Pellsons Perceivings

[Nick]

In the meantime, I'm wondering what China is up to. They've been infiltrating Taiwanese airspace rather heavily this week, often with multiple simultaneous incursions.

If it's just the ADIZ then (as it's high seas airspace') that's legal and the operators apply 'due regard' (doesn't make it any less worrying for Taiwan, though).  If it's sovereign airspace then that's a totally different issue and sparks may fly.

Sounds like the numerous visits to near UK airspace made by Russian Bears. I was watching Warship on C5 last night and HMS Northumberland had a 500ft flyby from a Bear after they'd successfully kept a Russian spy ship from tracking a US sub in the Irish Sea.
From the sound of it they do this a lot more than we hear about in the press. 

[kitbasher]

Yep, and we do it too.

[Pellson]

Yep, and we do it too.

Depends on what you are referring to. Yes, we (western countries, NATO/ANZUS) do fly in free airspace outside their territory, looking in, but we do NOT fly mock attack profiles. That is an exclusively Russian/Chinese bad habit

[Pellson]

Much lust, but very, very little workshop. And an annoying inability to stay focused on one subject for long enough to actually make anyhing - and I mean anything, even decalling - actually happening. God, it's irritating!

The Javelin project is collected into one box, but stalled from there. I just can't decide how to cut it up to reach the shape I'm after. Generally, these things pan out on their own as soon as you get going, but this time, for one or another reason, I just can't get myself to begin. Well - from experience, it usually sorts itself once I get the urge.. 
Instead, other ideas and plans are swirling like a small dust devil inside my mind, generally, also much like that dust devil, just creating untidyness.

As I think I've mentioned previously, my main focus period is the late cold war, i.e ca 1980 - 1989. And as I'm whiffing, I'm allowing myself a parallell universe where the cold war never ended and where some technologies such as stealth never really worked. Also, metal fatigue isn't as much of an issue as it is in reality, allowing an almost indefinite physical life, both for structures such as wings, but also engines. With these limiting factors out of the way, I can allow myself to keep older types in service for much longer, and hence indulging in the need for updating them with newer electronics, sensors and weaponry as time goes by. Unrealistic, but it amuses me to no end, and therefore, it's valid. Accordingly,  as an example, the Valiant tanker previously shown is perfectly viable..

Anyway - the current hullaballoo in Eastern Europe put new focus on the European NATO, not only in the news but also in my mind. Hence, I came to drift away from my "normal" RAF focus, instead via a Starfighter that just "got in the way" (is there anything more NATO than a Starfighter?), I came to look for Dutch decals to said Witwenmacher and then on to Luftwaffe decals. And from there - paint schemes.

Camouflages are interesting. Basically, in the 80's, many of the NATO countries went US F-16 greys (pretty boring) or UK grey/green (better). Before that, the Belgians was US SEA which is somewhat nice, and the Spanish low level scheme of the nineties is also really nice, as is the French blue/grey air-to-air scheme. The others - well, neither the Canadian and Danish all greens nor the Norwegian all grey schemes were that exciting..
The Luftwaffe, however, went all in creating a a few cool schemes. You've all seen the very very nice Norm 83 all green wraparound scheme for low level operations, introduced on RF-4E's and Tornados. But before that, they did the Norm 81 scheme for F-4F interceptors. A lot lighter, as one of the main problems with the previous Norm 72 grey/olive scheme was that it was too conspicious higher up, but still without losing all ground camouflage effect. It's a very pretty scheme, actually, featuring no less than six differnt hues spanning from a greenish grey via a blueish to an almost brown/violet grey. Unfortunately it was discontinued after barely ten years of service, replaced by a really boring grey scheme, the Norm 90, and then an even duller, the one-shade-wrap Norm 95.



The departure from the lovely Norm 81 was mainly blamed on the scheme being ineffective, but having read in on the subject, it seems that another important factor in leaving it was that it simply was more expensive to keep six shades on a single airframe than one or two. And THAT, dear friends, is exactly the kind of argument that wouldn't hold water at all if you're in a war! Hence, I can ignore it to the fullest, and allow my some time in the future forthcoming Luftwaffe Typhoon a Norm 81 scheme! It will be so good looking...! 


