Tru-Color Paint would like to enlist the help of WWI Aircraft modelers in choosing the next colors we should develop for our product line. Right now we have 2 different PC-10 and 1 PC-12 colors scheduled for British aircraft. These were developed with the help of Kevin Wenker of IPMS Craig Hewitt Chapter.

What should be the next colors we develop and is anyone willing to help us with the color matching ?

Here is what we mean with help with color matching. Since we are not experts in this field our lab would put together 4-8 variations of a color that is the target of the inquiry. Then send them to 1 or 2 "experts" who will spray them on scrap plastic pieces that they have or on gloss paper that we can supply if needed and choose the "correct" match. If one or more samples are close (but not an acceptable match), we would need to know what direction that sample needs to be "tweaked" to achieve the correct color.

Tru-Color Paint would like to have YOUR input. Do we do French, German, more British aircraft ? Do we look at U.S. and other inter-war year aircraft colors ? If yes, who and what era is most modeled ?

Thank you for reading this post.

Martin Cohen, PhD
Tru-Color Paint

Hi Martin,

Sounds like an interesting project.

As a die-hard builder of all things WWI, I would certainly welcome good quality paints with correct colours form this period. However the exact match of these you will find, is very hotly debated and argued about in the community.

In terms of what to do next, my tip would be to look at German camouflage colours, there are quite a few, as opposed to the British standard PC colours, the Germans came up with new schemes over time, starting with monochrome greys and beige, then developing browns, greens, mauves and ultimaetly lozenge.

Apart from the scope of the various German cammo colours, German subjects are very popular with builders. French are not as common. Look at Wingnut Wings range to see what I mean (Not all modellers build WnW and 1:32, but this is seen as the cutting edge by many).

My thoughts – hope it helps a bit anyway. I'm sure there are many other opinions available around here.

/Mikael

Mikael:

Thank you for the response to my thread. We have done some research on the German WWI aircraft colors and appears interesting since there seem to be about 6-8 colors used prior to the lozenge scheme. That seems doable.

It is the lozenge scheme where there are 5 colors in a relatively small area that is of concern. Does anyone really model that scheme ? Is there a decal sheet already made with that pattern ?

It would appear WnW is popular as Kevin buys their planes exclusively.

Martin Cohen,PhD
Tru-Color Paint

Hi Martin!

There are actually some modellers that mask and paint the Lozenge patterns. However, they are very much in a minority, and I guess they would have no problems mixing their own paints either, if they don't feel daunted by cutting five separate masks for a wing. As you say there are excellent decals for this job, both from WnWs and from the likes of Aviattic and HGW, so I'd say this is not an issue.

However, not all Lozenge cammos were pre-printed fabrics, some were actually painted. Some airframes had both pre-printed fabric and "larger" painted loz. These paints were mixed to be a close match to the Lozenge colours.

Take look at the instruction sheet on the Wingnut Wings Hannover, and you'll see what I mean.

http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/productdetail?productid=3086&cat=4

Not sure this is a viable production idea as the usage may be a bit narrow, but still good for you to know.

All the best
/Mikael

I'd second German colours. Especially the greens and purple/mauve. What is currently on the market just seems to bright out of the bottle or tin. But I'm no expert on the subject to say what would be correct.

There are some other colors German wise that puzzle me.
The washes such as on the Han CL II/CL III that cover the hand painted fuselage Lozenges. was this a 'watered' down Paint or a dyed Dope?

Speaking of Dope- Clear dopes seem to be the flight of fancy right now, from practically White on the BE-2 to the tans of the Taube.

Then again as I mentioned the other day the background color would/may affect the other top colors such as roundel colors.

I point these out, as I am a color mixer to suit my purposes. i.e. if it looks right to me it is right. 100 years on who's to know.

enjoy
Captn Tommy

What color did this BF2C look in 1920? was it white fabric or silver? It depended on the sun and the film and the time.

Enjoy and color it as you like.

Captn Tommy