I'm going to build an airfield ....... So what colors should I use ??????

Father Ennis · June 05, 2013, 01:27:16 AM

Guys (non-gender term), I'm in need of some.color suggestions for my buildings and the equipment and vehicles to be found there. I'm thinking,very early war,say '39- 40'ish or maybe Battle of Britain period. First off, I need a color for RAF blue and Sky ,too. I like ModelMasters a lot and it's easily sourced here,too. I have to do my hobbyshopping online.

deathjester · June 05, 2013, 03:32:21 AM

Not sure what colour no.s to use, but for reference, why not go to the IWM Duxford website, and try the Airfix, or Airfix tribute sites for the colours used on their Airfield control tower kit!

pyro-manic · June 05, 2013, 10:20:02 AM

Red brick and/or concrete for the buildings. Aifix will shortly release a 1:72 Bomber Re-supply set, which will contain several vehicles, bomb trolleys, etc, which could be very useful.

Father Ennis · June 05, 2013, 02:05:58 PM

Thanks for the help. What I'm really interested in is which colors to by. Model Masters is my best option for paint. I'm not.looking for color numbers but who's paint I have access to for a good match. That's the only brand available to me locally,anything else I have to mail order. I will look at the UK Airfix sight. I can't find much on the Hornby site here in the US. In fact the US site only has the new set to be released soon and nothing else. It's the only place I can find what the colors on the sheet are. Why do they only put the color number from their own brand on the sheet. I loved using Hombrol paints but have trouble getting more. I live in small town Oklahoma and have to drive a 100 miles round trip to the nearest hobby shoppe. The HobbyLobby near me is slowly getting out of the model business. Some days it sucks to be me ......

pyro-manic · June 05, 2013, 03:01:59 PM

I have never used Model Master, so I can't help directly, but try this: http://www.paint4models.com/

You can download a .pdf, or run the chart in your browser. Should give you close matches for Humbrol-->Model Master. It also does most other "major" paint brands too, so is very useful.

For things like buildings, you will be doing weathering etc. to them anyway, so the base colour isn't really critical - just choose one that looks about right for bricks (either the obvious "Brick Red" if there is one, or Hull Red, or something like that) etc. and go to town with washes and drybrushing to get the result you want. There are loads of tutorials (both written and on Youtube) about weathering buildings (a lot of model train stuff crosses over) so have a read around until you find a technique you like.

scooter · June 05, 2013, 05:12:10 PM

Quote from: pyro-manic on June 05, 2013, 03:01:59 PM
I have never used Model Master, so I can't help directly, but try this: http://www.paint4models.com/

You can download a .pdf, or run the chart in your browser. Should give you close matches for Humbrol-->Model Master. It also does most other "major" paint brands too, so is very useful.

Doesn't have a .pdf feature, but if you punch in blue, Art-Paints in their search engine, it'll get you to an approximation, and product number so you can find it later.

Father Ennis · June 05, 2013, 07:34:36 PM

Thanks,guys I'm going to bookmark that site for future reference. What about camo on the buildings ? The Airfix control tower has a camo paint scheme and the hanger in the background of some of the boxart has a grey/green camo,too. This might be of help for the lack of info on the Airfix instructions sheet.

dadlamassu · June 05, 2013, 11:10:10 PM

Try these

And a set of instructions for Airfix Control Tower
http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/Airfix_HO_00_Airfield_Control_Tower_03380__about24025.html

Mossie · June 06, 2013, 01:30:05 AM

Humbrol 96 is RAF blue, the type used on ground vehicles and such. I don't know of a match in Model Master I'm afraid.

Model Master do an RAF Sky (RAF Sky Blue they call it, but it's pale green). 2049 in the enamel range, 4840 in the Acryl range.

Gondor · June 06, 2013, 02:28:03 AM

Quote from: Mossie on June 06, 2013, 01:30:05 AM

Humbrol 96 is RAF blue, the type used on ground vehicles and such. I don't know of a match in Model Master I'm afraid.

During WWII a lot of ground equipment was painted green as camouflage.There was a series or article's in the Old Airfix magazine back in the days when it was a Small sized magazine, 1970's if I remember correctly.

Quote from: Mossie on June 06, 2013, 01:30:05 AM

Model Master do an RAF Sky (RAF Sky Blue they call it, but it's pale green). 2049 in the enamel range, 4840 in the Acrylic range.

That Sky colour, used on aircraft undersides, is much debated over with regards to how green or how blue it actually is, however it would not be used on buildings.

Have you tried using this site? Unfortunately they only give the Humbrol 96 as RAF Blue or Tamiya XF-50 as true, or near enough, colours. Scaling factors could be taken into account but something "near enough" should do. Another alternative is to look up the paint chip, if you can find the FS equivalent. FS paint chips are also available on the above link, then you can find or mix your own version. Yet another possibility is to look at colour pictures from that period and then match your colour. As with anything, a little thought will bring up lots of possible ways of doing things.

Hope this helps.

Gondor

rickshaw · June 06, 2013, 04:31:17 AM

Does anybody know what the two Union Flag shaped things are on top of the control tower? I've often wondered but never been able to figure out what they were meant to be.

Mossie · June 06, 2013, 06:05:04 AM

It's simply a billboard mounting. A number would be displayed on the board, IIRC this was the identifier for the airfield?

deathjester · June 06, 2013, 06:56:43 AM

Quote from: Mossie on June 06, 2013, 06:05:04 AM
It's simply a billboard mounting. A number would be displayed on the board, IIRC this was the identifier for the airfield?

More likely the runway in use.

Dizzyfugu · June 06, 2013, 07:46:12 AM

Quote from: Father Ennis on June 05, 2013, 01:27:16 AM
Guys (non-gender term), I'm in need of some.color suggestions for my buildings and the equipment and vehicles to be found there. I'm thinking,very early war,say '39- 40'ish or maybe Battle of Britain period. First off, I need a color for RAF blue and Sky ,too. I like ModelMasters a lot and it's easily sourced here,too. I have to do my hobbyshopping online.

There is a Humbrol enamel that is actually called "RAF Blue" (#96) - I suppose that it is the authentic tone you are looking for?
There's no direct corresponding MM tone - FS35123 is close, but lighter. I'd use that for dry-brushing on H96, though.

Concerning Sky, Humbrol #90 is a good option, besides the Sky from Testors/ModelMaster. The Humbrol tone is slightly lighter and a tad more yellow-ish. Tamiya's Sky is also great, but it is VERY bright, as if it had radioactive ingredients... My fave is H90.

Father Ennis · June 06, 2013, 01:52:24 PM

Thanks,guys !!! You have been a big help. I found the Unofficial(?)Airfix mirrored forum last night and found that they had had a GB at one time and it had a number of offerings of the Control Tower kit. Pretty much they were all painted Dark earth/Dark green. I also got a better idea on building a partial hanger,too. In a photo there was a blue painted hanger that looked pretty easy to make. A lot easier than my ancient kit. I'll post something on it later. What I'm interested in paint wise, is a recommendations for paints to use. I know the color but which is the "best" of the choices for the Dark Earth,for example. Like I said,I'm not much of an aircraft modeler and the ones I used to run with were rivet counters.
The reasons I use MM paints a lot is they are easy for me to get. Anything else I have to mail order so I have to plan ahead.