So I found in the attic a Revell RAF Phantom that I must have bought a few years ago and forgotten about! I just want to check on colours. For the camo would the Tamiya RAF colours 81, 82 and 83 be right? If not can anyone suggest alternatives?

Also looking at the engine exhausts and the rear of the fuselage I was thinking of Alcad stainless steal and dark aluminium?? Alternatives maybe?

Any advice gratefully received!
Chris

Which scheme is it? I don't recognise the Tamiya paint codes you're quoting.

hi - its the green and grey camouflage version (I forget which squadron!) and I think these paints from Tamiya are fairly new.
Tamiya XF81 RAF Dark Green
Tamiya XF82 RAF Ocean Grey
Tamiya XF82 RAF Middle Grey
They look relevant but I wasn't sure if they were right for the 1970's period Phantoms

Those are World War II colours. You'll need to find an equivalent to Dark Sea Grey instead of the Ocean Grey for a '70s RAF Phantom. Another possible problem is the kit. If it's the late '70s issue Revell kit (with the white box), then it's not an RAF Phantom inside. It's possible to do that one as one of the F-4Js that 74 Sqn used in the Falklands, but those were in the Barley Grey scheme, not the NATO disruptive scheme you're describing.

Stick with humbrol. Their paints are matched to british standard colours are easier to get hold of, cheaper, and far better quality in my humble opinion.
You need Humbrol satins 163 Dark Green, 164 Dark Sea Grey for the upper and 166 Light Aircraft Grey for the bottom. They should be available in enamel, acrylic and in spray cans.
Listen to me, I sound like a Humbrol sales rep ha

ok got it! So I haven't used these with an airbrush for a while so whats the ratio paint to thinners??
thanks
Chris

The usual rule of thumb is 50:50. The paint should have the consistency of 2% milk. You'll likely want to practise a bit and adjust the mix to suit your brush.

If you haven't already done so prime it first as well as its a better surface than bare plastic when your airbrushing. Wilko sells a pretty decent primer by Plastikote that comes in big cans and will last forever.
Is it the Revell reboxed Hasegawa FGR2 you working on?

makes sense - thanks Jessie

not sure - bought it a few years ago but looking at the current Hasegawa kit it looks the same!

I've got Tamiya primer and Vallejo primer which I have used in equal measures and like both. I think I may have some of those humbrol enamel colors but I might try their acrylics - are they as good or better/

cheers

Its a very nice kit. I could kick myself for not grabbing a couple of those at the time. Revell were selling them at roughly half the price as the Hasegawa boxing and with better decals. Now they fetch stupid money on evilbay!
I've only ever brush painted the new acrylics to date but a lot of people do airbrush with them. I find them a little thick out the pot and I use de-mineralysed water to thin them a little. On bare plastic I find they tend to pull away from edges and form pools, even if straight out the pot. On primer they brush quite nicely. As Jessie said, experiment before you commit and find out what you prefer and best thinner/paint ratio's.
Here's a 1/72 Voodoo I brush painted with their acrylic in one sitting. Completely smooth and no marks, and I can't brush paint for toffy with enamels! Turned out as good as if I'd airbrushed.



Best of luck and post some pics of the build!

yes hindsight is a wonderful thing! There is one currently for sale on Ebay which I am following to see what it goes for.

Thanks for the photos - looks great and I see what you mean about the smooth brushed finish.

Looking at the front of the canopy it has the same oval type shape as the Phantom - how did you mask it to get such a good result??

Thanks. My masking attempts don't always turn out as well this.
Being a ye olde matchbox kit the canopy frame was quite thick in depth so I was able to stick on a piece of masking tape, smooth it down into the corners with a cocktail stick, and then carefully cut through the tape with a new blade in my knife. Repeat till done.
Unless the frames are quite pronounced its a lot more difficult to do on newer kits with more scale like framing.
For that kit I would look into seeing if Eduard do a pre-cut canopy mask set. Saves a lot of time and well worth tracking down. Hasegawa may even have used the same canopy parts for their entire Phantom range. If that is the case, a set for say the F-4E should also fit. Someone else may be able to confirm that if you post the question in the forums.

Hi Chris,

Jessie and Stephen have you on the right track. Here's a bit of info I found:

Royal Air Force, 1966, Temperate Scheme, Phantom F-4M/FGR.2
BS 381 C : 641 Dark Green
BS 381 C : 638 Dark Sea Grey
Aluminium or BS 381 C : 627 Light Aircraft Grey

1979 Fighter Scheme, Phantom FGR.2
BS 381 C : 637 Medium Sea Grey
Outer wing panels (FGR.2) BS 4800 : 18-B-21 Barley Grey
BS 381 C : 627 Light Aircraft Grey

I don't know what abbreviates like "BS 381 C" means; perhaps British Standard?

Yes, exactly. The equivalent US Standard is the familiar FS 595.

Stephen, that is excellent brush painting!

For my Canberra Pr9 (blog here, I have used the following colors:
Lower hull with 1:5 Vallejo Air (VA) Pale Grey Blue : White
Gray color is VA Medium Sea Grey and Green is VA Dark Green.
All on top of Tamiya Fine surface primer (grey).
Maybe not dead accurate, but for me it works. Masking in my kit was done using Eduard masks, which Stephen already wrote, are easy to work with, especially with difficult canopies.

Why not an all grey Phantom FGR2? Especially when worn down, these look beautiful




Jelger

hi - I love the Canberra and in fact I may have some of those Vallejo colours - will have a look.

I know what you mean about the grey phantom and my plan is to one in that colour in future. When I was a kid in the 1970's I used to see the grey/grey F4's flying over RAE Aberporth so its a bit of a nostalgia trip making this one!

Eduard paint masks - good idea - thanks. I hate the canopy masking process and thought Maskol might be a good alternative but I haven't had much success with that so far!

Jelger, thanks!

Maskols virtually impossible to use if you want straight lines. Its best used as a filler between thinner tape strips. As indeed Eduard recommend you do with their masks.
Best of luck and glad to be of help.

Ok well things are going quite well so far - the model has come together well with only a few minor problems. I have primed and pre -shaded it and then decided to airbrush using Humbrol enamels and I was really nervous about it! I haven't used Humbrol enamels since I was a teenager and had memories and the disasters of those days! Anyway I have just done the undersides and it has come out well - spraying at a constant 15psi. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q662/Skyhunter66/LBD-2_zps9ee3c6fd.jpg
http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q662/Skyhunter66/LBD-3_zpsb1f0353e.jpg
http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q662/Skyhunter66/LBD-4_zps291d5803.jpg