ilpwnp Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 (edited) I'm working on a 1/48 DeHavilland DH.4B and I'd like to finish it with pre-war USMC paint/markings. I have a picture of such an aircraft and it appears to be finished in light gray with the upper portion of the fuselage painted olive drab, but I can't see the upper surface of the top wing - should it be painted olive drab as well? I assume that it should be but was wondering if anyone could tell me for sure? Matt Edited July 27, 2006 by ilpwnp Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I'm working on a 1/48 DeHavilland DH.4B and I'd like to finish it with pre-war USMC paint/markings. I have a picture of such an aircraft and it appears to be finished in light gray with the upper portion of the fuselage painted olive drab, but I can't see the upper surface of the top wing - should it be painted olive drab as well? I assume that it should be but was wondering if anyone could tell me for sure? Matt Hi Matt, Is this particular photo of aircraft number A-6371? If so I have the same shot in my copy of The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide. It calls out a fuselage color of Admiral Blue a "blue in the manner of an Admiral's barge" which in this case would be pretty close to True Blue, but a tad darker. An educated guess would be that the top of the wings would be painted Yellow per directive issued on July 12 1921. If it's NOT this particular aircraft, then an OD fuselage (as originally painted by the factory) with aluminum doped wings would be in order, as DH-4's were procured from left over Army Contracts. As time permitted, the aircraft were then overcoated with grey enamel over the OD and Silver. The Navy prefered Enamel finishes over pigmented dope for additional protection from the elements. It wasn't until 1925 that the Navy authorized Vought to use Aluminum dope over enamel on a couple of O2's to test the two finishes. There's a lot of gray area ( no pun intended) during the time prior to 1920 as painting schemes were pretty much left up to the local commands. It wasn't until May 1920 that the Bureau of Construction and Repair attempted to bring some sort of standard to aircraft painting. Hope this helps Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Matt I just found another profile of a DH4 that served with Squadron D of the Northern Bombing Group in France 1918. It's aircraft number A-3290 and it is finished in light gray lower fuselage and under surfaces of the wings and tail, and OD upper surfaces of the wings and tail, and the upper half of the fuselage. Hope this helps Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ilpwnp Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 Hey Mike, MANY thanks for the reply! The picture I have is of A-3290, I guess your info confirms O.D. on the upper wing. Thanks again, Matt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Hey Mike, MANY thanks for the reply! The picture I have is of A-3290, I guess your info confirms O.D. on the upper wing. Thanks again, Matt hi Matt, No problem, glad to help. Who's kit are you using and what scale? I'd like to do the Admiral's bird in 48th. Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ilpwnp Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 Hey Mike, I'm using an old 1/48 AMT kit that I found on eBay. I checked out your N9 and NC4 and they're two of the finest models I've ever seen! I have the plans for the N9 and I'd like to try building one, I love pre war navy planes (hence my screen name ilpwnp) and I wish there were more 1/48 scale kits of these forgotten birds! it's nice chatting with someone that has similar interests, Thanks again for your help! Matt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Hey Mike, I'm using an old 1/48 AMT kit that I found on eBay. I checked out your N9 and NC4 and they're two of the finest models I've ever seen! I have the plans for the N9 and I'd like to try building one, I love pre war navy planes (hence my screen name ilpwnp) and I wish there were more 1/48 scale kits of these forgotten birds! it's nice chatting with someone that has similar interests, Thanks again for your help! Matt hi Matt, Jeez I forgot all about the old AMT kit. I wonder how it compares to the newer BlueMax? It's about 1/10th the cost so it may be another avenue. I'll have to look for one at the next show. Thanks you for the comments re. my NC and N9 Matt. If you are interested in doing the N9, I have the Fine Scale Modeler mag I got the inspiration from. Mr Parks makes mine look like a 5 year old threw it together in comparison, but it was a fun and challenging model to build. I can send you some scans or snail mail you some copies that describe the process if you are interested. Let me know. Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ilpwnp Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 (edited) Hey Mike, I have a copy of the article on the N-9, I just need to get another Jenny kit. Many thanks for your offer to help though! It looks pretty straightforward.... the only thing that makes me hesitant is making the float - that looks difficult! The AMT D.H.4 is pretty neat for an old kit, there's not much cockpit detail but it has complete rigging diagrams and flashed over holes that can be opened for the rigging, the kit even includes alignment fixtures for the wings! I'm quite sure the Blue Max kit is probably better but I'm not a ******** rivet counter and for the price I just could'nt pass it up. It'll be a while before I have it finished, I'm also working on a 1/48 AM F3F-1, a 1/48 Classic Airframes F4B-4, a 1/48 Mongram F-80C that I'm building as a TV-1 and I just finished a tiny 1/144 QF-4B tonight. I found a 1/144 Micro Scale Fancy Phantom sheet and Mike Grant hooked me up with some really nice 1/144 national insignias (thanks again Mike!) I just had to build it! 1/48 is my favorite scale but I like all the other scales too. What are you currently working on? Matt Edited August 2, 2006 by ilpwnp Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) What are you currently working on? The float is really pretty simple Matt. It doesn't have a lot of complex curves to it at all. I think it took me all of 20 minutes to carve and sand one out of basswood. Right now I have a WW1 Albatros D-III in Austrian Sworl fabric covering that is buried someplace in the In Progress section. It may be on page 6 or 7 by now. I haven't had much time to fiddle with it lately. My next US Navy bird is a 1/48th scratchbuilt P2Y Ranger I started about 10 years ago. I want to get it finished up as it's been languishing long enough. I've also have started a Navy Curtiss MF Seagull in 1/16th scale for the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport NY. It's going to be completely from scratch, no commercial parts used at all, which is a first for me. Cheers Mike Edited August 3, 2006 by Skyking Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ilpwnp Posted August 5, 2006 Author Share Posted August 5, 2006 Sounds really neat Mike, you'll have to post some pics of them when they're finished. Where in the world do you find scale plans of these old forgotten birds? Matt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DiaboliCole Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 I wasn't aware there was a DH-4 in 48 on the market yet. I've been waiting for Roden to release theirs so I could also do one in a USMC scheme as well. Can't wait to see how yours turns out! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ilpwnp Posted August 6, 2006 Author Share Posted August 6, 2006 The kit I'm building is an old AMT kit, they can be found on eBay from time to time at a reasonable cost, that's where I got mine. Matt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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