This brings to mind the column written by Ian Huntley in Scale Aircraft Modelling around 30 years ago. I remember an article discussing this very thing, in which the long-standing confusion over Sky, Duck-Egg Blue and Duck-Egg Green was explored. His research was always impecable and he told a tale of bureaucratic madness about repaint after repaint (presumably before the crisis of the battle itself) as orders came down the chain specifying what colour to use, and the consternation at unit level when the shade that came out of the spraygun was precisely the same as what was being painted over... His conclusion was that all three names applied to exactly the same hue mixing formula -- in other words, it's all Sky. Of course, that's both 30-year old research, and reasearch by the same token that's 30 years closer to the historic reality...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Bigtime. Plus you have the "A" and "B" patterns for topside camo. Dependant upon the last digit of serial number. Another bit of trivia dug up for this GB. (they really need a 'stirring the pot' emoticon here)

Which is all kind of cool because there could have been many variations out there. It give you a bit of artistic license with colors and finishes.

Soulcrusher

One reference in my library (Fly Past Battle of Britain Special) lists Eau de Nil as No.16, and Sky Blue as No.1. This is per 1990s research by Paul Lucas. The profiles with the color show Eau-de-Nil as a more vivid brighter green shade than Sky and Sky Blue looks near Duck Egg Blue in paint colors. I like the variation too. It also lists another color, "Sky Grey".  In the profiles this looks similar to the modern RAF Light Aircraft Grey. Apparently the variations were more common in the early phase of the battle after the changeover from Black and White in June thru August.

This is all very interesting, Soulcrusher and stikpusher.  I was aware of the black/white scheme, and have run across references to Eau-de-Nil (does this mean "water of the Nile, in French?).  Are there comparable models paints for Sky Blue and E-d-N?  I always like variation in paint schemes, to break up the uniformity, and these might be useful.

I bet you could probably find examples of all colors. I can imagine in a hurried conditions at the height of the battle that rushed jobs with minimal masking would be the norm. I have found lots of fun little trivia whie researching for this build.

Very true stikpusher. I kind of gave him the short and simple answer due to the fact that by the Battle of Britian almost all of the Spitfires would have been repainted Sky. I would guess they just painted everything includind the wells and gear door just to speed things up and save masking. I have an old video mad by the RAF to instruct on how to service the Spitfire. Lots of close up shot. I'm going to watch it agian to see if I can see what color the wells are in the plane in the video.

Soulcrusher

soulcrusher

I am pretty sure on the early Spitfires the wheel wells and inside of the gear doors would have been painted the same as the overall underside color which was usually Sky on the Spitfires. Hurricane wheel wells were left unpainted for some reason.

Soulcrusher

Prior to April 1939, RAF fighters had their lower surface painted Aluminium. This would have included early Spitfires and Hurricanes. Between April 1939 and June 1940 the undersurfaces were black and white for recognition purposes. Then in June 1940 the new color "Sky" was directed to be applied to the under surface. Research has shown that in addition to the "official" Sky shade, at least two other shades were used: Sky Blue and Eau-de-Nil. These were often applied at unit level when the use of Black and White was ordered to be discontinued. Now seeing how Aluminium was the original underside color and the wheel well components were painted in the factory before final assembly and painting, it would not be too far a stretch to have them in that shade. At least until the directives changed.  Or whatever of the bottom camo color was used at the time of production or repaint.

Ah!  That means I have painted mine incorrectly all these years !  Including the ones for this group build .  Well, live and learn--I'll learn to live with it, and change things the next time around.  Thanks for the answer, Soulcrusher.

I am pretty sure on the early Spitfires the wheel wells and inside of the gear doors would have been painted the same as the overall underside color which was usally Sky on the Spitfires. Hurricane wheel wells were left unpainted for some reason.

Soulcrusher

Dermot, those are impressive looking Airfix planes.  Since I too am working on a 1/72 Spitfire from Airfix, I was wondering what you did to detail the cockpit?  Is it an aftermarket item or scratchbuilt?  Also, what colour did you use in the landing gear bays?  I painted mine in RAF interior green since I couldn't find any references on the internet about what was used there.

I am always impressed by the tiny detail work in 1/72! Very nice!

Here are a couple shots of the progress I made in adding detail to the wheel wells. All I need to do now is create the dividing bulkhead between the wheel and strut portions of the gear wells, then I can get it all glued together.

Nice work everyone and sorry for not posting in so long..Here are some WIP pics of the Spitfire and 109 (both 1/72 "older" molds from Airfix). First the Spitfire..

This will be displayed in flight, hence no prop..

And the 109

I'm also working on Airfix's Defiant (well named - it's a shocker of a kit!) and trying to give it a new nose, courtesy of a Hurricane...more on that again.

All the best,

Dermot

Checkmate, good looking set of hurricanes you have there. They are comming along nicely. Decals should be interesting to see.

On the Do-24 front I am progressing into the decal stage of the build. Here are a few pics of the weathering and bashing up I have done. Think I went too hard on the panel shading with the smoke but I hope to blend it with some more weathering. I took a lot of pics to try show the the contrast of the colours and these two were the best I came up with.

I have decaled the wing but had to stop as the glosscoat wasent fully cured and hope to get onto the fuselage this weekend. Hope you guys can see the effect I am going for, a well used and worn seaplane

Steve

Here are my two (1/72 Airfix) Hurricanes demasked.  The green still looks to me to have a bluish tint in the photos, but this does not come through in "life"--the RAF Dark Green looks fine.  Now there is some touch up from airbrush overspray, and other fine points.

