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| about Airfix Zero colours | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 8 2012, 11:14 AM (2,649 Views) | |
| plasticdownunder | May 8 2012, 11:14 AM Post #1 |
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Beast
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To the members here, I have in my stash to build, a great looking Airfix zero , it will be portrayed as per box art, thus in green with lighter underside, the instruction suggest using Hu 75. I brush paint , mostly oil based. Is this good paint to use or is another code or brand more accurate? |
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| Graham Boak | May 8 2012, 12:18 PM Post #2 |
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Hero
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The markings provided are for a training unit, so the undersides should be a yellow/orange colour. if you really want to do it in the light grey, then be aware that there has been a lot of confusions and controversy over this which is only recently settling down. I do not know which is the best paint to recommend in line with the recent research, but suspect the Gunze Mr Color may be best. I suggest you look at some of the threads on Japanese colours, such as http://www.j-aircraft.org/smf/index.php if you have a lot of spare time, or Nick Millman's blog http://www.aviationofjapan.com/ You might also try the pinned discussion on ARC props forum, though it will save you time if you just look at the last page. These discussions are primarily about the grey, not the green. |
| Lancashire, UK | |
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| jbank | May 8 2012, 04:52 PM Post #3 |
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miscreant
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Arawasi had an article on Zero trainer colors a while back. ISTR this particular aircraft, that in the Airfix box, was featured in profile and topview colored drawings supported by photos in the article. Memory tells me this one was orange overall with green topsides added later. The green was rather worn showing the orange underneath. I'm away from home and my copies of Arawasi, so I going on memory. |
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Life is too short for poor kits. | |
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| peebeep | May 9 2012, 10:25 AM Post #4 |
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Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious
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The Airfix decal artist has references to confirm that the aircraft depicted was re-painted for combat use. The undersurfaces were grey, the codes added and the white outline to the hinomarus over-painted. peebeep |
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www.locate-and-cement.com Locate and Cement website RevellAtions Bring me my chariot of fire Paul Brown, Chelmsford, UK
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| Graham Boak | May 9 2012, 11:53 AM Post #5 |
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Hero
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Yet the training numbers were retained on the underside? Not convincing. |
| Lancashire, UK | |
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| peebeep | May 9 2012, 10:28 PM Post #6 |
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Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious
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His source is Japanese. peebeep |
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www.locate-and-cement.com Locate and Cement website RevellAtions Bring me my chariot of fire Paul Brown, Chelmsford, UK
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| renscho | May 10 2012, 12:34 AM Post #7 |
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Administrator
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Airfix gave a bit of a surprise with the Spitfire single wing insignia when everyone else went with matched ones, so there seems to be a liking for the unusual. If Airfix is going to pursue the presentation of unusual marking schemes, which is a positive and definitely adds to the kits, it would be a very good thing for the sources to be at least discussed by someone familiar with them... better yet would be to let us poor accuracy nuts see the evidence, of course. I have seen French Hawk 75s in combat units with remnants of training markings, but certainly this is inconsequential to the Zero. I do not have the Zero kit in question, so I hope I may ask when and where about the kit's scheme. I'm just beginning to get myself into the Japanese WWII area of interest. |
| Robert E. Rensch | |
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| plasticdownunder | May 10 2012, 01:27 AM Post #8 |
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Beast
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hi fellas, good info, although getting off topic somewhat, I guess to be more specific, not having used Hu 75 before, is this a suitable paint code to represent the Japanese green ( not sure if it called jungle green excuse my ignorance on its proper name) , hard to tell from photos of the zeros, as there like most planes there seems variation in hue/ saturation etc. |
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| Graham Boak | May 10 2012, 10:40 AM Post #9 |
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Hero
