F-89 photo

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

I stumbled across this photo in my ongoing search for images of the Vermont ANG F-89's and other older birds. Anyone know which book this came from? Aerofax, maybe? Anyone have a better view of it? It's right about the way I'd like to mark mine, I think, but what I've got is so small and poor quality, as you can see, that I can't quite make out enough detail.

Thanks!

[firewill]

It's F-89 Scorpion in detail & scale - D&S Vol. 41.

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Ah...then I'm guessing getting a larger scan would be tough.

I'm also trying to figure out the specifics on markings; I'm guessing the band on the tail is red? And the wing tanks, would that be either yellow or red outer surfaces with black inners?

[madmanrick]

During the time period that the "VT Air Guard" is stenciled on the nose of the a/c, the tip tanks would be day-glo orange outers with the numbers over-laid on a black square, with black anti-glare inners. My references suggest that the tail would have been insignia red, with a cut-out around the tail number, so in this earlier scheme I assume the tail band was also insignia red. The nose radome and anti-glare portion in front of the cockpit would obviously be black. The overall finish of the a/c would most likely be either nmf or possibly silver lacquer, as the overall ADC grey scheme didn't come in use until the mid-60's at the earliest. The first two photos below both come from Detail&Scale, Vol. 41. The last picture is a slightly larger and clearer version of the second photo, this time from Aerfax Datagraph #8.

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Wow, I'd seen those photos but only tiny images of them, so those are a HUGE help!

What's a good match for Day-glo orange? I use MM enamels almost exclusively.

Also, what other colors of red were used when they did the wing panels in red? The kit's no help, only says "Fire red." :lol:

[11bee]

What's a good match for Day-glo orange? I use MM enamels almost exclusively.

DGO is tough because it weathers so severely. I go with a base coat of flat white and then eyeball a mix of red / white / yellow. I dust it on starting with a darker shade and then progressively add more white and yellow (all colors are flat). Sounds involved but it really isn't. Just take your time.

Edited August 27, 2016 by 11bee

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Jeeeez....:lol: That's what I get for not sticking to SEA camo for my USAF subjects....

Definitely appreciate the advice, though.

So that leaves the other question, what other colors were used for the red-orange wing panels?

[madmanrick]

So that leaves the other question, what other colors were used for the red-orange wing panels?

Hard to tell and I don't know of any aftermarket decal profiles of VT ANG Scorpions. The available pics that I can locate (and I have 4 or 5 reference books on the Scorpion) of the a/c in question are posted here. It appears to my eye, and this statement would have to be taken with a grain of salt, that the outer wing panels may also be in DayGlo Orange as well. However, other squadrons that flew the Scorpion had those same wing markings in the same red as the tail of 21838, so there is no way to say with certainty. I have looked high and low and I was unable to find other pics of this exact scheme anywhere on the internet.

To further complicate this, other fighter a/c that were flown by the VT ANG, that featured red tail and wing markings (such as F-86D and F-102A) appear to be insignia red on both surfaces. So take your best guess and go with it. If it were my model, I would paint both the tail and wings in the same red.

Rick

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Well, I can't help but wonder if it's a different red than that (wings and tail); Insignia red seems a much darker red shade than those, at least to my eye. Can't help but wonder if it's something like an international red-orange or something...?