The infamous Purple Nakajima A6M2n "Rufe" floatplane fighter.

[CSMO]

I built the 1/48 Tamiya Rufe in Purple back in the day before the Purple color was de-bunked. I sold it for a great price on e-Bay. I love the idea because it makes the purists and rivet-counters howl and whine. I built this one OOB from the Jo-Han kit, using the kit decals and some custom Purple paint leftover from a Fairey Delta 2 build. Back when I built the Tamiya kit, I used the IJN Purple paint in a Pactra paint set of Official Military Camouflage Colors. This is still one of my all-time favorite models.

Adios, Larry

[Tophe]

nice like a sugar sweet... what are the guns for?

[Old Wombat]

Cute lilac colour!

Doesn't quite match the more claret-stain purple of the box art - but since when has box art been the definition of accuracy?



Guy

[PR19_Kit]

An excellent job there. 

That's a very good kit too, sadly overlooked these days as it's been OOP for decades, engraved panel lines and almost no sprue spurs left when you cut the bits off etc.

[Dizzyfugu]

AAARGH...! 

Would make a nice combo with a Spitfire in PRU Pink, though?

[CSMO]

I found a shot of my 1/48 Tamiya Purple  Rufe in my files. I add it here for your consideration. It was painted with Pactra Official(?) Military Flats.

Adios, Larry.

[PR19_Kit]

I wish Nakajima had made the tip float struts a tad thicker though. I used the Rufe bits from the Jo-Han kit to make my Fw-190 floatplane and those struts have broken LOADS of times.  

[Daryl J.]

Daryl's JMN moment:  I propose the purple/mauve/candy apple deep pink primer on the non-restored Zero hulk residing in the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum is the color of this rumored Rufe.

[royabulgaf]

Many years ago I built the Jo Han IJN Rufe.  By this time the purple was pretty much debunked.  I was using Tamiya IJN Gray and absentmindedly thinned it with lacquer thinner, which caused the various pigments to separate into layers.  Lo and behold, there was a violet layer.   I would guess the pigments would be the same in real life, and I could imagine some of the other colors fading out and leaving a violet tinge.

Also, you must remember to most guys, colors mean the eight colors in the Crayola box we had in first grade.  To name a color, we pick one of the eight that is closest and call it that.

[PR19_Kit]

Also, you must remember to most guys, colors mean the eight colors in the Crayola box we had in first grade.  To name a color, we pick one of the eight that is closest and call it that.

Yeah, right...........

Says he who has no less than 52 different tinlets of greys, 43 blues and 41 greens!

[royabulgaf]

Actually Kit, I have two rules when I come to painting a model:

1.  Can I get the cap off?

2.  Is the paint still good?

[PR19_Kit]

Actually Kit, I have two rules when I come to painting a model:

1.  Can I get the cap off?

2.  Is the paint still good?

Nice one!   

Some of my paint is stock is confused a bit by the actions of she who is 'The Best Air Traffic Controller in the RAF', who in her earlier days decided to help me find out which paint was which by painting in the little depressions in the lids of the Humbrol tinlets. Unfortunately she could only get the lid off the red tinlet so I have around 100 old tinlets every one of  which has a red lid............