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I'm not planning on adding an extra stuff, except the decals and perhaps the wheels.  The kit wheels are pretty weak, and I will either have to buy commercially produced wheel masks or replace the wheels with aftermarket, just to simplify painting them.

Yup Steve I gave it a real dirtty look and it got so scared the wing joint lined itself up all on its own!

Soulcrusher

Ouch, SC. I feel your pain on that wing root problem but it sounds like you have the fix in hand. Looking forward to seeing it with some paint on it.

Jeremy, I am using MM enamels and have always loved them for their accuracy. The thing I liked about this scheme is that its uppers are RLM 72 and 73. I knew the colours were going to be close to each other but I wanted to see a bit of contrast. Your right about the pics of these birds in action and all the colours do start to blend into each other even the 70 and 71. I have now lightened the 72 with some white and put it on hap hazardly to show some wear and then post shaded the panels with Tamiya smoke. There will be a lot more weathering done on it as I have decided to give it a very worn look. I just gloss coated with testors and its taking its time in drying. hope to have pics soon

Steve

I build three Hurricanes for this GB the last time. One was the 1/48 Airfix Mk I It went together pretty nice and looked good when done even with the raised panel lines. I replaced most of the Airfix small parts with the ones from the Hasgawa kit that had been robbed of some of it's other parts.  It really help bring the looks of the kit a notch.

Soulcrusher

I was able to mask and repaint my two elderly Hurricanes yesterday.  Here's one ready to get the new paint job.  I used masking tape, cut to match a similar commercial offering no longer available.  The color of this photo seems to be a little off, maybe because of the flourescent lightbulbs in the kitchen.  This is painted in the standard RAF Dark Earth from Model Master.

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Airfix must have produced two variations of the Hurricane.  This one has pronounced rivets and was boxed for a Mk I/II.  The other version has raised panel lines and is boxed for a Mk I.  Even the propellor attachments differed.  This one pictured had to have the propeller installed before closing the fuselage; the other doesn't.

I finished painting last night and pulled the masks away.  But since the colors in the photo turned out so unusual, I will try taking them in natural light and posting the results.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy Labor (or should I say "Labour?") Day.

Thanks Jules! It just seems much harder to get my rear into action these days!

Soulcrusher

Crusher, Nice progress so far, looking forward to seeing that one built up, always good to see you in action

Same mold huh?   That answers the question I posted over at Swannys. At least you've got it sorted out. Fit problems or not, you'll make a gem out of her for sure!

Thanks Richie. She does not look like much yet but it will soon if I can get my bum in gear!

Jeremy I have the Hasegawa 1/48 Me 109 E-4/7 in the stash also. I just took a peak in the box and there are the same molds. I really do not like the way the parts break down on this kit. It makes for a flimsy fit in some areas like the lower cowl and wing assemblies. I gave the wings a good squeeze before taping them together and it might have crushed them a bit. After adding filler to alot of seams and letting it dry I went at it with the sanding stick last night. Right of the bat I broke one of the wing cannons off! After a little sanding and shaping all of the seam went away nicely. I really though it was going to be worse. The only area that I spend alot of time on was the lower cowl. I wanted to get the right look to the oil cooler opening and all of the small openings so I thinned them out and drilled out the front of the exhaust sheilds to get the proper look. I am much happier with it now.

Soulcrusher

Steve - The Dornier looks scrumptious!!!   What manufacturer paints did you use? I've used the Pollyscale acrylics before and the 70/71 colors were very close to each other. MM enamels have a much greater contrast between 70 & 71... I like them better. In many old color photos I've seen, it's hard to see the different colors in the splinter camo. The planes usually look all one color until you look closely.

Check out this link if you haven't seen it... very interesting! 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2002/11/stuff_eng_profile_luftwaffe_bomber_camo.htm

SC - Glad to see you got a start! Sorry to hear this kit has troubles. I built the Hasegawa E-4/7 and it went together beautifully.

SC she's looking good mate!!!!

Steve the Do looking good. I can't wait to see it come together.

After a long delay I have finally made a bit of progress on my old Hasegawa E-3. This kit is a real dud. The wing to fuselage fit took a bunch of fiddling to get the upper wing surface flush with the fuselage joint. I had to break the upper wing free from the lower and jam some shims on top of the wheel well roofs to push the upper half of the wing up to meet the fuselage. Now lots of sanding to smooth out all of the seams.

Soulcrusher

Steve, looking good to me It's hard to spot the contrast in the pics but i know what you mean..

Steve:  looks great so far! Afraid it's kinda hard for me to tell how much contrast you're getting from the photos but I think she looks really good.

Gosh, I am so tempted to pull out a BF-109 I picked up a month or so ago and start on it though I'd be doing it on my own since I'd never get it done under the deadline here.

Steve your doing a smashing job, looks very nice so far

Nice progress on the spitfire stikpusher, look forward to more soon.

checkmate, please post more asap.

Damon you did a lovely job on the Fulmar, top marks!!!

Keep up the good work chaps.

Cheers...

Steve she's looking good mate!!!! Know what you mean about the contrast. I have some color chips for 74 and 75 and the same thing. Going to try and seperate them enough to contrast in color, then overall spray to blend.