Hi Robb,
No payment required until I send the masks

I can do everything, the national insignia, the serial, the "lady be good" script and the "64". I could do with the sizes of the insignia, to save me the time on research. If you drop me an email I will send you an order form, for my "system" and that asks for when you require the masks by. What I do now is ask the customer to let me know when they are approaching the painting stage I then start doing the masks. This way I priorities the masks as required as we all know that 99% of modellers can't forecast accurately when they will get there

The closest font I could find was titled ALS script and I believe it is a standard MS font, and if it isn't, let me know, and I'll send it to you.

The other one was titled: NotnorvalHmk and I have that particular font on my computer.

If you want them, PM me with your email and I'll send them out as soon as possible.

Hi James,
I don't have either of those fonts and although I would normally draw the script from scratch a font that is close can be a bonus.
My emil address is shown earlier in this thread, thanks for the offer

Mal

AeroMaster Paints used to make that "Desert Pink" colour back in the '80's and 90's, but they were forced out of business years ago. Does anyone know of any modern paint manufacturer who does that colour now? If so, I'd like to jump on this bandwagon!

Later

I have not got that far yet, good point. I am starting with this link and going from there.

http://fortcrookipms.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/USAAF%20Painting%20Practices%20During%20WW-II.pdf

FS33448

Cheers

Mal,

I just sent nine fonts to your email... hope they work for you.

I could try and find the correct color RGB code if you need it.

The following FS 595b color codes are the closest for this time period.

FS 31575, 31643, 33613 (closest), 33695 -- all are variations on a pinkish-tan color.

RGB codes are (in order as above): 231/190/167, 237/211/186,
239/208/168, and 253/185/146

Hope this helps...

What is your take on the underside color? My reading(s) say it was Azure or Sky not Neutral Gray.

The RGB code for the paint would be 168/192/202, so it is definetely a bluish-gray color, at least on the "Lady be good" illustration.

As for the exact color name, it is probably close to FS 35488, which unfortunately doesn't have a name. 35488 RGB code is 161/187/209

The Blue part of the RGB code is higher than the rest of the colors, thus indicating that blue is the predominant color. The best way to make this look "dirty" is to add some gray to the Light Sky Blue, or use eyebrow pencils to "streak dirty oily sections. Yes, eyebrow pencils are a cheap form of weathering, and you can get them at your local dollar store in the nakeup aisle.

Get grays, browns, blacks, silvers, and even a few reddish colors. Wear a rubber glove and streak the color onto the finger of the glove and then apply it sparingly, like dry-brushing, to the model. Use an artist's stump to blend the colors in (feathering).

I built a Chieftain MBT in 1/35 scale and used this very process, and made it look like it was made of metal, and the gunblast residue on the muzzlebrake looked authentic. I sold the tank for 130.00 and it was only a 20.00 kit!

Hi all

Here are a couple of links for photos of what was left of the original artwork when the wreck was discovered:

http://www.b24bestweb.com/ladybegood-v1-1.htm

http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10843

At least they show what it didn't look like (some of the interpretations on-line are obviously spurious) - but, short of a photo of the full nose-art prior to the crash, it looks like a good deal of educated guesswork is involved in recreating the original artwork.

The vestigial dark patches within the lettering are fascinating - maybe indicating that it was over-painted at some stage, perhaps to show up better over the desert camouflage? So, maybe, it wasn't Insignia Yellow at all in its final form? (Yellow over Olive Drab would make sense, but over "Desert Sand" it would likely get lost - and if you're painting a name on your plane, you want it to be seen...) Now, there's a curveball to add to the mix.

All the best

Rowan

I am looking at Vallejo paints with these two as candidates:
US Sand 71.112 topsides
UK Azure 71.108 undersides
also looking at these as an undercoat
Olive Drab 71.043 topsides
Neutral Grey 70.992 undersides

Still open to suggestions

Cheers

Yes - this post has a happy ending. I have my decals in the form of masks (thanks Mal and your Miracle Masks). My decade old hunt is over. Now I just need to find time to make my Lady be Good



Cheers and thanks for all the help. I would toast more but only have 2 hands