Is there a decent out of the bottle match for NIVO, preferably in enamel or lacquer?

Thank you.

Karl

"Night Invisible Varnish, Orfordness" In the Windsock Datafile Fabric Special No2 we see, " night camouflage was thrown back at Orfordness to decide which was more effective for night concealment-matt or sheen. The answer was surely a matter of common sense. A dull sheen was more effective for concealment from enemy night fighters , a matt finish was more effective than a sheen for concealment from searchlights". . . with Nivo in large-scale production, economies decreed its adoption as an overall finish for night flying aircraft".

It would seem that this was dead flat colour of dark slate green. The Methuen # given for NIVO is 29F2/F3 and the FS# is 34096.

Not in enamel but if you check this page you'll see NIVO near bottom on the Aeroclub site.

They stock the Misterkit range of Acrylic paints.

I know White Ensign wants to do NIVO in enamel - I could have sworn I saw it listed in the past in fact - but a recent (well, last March) post from John Snyder at WEM indicates there's a bunch of colors that they'd like to put out but are lacking (promised) accurate references to. They're certainly not scared of tackling obscure RAF colors - can't think of anybody else, off-hand, who does Eau De Nil in enamel

The fact that I think they did have the color listed at one point, but their site no longer lists it, may mean that they had it planned or stocked at one point but pulled it for some reason (said non-arrival of references, perhaps?)

A shame - I've found their Colourcoats range to be exceptional, and I've also found that they thin very nicely with Mr Hobby Leveling Thinner lacquer thinner, as long as you're willing to spray lots of very thin coats.

You might try asking WEM if they've got any plans to release it, to at least get an idea if it might be forthcoming in future. From my own experiences with Misterkit acrylics, I'd personally wait for a promised WEM NIVO than use an existing Misterkit one, but that's just me.

Al

Thanks everyone, for your replies. I greatly appreciate the help.

The NIVO is to go along the spine of a Lindbergh (ex Inpact) Bristol Bulldog. I'm about to start slinging paint at it, so I will go with the Dark Slate Green/FS34096 suggestion this time.

Al, thanks for the possible lead to a WEM NIVO in the future. I've never used any WEM paints, but I hear they are good. I am a little curious about your comment regarding Mr. Color Leveling Thinner and applying very many very thin coats--is that because WEM paints don't cover well, or is it so the lacquer based thinner doesn't craze the plastic?

I dropped John Snyder at WEM a message about the NIVO. To quote:

"We have a bang-on match to the NIVO sample held at the US National Archives: use ACJ 01. I haven't listed it as such on the website--been waiting for more WW1 aircraft matches"

ACJ 01 is actually part of WEM's WWII Japanese range - it's called IJNAF Black-Green.

WEM Colourcoats are excellent enamels, whether brushed or airbrushed, I've found. The thing with the Mr Color Leveling Thinner is just a personal preference - I use Alclad grey primer, which goes on like a dream, so I've got no problems with crazing. However, I like the Leveling Thinner because it does exactly what its name suggests - goes on very smoothly and evenly. The use of the lacquer thinner makes the mix a little "hot" though, which results in it needing to be quite heavily thinned so that it doesn't dry before it hits the model. So I end up doing more, thinner coats. I just like that way of painting.

WEM paints have a good rep - if using a more conventional enamel thinner, they won't need to be thinned so much, hence fewer coats.

Just a quirk of mine :-) I only mentioned it because by thinning it with Mr Color Thinner it becomes a pseudo-lacquer, which you'd expressed a preference for.

I'm not sure of direct US sources for WEM. I've bought directly in the past. Others will hopefully point out US sources.

Cheers,

Al

Thanks for all the additional info Al. I'll have to give WEM paints a try--they sound like the kind of paints I would like (I'll go to acrylics when they hold a gun to my head--LOL).