GW8345 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Ok, Not to start an argument but here's some info I'd like to put out; Something that has been bugging for a few months and that is gray radomes on Sparrows. I've never seen an AIM-7 Sparrow missile radome that was medium to dark gray. Sparrow radomes were ceramic so they would be (depending on time frame and weathering), off white, a very light gray or a very (and I mean very) light tan. I've noticed lately that a lot of modelers are painting Sparrow radomes a medium to dark gray and I don't know where that's coming from. If anyone has a pic of an actual operational Sparrow with a medium/dark gray radome I'd love to see it because I've never seen a Sparrow with one in my 39 years of dealing with Sparrows. AIM-7D, E and early F's were painted gloss white with flat white (when new) radomes, later Sparrows were painted Light Ghost Gray with white (when new) radomes. As stated, the radomes were (slightly porous/ridged) ceramic so it would keep dirt even when cleaned. The vast majority of radomes I saw were a dirty white to a very light gray (the tan one's were the Vietnam era missiles). This also goes for AIM-54's, never saw a gray radome, they were white to dirty white. (And please don't post a pick of the black nose/blue body Sparrows, those were ballast tubes, they were concrete filled Sparrow bodies use for F-14 TARPS birds when weapon rails weren't installed so IMO, they don't count.) Ok, thought I would throw that out there, flame away. Respectfully, GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenshb Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 The Tamiya F-14 kit instructions tell you to paint them Sky Grey - as well as the radomes for the Phoenix missiles. Presumably someone at Tamiya have interpreted the dirt on old and well weathered Sparrow radomes as a medium grey and set the paint code XF-19 when I'd say Deck Tan would be more appropriate for a slightly dirty white finish... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hegedus Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 I followed the kit instructions. That's where it came from on my model, (and I'm not going to rip them off the airplane now to change the color). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 Folks, I'm not trying to single anyone out so please don't take offense if your model has them, was not my intention to single anyone out. I was just noticing a trend lately and was wondering where it was coming from, sounds like it's coming from Tamiya with their new F-4 and F-14 kits. Wanted to throw out there some technical info that some may find useful. /r GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, Joe Hegedus said: I followed the kit instructions. That's where it came from on my model, (and I'm not going to rip them off the airplane now to change the color). Oh common on now, just tell maintenance to have the Ordies down load them and swap them out (also, paint one of them orange and don't tell the Ordies where you want it loaded.) 😄 😄 😄 Edited May 8 by GW8345 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenshb Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 I just looked at pics, not the instructions....😁 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hegedus Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 28 minutes ago, GW8345 said: Oh common on now, just tell maintenance to have the Ordies down load them and swap them out (also, paint one of them orange and don't tell the Ordies where you want it loaded.) 😄 😄 😄 😃 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 I'm guilty of this but this is good information for future builds , thanks for sharing it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 (edited) On 5/8/2023 at 1:43 PM, GW8345 said: Ok, Not to start an argument but here's some info I'd like to put out; Something that has been bugging for a few months and that is gray radomes on Sparrows. I've never seen an AIM-7 Sparrow missile radome that was medium to dark gray. Sparrow radomes were ceramic so they would be (depending on time frame and weathering), off white, a very light gray or a very (and I mean very) light tan. I've noticed lately that a lot of modelers are painting Sparrow radomes a medium to dark gray and I don't know where that's coming from. If anyone has a pic of an actual operational Sparrow with a medium/dark gray radome I'd love to see it because I've never seen a Sparrow with one in my 39 years of dealing with Sparrows. AIM-7D, E and early F's were painted gloss white with flat white (when new) radomes, later Sparrows were painted Light Ghost Gray with white (when new) radomes. As stated, the radomes were (slightly porous/ridged) ceramic so it would keep dirt even when cleaned. The vast majority of radomes I saw were a dirty white to a very light gray (the tan one's were the Vietnam era missiles). This also goes for AIM-54's, never saw a gray radome, they were white to dirty white. (And please don't post a pick of the black nose/blue body Sparrows, those were ballast tubes, they were concrete filled Sparrow bodies use for F-14 TARPS birds when weapon rails weren't installed so IMO, they don't count.) Ok, thought I would throw that out there, flame away. Respectfully, GW Simple answer is that as the radome picked up dirt and darkened, on a Ghost Gray missile the radome still appeared to be a very light gray to off white, but on an AIM-7 with a white body it could appear medium gray, especially as the lighting changed. It's a matter of contrast. Not trying to be a smart a**, but I would refer you to the picture in your own post from 5 years ago: LINK Regards, Murph Edited May 10 by Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 1 hour ago, Murph said: Simple answer is that as the radome picked up dirt and darkened, on a Ghost Gray missile the radome still appeared to be a very light gray to off white, but on an AIM-7 with a white body it could appear medium gray, especially as the lighting changed. It's a matter of contrast. Not trying to be a smart a**, but I would refer you to the picture in your own post from 5 years ago: LINK Regards, Murph Please note that I said the below in that post you dug up (which I forgot that I even posted); "Note the radomes appear to be grey, that is just a photo illusion, in real life they were a very dirty white." Hey, if you want to paint your radomes grey knock yourself out, it's your model. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Buckmeister Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I’ve seen lots of them on models painted “radome tan” as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 A couple of Sparrows here, note the different shades on the bodies as well: http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/76b273606fe9ab6a_large some more AIM-7s here: https://366th-tfw.net/bruce-hill_photos4.htm Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 31 minutes ago, Finn said: A couple of Sparrows here, note the different shades on the bodies as well: http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/76b273606fe9ab6a_large some more AIM-7s here: https://366th-tfw.net/bruce-hill_photos4.htm Jari Looking at those photos, I don’t think painting AIM-7 radomes light gray is wrong. Whether it’s actually unpainted, or “dirty white”, the radome is pretty clearly a distinct color from the white body. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I go for ‘off white’ from MrColor, MRP, or AKRCA (or white gray) Looks about right to me. -Brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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