* at all shiny. All Soviet era aircraft in "NMF" actually have a coat of clear varnish applied, which effectively makes most of them look like they're painted silver. You almost never see a Soviet airplane that's really blindingly shiny (think of an F-100 circa 1959). Also, the Bear-H has a lot of painted panels all over the airframe, many in a very light grey.J I agrree, Jennings, they are not shiny - they are clean (being fairly recent builds) and dull aluminium - but in different shades..... I took these at Engels in 2005.... I would dispute the grey panels though - looks fairly white to me...... If you don't want to do silver, Niall, how about all-over light grey??? I photographed this Tu-95MS at MAKS 07..... It is named 'Great Novgorod' - I don't know if this is a new standard colour scheme after overhaul - but it certainly looks neat. On this scheme, the 'white' panels certainly look off-white - maybe pale cream/cement colour ??? Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 ^ Yes, there we have it! I was so certain I had seen a grey Tu-95MS somewhere and hence my wording: "about the only choice you've got". Should've guessed it was in some photos by Ken! :) Many thanks for posting them once again. Now if those markings just were available somewhere... And we had a bigger flat... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 (edited) ^ Yes, there we have it! I was so certain I had seen a grey Tu-95MS somewhere and hence my wording: "about the only choice you've got".Should've guessed it was in some photos by Ken! Many thanks for posting them once again. Now if those markings just were available somewhere... And we had a bigger flat... When I did my Trumpeter Tu-95MS, there were no alternate decals available. I found some 'Gothic/Cyrillic' type font (I forget its name just now) - and used it to make my own decals for 'Saratov'. I did the same with my Master Club resin Tu-160 - made long before the excellent Begemot decals were around. The city badge was found on the net as well - I just found Veliky Novgorod here. Go for it, janman....... Ken PS - You can probably find the individual letters for 'Veliky Novgorod' on Begemot's Tu-160 sheet - bit of a pain adding them one-at-a-time, but do-able. Edited August 15, 2008 by Flankerman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mbittner Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Now if only someone like Begemot would scale down their sheets to 1/144th. The Tu-160 and B-2 come to mind... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niallhall Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 If you don't want to do silver, Niall, how about all-over light grey??? Ah - now that's more like it ! Grey I can handle - the NMF is a nightmare ! Many thanks for the pics - they look great ! Niall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Backfire Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Now if only someone like Begemot would scale down their sheets to 1/144th. The Tu-160 and B-2 come to mind... Authentic Decals has released Tu-160 and Il-76 decals in 1/144th scale, with hopefully a Tu-95 sheet to come... Hopefully Linden Hill will have these in stock soon. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I agrree, Jennings, they are not shiny - they are clean (being fairly recent builds) and dull aluminium - but in different shades..... "Fairly recent builds"??? My, how time flies! Some of those birdies were active in 1983 Ken :) J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 "Fairly recent builds"??? My, how time flies! Some of those birdies were active in 1983 Ken :)J When you get to my age - 25 years is 'fairly recent'.......... :) It's all relative - the airframes are certainly younger than the B-52H's still in service.... ....and they are kept in pristine condition - as witness the grey one at MAKS 07 - it looked as though it just came out of the paint shop. Cheers Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tory Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Since I am not familiar with what is available in the UK, this might not be useful to you but I would highly recommend Tamiya spray paint, specifically their Bare Metal and Silver Leaf colors. I used these recently on my 1/72 Tu-95MS and was quite pleased with the result. They go on super smooth straight from the spray can and dry very quickly. The key with NMF is always to have the model as smooth as possible prior to painting the silver top coat as silver will accentuate any and all imperfections. The best of luck on your Bear! Tory Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niallhall Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Tory - thanks for the advice and input. Anyone any idea of the correct colour for the undercarriage wells ? Thanks Niall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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