Ladia Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Hi guys, I´m starting to build Trumpeter 1/72 J-11B in those awesome PLAAF colours, but the more I´m googling, the more confused I am about what the proper Chinese Flankers colours are. First PLAAF J-11 were painted in light grey schemes (such as original Trumpy´s colouring scheme recommends), but most of later machines seems to be painted in the more aggresive-looking dark grey-bluish livery: ...and I'm planning to finish mine J-11B just like these. But the thing is, that the upper body color is quite tricky, looks VERY different on various pictures, in various light conditions and even on various machines (just like here), and it is quite difficult for me to choose good looking matching colour for the 1/72 scale. OK, there are already some stunning 1/72 J-11B builds in the "darker" colors, such as ICM SU-27 in 60th Anniversary Military Parade Scheme by Yufei Mao J-11B „10320“ by Supertomcat21 Shenyang J-11B by Hatena, quite close in terms of colours are also these diecast Flankers made by Witty Wings and GainCorp, but either the upper fuselage colours are still not "bluish" enough, or used colour codes are not mentioned by the builders, or the colouring is simply not spot on. So since I´m not able to translate the PLAAF colors into FS / Humbrol or Tamiya codes ... ...could you guys please give me some advice about what would be the best matching colours for the dark-grey PLAAF J-11B Flankers? Topsides- Undersides- Nose/fintips- And last but not least: how about coating? Flat or semi-flat? Tamiya, Gunze, or? Thanks for your help! Ladia Edited August 16, 2013 by Ladia Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VF213 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) Topside: Gunze 337(FS35237) Undersides: have no clue Nose: black And,unlike other Flankers have 12 pylons,Chinese J-11 is only has 10 pylons. Edited July 17, 2013 by VF213 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foxmulder_ms Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Do you want to build a J-11B or vanilla J-11? Your pictures are for vanilla J-11 not for J-11B. I am building one right now and at painting stage too :) In my opinion for J-11, Lower fuselage is 36440, flat gull gray, Top fuselage is 36270, neutral gray and Nose is 36118, gunship gray. I like the last photo you sent the most for the reference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ladia Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) FS35237 or 36270 – isn´t it still too light? What about FS 36118 on topside? To foxmulder_ms: I wanna build J-11B. J-11B is more interesting, more controversial, is unauthorised chinese development of Russian SU-27SK which has caused some heavy friction between Moscow and Beijing, is more developed, has more power, is 700 kg lighter, its not just some „sleazy“ "B" generation, it´s "B+" . And for the "steel" chinese colours I have decided because in my opinion this single-colour scheme perfectly points out those absolutely sexy Flanker shapes which camo hides a little. All J-11A / J-11B visible differencies - different HUD, different cockpit with 3 mfds, rear MAWS and WS-10 engines - are already in the Trumpeter kit. The only detail to be added are formation lights (somebody correct me if I´m wrong). Ladia Edited August 16, 2013 by Ladia Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flyboyf18 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 You know if you look at those pics of yours very carefully, especially the last one, you can see different shades of paint!?! Now I don't know if this is due to poor paint quality and extreme fading or if their paint manufacturers don't quality control the final colour??? So IMHO do some test shots of the colours recommended and the ones you like and compare to the pics and pick the one YOU think is best! The only person who could say you are wrong would be from the paint shop where these birds were painted!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foxmulder_ms Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Wingtip pylons are different too. Also, the main colors are the same in my opinion. Only color difference is radome and it is black on J-11B. Also, 36118 (gunship gray) is possibly wrong color from the fact that there are pictures of J-11s next to Turkish F-4s which are painted in gunship gray and J-11s are lighter than F-4s. Of course this is all my opinion/analysis as flyboy said who can tell you are wrong? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Ladia, I used the (Trumpeter recommended) Humbrol Hu-167 on my J-11B build...... I tend to not get too fixated on camo colours - look at all the available photos of the J-11B - as you have found, they are all different, depending on printing, monitor settings etc etc. Trying to get an exact match is almost impossible - and you can only do so much research. Without an actual paint chip from a real J-11B, you can only make your own 'best informed guess' - anything else leads to madness and the Dark Side of the Force. :woot.gif:/> No-one can say for definite that you are wrong. Ken PS - Sorry for not answering your email Ladia, I made the Su-27SK so long ago that I can't remember what colours I used. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarcDuhon Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I absolutely love the looks of those sharp clean chinese PLAAF Jets..... im doing a 32 scale Su-30MK right now.... but Ive always enjoyed doing single color gray aircraft more that multi..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ladia Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) I absolutely love the looks of those sharp clean chinese PLAAF Jets..... Yep, exactly! Thanks for all replies so far. You are right that the final colouring is quite a personal matter in this case, so the question is not "which colour is most accurate" but "which colour could be best looking?" I have still time to choose my colors, anyway here are all „darker“ Chinese J-11´s including color codes I managed to gather so far: (Credits to original builders) Yufei Mao • Nosecone is C305+Black (a little) • Upper fuselage is C306 • Lower fuselage is C311 • Light area and missile launcher of the pylons are C311+C305=7:3 • Metal area is applied with Mr.Color Super Metalic series. • Lighter area is SM04 Super Titanium while darker is SM03 Super Iron And finally after washing, semi-flat coating was applied Colours are all by GSI Mr.Color Hatena link Upperside: Mr.Color 305 (Tamiya X F24, Humbrol USN 1) Underside: mixed Mr. Color 308 + Mr. Color 1 SuperTomcat21 Upperside: ? Underside: ? Drewe Manton Topside: RAF Medium Sea Grey Underside: FS36495 Pale Grey Nosecone and tail tips: mix of Mr Color RLM 66 Schwarzgrau, Flat Black and NATO Brown Trumpeter´s SU-30MKK Painting / Marking Guide: Topside: Humbrol 145, FS 25237 Underside: Humbrol 146, FS 26473 Nose cone, fin tail: Humbrol 125, FS 26118 Wings palette Topside: Humbrol 145, FS 25237 Underside: Humbrol 146, FS 26473 Nose cone, fin tail: Humbrol 125, FS 26118 VF213 Topside: Gunze 337(FS35237) Undersides: Nose: black foxmulder_ms Lower fuselage: 36440, flat gull gray Top fuselage: 36270, neutral gray Nose: 36118, gunship gray ...any other Chinese Flanker/J-11/J-11B builds incl. colourcodes in „darker“ colours?: Post them here, when finished ... Foxmulder_ms? MarcDuhon? Any other? Edited August 16, 2013 by Ladia Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SuperTomcat21 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) Ladia: J-11B „10320 by Supertomcat21 Upperside: ? Underside: ? it is not mine 11B,here is mineMy link and I use Upperside Gunze C-337 Fine tune and Underside C-334 Fine tune Mao yufei`s flanker is J-11A mine is J-11B they are little different in colour,and also the colour are different with differdnt J-11A or B.So do not special care for there colour just do it~ Ran Edited July 21, 2013 by SuperTomcat21 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ladia Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 Just for update and to have all available information on one place - the question about "dark" PLAAF J-11 colouring has now been solved by scale modelling gurus - Hasegawa: Recently they released (rather rare) Limited edition 02090 J-11 "Chinese Air Force" 1/72 scale kit of J-11 S/N 11137 in dark grey scheme: More information (here) or (here) And recommended colours: Top fuselage : FS36270 Lower fuselage: FS36622 Nose / fintips : FS36118 Well, it seems that my colour question is answered.... Ladia Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foxmulder_ms Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 Zombie thread: I never posted my finished model, here it is: lol 🙂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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