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Hu75 used to be a lovely dark bronze green, but a decade or so ago they changed the formula and produced a rather murky dark green. I'm far from sure I'd recommend it for anything - although there must be something! For a default check, Stockhom IPMS provides options against the old Thorpe colour set, and recommends Hu149 for Black Green and X353 for the Dark Green. I think you'd be better looking for Japanese paints that reflect the most recent research, or checking against the analysis done on j-aircraft.com. |
| Lancashire, UK | |
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| Graham Boak | May 10 2012, 06:46 PM Post #10 |
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Hero
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The Airfix kit is very nice whatever scheme you choose, though I think the trainer would be a little more distinctive than the standard late war scheme. For this scheme, I'd have preferred the first Kamikaze mission aircraft but each to their own. It might end up as that yet. However, if (like me) you have spare cowlings from Hasegawa's old series of Zeros, I've just done a check and it looks like an easy conversion to a Model 22 which opens another range of options in colour schemes including the lightly-sprayed criss-cross on (IIRC) Zuikaku's landed aircraft in the Solomons. Presumably if you clip the wings yourself you could equally easily do a Model 32. |
| Lancashire, UK | |
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| renscho | May 10 2012, 11:46 PM Post #11 |
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Administrator
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Sorry, we seem to be constantly getting off the point of the thread, which is to ascertain the suitable paint color for the Airfix Zero but... Concerning the kit supplied scheme, I was looking through a Model Art (No 510), and found on pages 200-201 schemes for a couple Type 21's, one of which is from the same unit as the Airfix markings, both of which are repainted in green and gray, and both of which have the fin number repeated on the wing underside. The exact plane is not matched, but it appears there is a good deal of credibility to the Airfix scheme. More apologies... Back to the regularly scheduled program. |
| Robert E. Rensch | |
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| Graham Boak | May 11 2012, 07:55 AM Post #12 |
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Hero
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It's all good stuff. Just profiles or photos? Threads do wander, but as long as it sticks to the Airfix Zero there's a chance an answer to the original question will drop out along the way. This won't happen if the thread is just allowed to drift down the page without being revived. Perhaps the original poster can tell us what (if anything) he found in the references he's been pointed to? |
| Lancashire, UK | |
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| renscho | May 11 2012, 01:11 PM Post #13 |
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Administrator
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Graham... profiles with matching photos. I'm heading off for the weekend, but I can post the pictures when I return if desired. |
| Robert E. Rensch | |
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| Graham Boak | May 11 2012, 02:48 PM Post #14 |
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Hero
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I'm not going to turn down the chance of seeing some interesting photos. I've only previously seen underwing numbers on experimental and training aircraft, so it would be interesting to find out if it saw wider-spread use, not just on this ex-training unit. I feel a question for j-aircraft.com coming on! OK, posted there, and Nick Millman has provided some useful information. Re these photos, are they from the unit Airfix claims (201st Ku) or the unit for which the markings actually belonged (Tsukuba Ku)? For colours, he thinks Hu75 is too grey - I suspect the earlier variant was much greener, having used it for IJN aircraft before now (with the usual qualifications on what was thought best then....). he suggests a mix of 6 parts 195 Satin Dark Green 1-2 parts 3 Gloss Brunswick Green 2 parts 104 Matt Oxford Blue 1-2 parts 85 Satin Black For more details see his blog on http://www.aviationofjapan.com/ and his posting on http://www.j-aircraft.org/smf/index.php?topic=12529.0 |
| Lancashire, UK | |
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| Ajay | May 11 2012, 09:47 PM Post #15 |
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Allan
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I use Tamiya acylics. I like their JAAF and IJN colours. It is however a very personel choice as I like to mix my base colours and weathering. I have to admit I have never painted a 1:72nd WW2 aircraft in these colours but I have quite a few 48th in various schemes and I think they work well. Perhaps this link could help? .http://scalemodeldb.com/paintcharts/tamiya White Ensign models are selling a well reviwed range of IJN colours ,but Im not sure if the later green is included. This is my 48th Zero. Perhaps not appropriate for this forum,it should however show you the green.
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| Bespoke maker of plastic kits to my own low standard that I usually fail to achieve . | |
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