I am currently working on my first Aircraft and it is 1/48 Hurricane Mk1 from Hasegawa. I am wondering what the best colors for painting the green and brown camo on the topare. I normally use Tamiya paints and I can't seem to find colors that match. I would prefer to stay with Acrylic.

Also, When it comes to the painting, how do you guys recommend I do the camo. I have pre-shaded the aircraft and I want this to carry through. Should I paint the whole thing brown and then paint the green on top? This might make the pre-shading disappear. I am worried about trying to do the two colors seperately because I don't want an overlap of the paints to show.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cam

There are mixes for Tamiya paints, I have them at home if you're really desparate for them.

I would recommend either Gunze (my preference) for Dark Earth and Dark Green or Xtracrylix Dark Earth and Dark Green.

As for the camo If you are preshading and then paint the whole thing Brown and then overlay the Green there is a tendancy for the brown to look suitably weathered but the green factory fresh.

If it was me I would do the brown freehand then mask off with either blutac or very thin strips of tamiya tape and do the green, that way the weathering looks more even.

or alternatively don't preshade but post shade with lightened and darkened colours of the base colour.

Cam:

Depending on the color you preshaded with most of the time it can be hard to cover up totally. Black I found is the hardest. If you build the colors up slowly and keep checking your work you should be fine. The best advice I can give is. "If it looks like one more pass will totally cover it up your done". Someone once said that on this board and it has stuck with me for some reason. Sorry can't remember who said it.

As for the Camo pattern traditionally you should go from the lightest color to darkest. Seeing that you are using a brown green scheme I am not sure it would matter. Both cover well.

If I was pinned for an answer I would say go with the brown first. Because if any of the brown bled through the green it could look like a natural fading of the green.

Just my 2 cents here. Hope it helped.

Paul

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the help. I will try to find the gunze paints but I know my LHS doesn't stock them.

What are the Tamyia mixes?

Thanks for the help,
Cam

this is a different combo than Tamiyas instructions that I've got in the Osprey modelling the Spitfire manual but they reckon is more accurate

Dark Earth - XF52:70% + XF62 25% + XF58 5%

Dark Green - XF65 40% + XF62 40% + XF11 20%

Thanks,

I'll try them this week.

Cam

At a model exhibition, several years ago, we got talking to two old (well, older than me, anyway) men, who told us how they painted Hurricanes, by going all over the parts with brown, then laying on the masking mats, and spraying the green. When they had to do the "mirror" scheme, they simply flipped the mats over, and used the other side.
As for pre-shading, in the case of the Hurricane, it'd be largely a waste of time. The entire rear fuselage, fin, rudder, and elevators were covered in fabric, with joins tightly sewn together, with those, and the lines of stitches, where it was sewn to the internal ribs and stringers, covered in doped-on strips of fabric. The whole lot was then given five coats of red dope (the first two half-strength, to soak in,) followed by two of silver, followed by the camouflage. Quite how anything was supposed to come through that lot is beyond me.
Edgar

Hi Edgar, and thanks for sharing.

The masking mat is interesting. I assume your'e standing on a walkway, above the wing, spraying with "the big paint gun". That will lay down quite sharp demarcation lines between the colours.

And for the fabric, that is kind of logical too. Different material - same paint - different finish and wear.

I will consider this when I start looking at my Mosquito. And, sorry for hogging the thread.

Tony

Not quite, concerning your first question. Many aircraft were built, and painted, in their component parts, sometimes not even in the same factory (Supermarine, Southampton had over 50 sites,) so the mats became a vital part of the construction, otherwise the colour scheme wouldn't match during assembly. This, of course, allowed wings, etc., to be stood on their l/e, making spraying easier. Pemitted overspray was 1" (2.5mm) between upper colours, with 2" allowed for the demarcation between upper and lower colours. Divide that by 48, and it isn't much! Repair depots were, at times, a different set-up, since they might not have the requisite mats, so the spraying could be done freehand, but the same 1"/2" parameters were supposed to hold good. However, wartime is somewhat different, so you will find a/c photographs which totally disagree with what I've said. C'est la vie!
The Mosquito was a unique a/c; although entirely solid wood(mostly,) or metal (some,) the wooden areas were entirely covered with Madapolam, a superior quality Egyptian cotton, therefore the same criteria, regarding the doping, applied, so no attempts to show wood grain (or fabric weave) are necessary.
Edgar

Does anyone know of a good colour for a filter to go over a Battle of Britian Hurricane?

I am thinking a light brown.

Cam