Jump to content

Recommended Posts

i don't know  if Testors color is good ( but i know Model master elamel BA color is too dark) the real blue angel blue is: Krylon True Blue (at least it match the real BA color...as it's the paint used for touch ups on the real AC)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Some say it depends on the aircraft you're building. The Hellcats, used a blue other than the Gloss Sea Blue of the time. Grumman wanted the aircraft to look different from the standard line birds so they went with the blue used in the national insignia of the time and also went with gold leaf paint for the "U.S. NAVY" and numbers. Now, is that the same blue that we know as Insignia Blue today (FS 15044)? If so, it was not identified as a "Federal Standard" color as that system didn't come along until the mid 50s. It was likely identified as an Army-Navy Aeronautical (ANA) color, ANA 605, but still the same blue that we now know as "Insignia Blue" today as I believe those ANA colors were rolled into the new Federal Standard identification system. I believe the Bearcats, and Panthers were painted the same blue (though the lettering was now yellow paint). Cougars, I'm not sure if they kept the insignia blue or if this is were the blue we see today (or a variation of) started. The early F-11F Tigers were a lighter blue while the later F-11Fs went back to the darker blue. Bottom line is, don't go by photos or you'll end up with as many shades of blue as you do photos. I'd think that since all the aircraft up until the F-4s were Grumman aircraft, that they kept the blue color as close to the original Hellcats as possible but it's tough to tell with black and white photos and even the color photos of the time period.

 

For F-4, A-4s, and F/A-18s, I'd feel pretty confident going with "Blue Angel Blue"...however FS 15052 (if you have an FS color chip/595 available) is a closer match than 15050. I really don't know why Testors went ahead and called that "Blue Angel Blue"...probably matched it off of a restored museum bird under other than natural lighting. The squadron aircraft are painted with a commercial brand paint so they don't have a FS number associated with it. I used to work next door to the Blues while stationed at NAS Pensacola, so my own visits to the hangar/flightline is where I get the FS 15052 from. The squadron (at the time, early 2000s) used cans of Royal Blue for touch up.

 

For enamel based model paints your best color for the F/A-18s is XtraColour X163 "Blue Angels McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Blue 1999", and for the F-4, A-4 (and for me, I'd use it for the F9F Cougars and F-11F Tigers too), they do tins of FS15052, XtraColor X123. These two colors are nearly identical to my eye...the X163 "F/A-18..." is likely just some good marketing to sell more blue paint to Blue Angel fans. Roll Models in the States, Hannants in the U.K. carry Xtra Color paints.

 

For acrylic based model paints, Gunze Aqueous H322 Phthalo Cyanine Blue is a perfect match to FS15052, also available in Gunze's "Mr. Hobby" solvent based acrylic line as C322. This blue is the blue used on the Japanese "Blue Impulse" demo team also.

 

 

 

Edited by 82Whitey51
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...