RAF '80s fighter colours

[PR19_Kit]

I've got numerous books on Lightnings and Tornado F3s, and each has oodles of piccies, but NONE of them tell me what the colours are!

Does anyone know the official colours used in that period please? The Binbrook Lightnings seem to have had dark grey upper two thirds and light grey lower thirds, and the Tonkas seemt to be overall grey, top and bottom.

[The Wooksta!]

The Lightnings.  That scheme is Dark Sea Grey uppers, Med Sea Grey lowers and Barley Grey under the wings.

[Mr.Creak]

Taken from Aeroguide 08 - BAC Lightning F Mk3 Mk6.

[PR19_Kit]

Excellent stuff.   

Thank you gentlemen, that gives me some options to work with.

[deathjester]

Hemp over black works better for me...

[PR19_Kit]

Hemp over black works better for me...

Indeed, but in the time scale when the aircraft was built they hadn't got around to using hemp. And it wouldn't quite work on this particular aircraft....... 

[PR19_Kit]

Well, here's an interesting thing..........

Having dug out my last remaining tin of Humbrol Sea Grey Medium, otherwise known as no. 165, and airbrushed the top surface of the model (Yes, I KNOW that's upside-down to the way the Lightnings were painted.......) I found that the finished colour is EXACTLY the same as the Halford's Grey Primer that I did the undercoats with! 

I think that in future I'll just smooth down the primer finish and zap it with a coat of Klear before decaling, it would save all that decanting, thinning, mixing and airbrushing.

[Mossie]

I'm probably late to the party, but there were other schemes too, the Lighting schemes mentioned above differed from the rest of the fleet.  Phantoms used Medium Sea Grey uppers, Light Aircraft Grey lowers with the dihedral portion of the upper wing panels in Barley Grey.  The main scheme that was adopted since the Tornado F.3 is Barley uppers with Light Aircraft Grey lowers and can be seen on Hawks too.  The Tiffie wears overall Barely grey.

[PR19_Kit]

Thanks Mossie, that may help as my current attempt at airbrushing my preferred scheme looks as if I'd applied it with a yard brush! 

It may be time for stripping it all off and having another go with another scheme, although the Barley Grey may be a bit out of period for what I'm doing. I may also revert to brushing, at least I know how to do that by now....

[Mossie]

There was an experimental scheme on a Lightning that I remember, I think it was Dark Grey over the normal NMF lowers (other types would probably have used LAG lowers).  The Dark Green uppers were trialed at the same time and adopted for RAFG, I think the grey eventualy formed the basis for the dark greys scheme Lee mentioned.  It had a large pink & pale blue roundel, the same size as the standard full colour roundels & looks a little strange.  I'll have a look in the book I've got to confirm the details and date.

[The Wooksta!]

The 80s Lightnings had at least five different schemes.  The photo essays by Ian Black bear that out.

[PR19_Kit]

From time spent sitting on the fence at Binbrook I'm surprised ANY of them were the same as any other! As they taxied past to the threshold of 21 they looked like ten different Air Forces about to take off.

Happy days. 

[Gondor]

There was a series recently about Lightnings in camouflage in one of the magazines. Covered in three editions if I remember correctly off the top of my head.

I will have a look and let you know which magazines and issues it was Kit.

Gondor

[Weaver]

Airfix Model World: the one on grey aircraft was Feb 2012. The March 2012 issue also has an article by a Lightning pilot which is illustrated by many more good pics of grey aircraft. His recollection is that just about no two of the 70-odd airframes at Binbrook had exactly the same scheme!

[TallEng]

You could try looking through your stash of Modeldecal instructions (or someone Else's) I am pretty
sure that the Lightning was covered on a few sheets, from NMF to Green to the Greys schemes,
and the painting instructions/notes are normally quite good from Modeldecal!
Regards
Keith