Please go to Post # 24 on Page 2 of this thread. The ideas and comments I had in below posts are no longer valid.

While my future what if aircraft carrier model project is on hiatus, I decided to try and keep myself busy with some other small project.
Anybody remember the old 1980's movie called Blue Thunder with the advanced police helicopter?
Well, I don't have one of those kits. Too rare and hard to get.
So I looked at my stash and began to wonder what I could do for an RAH-66 Comanche helicopter model.
I could have made it into some what if US Marine scheme or Black Ops scheme or some foreign military service.
But chances are, somebody somewhere would already have beaten me to the punch so to speak.
So I'm thinking maybe a far future what if Blue Thunder police helicopter version. Something a lot more advanced, stealthier, and deadlier to handle the violence and civil unrest in the far future. Drug dealers and gangs beware! 
But I'm really uncertain as to the color of blue the original Blue Thunder helicopter had, and what blue to use for my model.
As for the paint choices in one of my pics below, I'm thinking either 71.005 or 71.111.

You need to ask DogfighterZen what colour he used, he's a mad Blue Thunder fan & built one of the original kits (with upgrades).

IMHO, USN Dark Sea Blue (FS 35042) is a good option for Blue Thunder. IIRC the helicopter's blue was quite murky (but not greyish), so that tones that tend towards red or ultramarine are too "clear". Blue Thunder also had a black underside.

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on February 22, 2024, 01:53:10 AMIMHO, USN Dark Sea Blue (FS 35042) is a good option for Blue Thunder. IIRC the helicopter's blue was quite murky (but not greyish), so that tones that tend towards red or ultramarine are too "clear". Blue Thunder also had a black underside.

The Vallejo equivalent to FS35042 is 71.295 USN Sea Blue. But that color just seems a bit too dark to me.
I was thinking of going with 71.005 instead.
My other choice if I didn't want to build a future police helicopter was to instead do a DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) version.
But from what I've read and/or seen on the Net, most (but not all) DEA helicopters are black.
I'd rather not do black. The color is just too boring to me.

Agree. black - esp. on a stealthy model like this - looks pretty comic-esque and uninspired.
How about Tamiya X-3? Less greenish than FS 35042; it's a nice dark and subdued tone that is still quite clear, I settled for it after a loooong search for alternatives for my recent VF-1S Armored Valkyrie build.

That's a nice, but little, kit. I used it for my WAH-66 Crossbow Comanche here :-

https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=43801.30

Great looking helicopter     

QuoteAgree. black - esp. on a stealthy model like this - looks pretty comic-esque and uninspired.

Unless it's a copter flown by Batman and Robin. 

QuoteHow about Tamiya X-3?

Nope. I hate working with TAMIYA paints. I will never ever use them again. I stopped using them a few years ago. Vallejo is the only thing I use now.

Anyway............if I make this into some sort of police or other law enforcement helicopter, what numbers, symbols, or other markings should I have on the helicopter? Blue Thunder really didn't have much for markings as it was only a prototype. Most numbers or other markings were in yellow or red.

Seems like i'm not the only one looking at the comanche as a modern version of the Blue Thunder. That's one on my "to do" list with a 1/48 kit.

Regarding the colors i used on my build, i did buy the Gunze fs15044 as suggested on FB groups and other forums but after i sprayed it on, to me it looked more like a very dark purple than a very dark blue. The colors i ended up using were a mix of about 80% XF-17 Flat Sea Blue with 20% X-4 Gloss blue.
This mix was applied over the Gunze color coat i'd previously tried so that may have influenced the final shade of the mix, although i did give it a good coat.
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=50471.0



Still, this was not a precise mix , i just poured some XF-17 into an empty paint jar and started adding X-4 and mixing, added a bit more and mixed again till i got to the color shade which looked closer to what my eyes see when i look at the Blue Thunder.

In the end, i think that i've come rather close to the real tone but, that is debatable so, i suggest you try mixing it till you get something that your eye will recognize as the same shade of blue. That's what i did and it worked for me so, why not give it a shot? 

Below are pictures of the actual Blue Thunder helicopter used in the movie of the same name.
Contrary to popular belief, the helicopter is NOT painted overall dark blue.
Notice how portions of the underside appear black or maybe it's a very, very dark blue. I'm not sure which?
What does the underside look like to other people? Is it black or is it an extremely dark blue?

Personally I'd go for Dupont Phantom Great metallic over white...

Thanks for those shots; most useful!
Right Click & Save.

Seadude, what about regular LAPD Black & White?
Nothing wrong with the classics... though as already discussed, a really dark grey would be better in that scale.

This is going to be cool. Make is any blue you want. Make it Airwolf colours to really mess with the crowd lol

Quote from: Rick Lowe on February 23, 2024, 12:42:57 PMThanks for those shots; most useful!
Right Click & Save.

Seadude, what about regular LAPD Black & White?
Nothing wrong with the classics... though as already discussed, a really dark grey would be better in that scale.

Quote from: Captain Canada on February 23, 2024, 01:13:29 PMThis is going to be cool. Make is any blue you want. Make it Airwolf colours to really mess with the crowd lol

No, I'm not going to paint it black/white like a classic police vehicle or use white from the Airwolf helicopter scheme.
White, along with a few other colors, is just too hard to get right. I've tried painting other models in past years with white and I could never get a decent even coverage. Sometimes, it would take me as much as 4 coats of white to get something completely covered.
White is the most unforgiving model paint color there ever was. 

Fair enough, and true.
Yellow is not far behind.