I have discussed the Norm 81 scheme here earlier, and had some very nice tips from our resident German expert, Mr Dizzy. However, having picked out Humbrol shades for the scheme, it just doesn't look right. In particular, the RAL7037 Staubgrau, the darker brownish grey seen on the mid right wing, the tail and the inner left wing on the pic above seems hard to get right. While the tip I've had is to mix the Hu106 Ocean Grey with some Hu168 Hemp, that, to me doesn't catch the somewhat violet hue I experience when looking at several pictures. Mulling on this for a day or so, I think I might try the old RLM braunviolett, but then again.. Ah, this might be a-trial-and-horror case..
Having surfed a gazillion of Norm 83 photos on the web, I am also somewhat uncertain that the commonly accepted colour callouts really will look good. The contrast between the greens are a little on the weak side, and the black just isn't black, compared to the very black indeed iron cross. Rather a very dark grey. That too seems to be a case of trying. But as I have a Tornado to refurbish, I will try some shades on that, and if it looks good, then I'll make a note of it and stay with it.

And then the decals.. Having ordered a couple of starfighter sets from DACO, I hope I can puzzle together codes for other aircraft too. And then, ther are the different Dutch aircraft.. We'll, time will tell. Right now, I have a nine-year-old who, very much like myself, doesn't really get anything out of hand if he is bored. And math homework is REALLY boring! 

[PR19_Kit]

Who was this Norm guy anyway?

Was he the German equivalent of Mr. Barley in the Farnborough Camo Workshop?

[Old Wombat]

 

[Pellson]

Who was this Norm guy anyway?

Was he the German equivalent of Mr. Barley in the Farnborough Camo Workshop?

Suspecting you already know this, I'm too well behaved to not answer.. 

The German "Norm" translates nicely to "standard", as in British Standard.
Bringing up Mr. Barley, it seems to me that the Germans, contrary to general expectations, were somewhat more imaginative as far as camouflage experts went. I mean - six hues vs three on the British Phantoms.. 😉

[NARSES2]

Bringing up Mr. Barley, it seems to me that the Germans, contrary to general expectations, were somewhat more imaginative as far as camouflage experts went. I mean - six hues vs three on the British Phantoms.. 😉

But none of them could match some of the German WWI Lozenge schemes, nor some of the RFC Experimental schemes, which unfortunately didn't see service. The French were no slouch's when it came to multi colour schemes either 

[Pellson]

Bringing up Mr. Barley, it seems to me that the Germans, contrary to general expectations, were somewhat more imaginative as far as camouflage experts went. I mean - six hues vs three on the British Phantoms.. 😉

But none of them could match some of the German WWI Lozenge schemes, nor some of the RFC Experimental schemes, which unfortunately didn't see service. The French were no slouch's when it came to multi colour schemes either 

Sticking to the Cold War period, I dare say only some later Russian schemes would give the Norm 81 a match.
And while being there - Luftwaffe did have quite a few trials schemes that were quite cool. Look at these:

[PR19_Kit]

Mr. Barley only came up with one shade for the RAF, they already had the others 'in stock'.

I didn't actually know about German 'Norms', but I suspected it was something like that. 

I do find those Norm splinter like schemes rather attractive, and they suit a Phantom VERY well too.

[Pellson]

They really do. So I'll indulge a bit. 

Look at this, f.i, featuring a greenish grey also down under:



Or this, an alternative scheme for low level ops:



You could build a full dozen of German Phantoms, not two alike. 

[NARSES2]

I do like that top Phantom scheme, Experimentalschema 2. For some of the others I'd just feel sorry for the painters if they'd ever gone into general usage. That Norm 81B Version 2 uses 7 colours. Can you imagine the masking ? 

[Pellson]

I do like that top Phantom scheme, Experimentalschema 2. For some of the others I'd just feel sorry for the painters if they'd ever gone into general usage. That Norm 81B Version 2 uses 7 colours. Can you imagine the masking ? 

That one actually did go into service. 

I'm kind of leaning towards that as a std multirole fighterbomber scheme for my whif Luftwaffe. Starfighters, Phantoms and Typhoons, for instance. It's dead beautiful with its toned down but still multicoloured appearance. 


Yesterday, as I was preparing to decal a bunch of French restomodded Mirage deltas, I was interrupted by emergency logistics for the kids. Hence, there are Mirages and decals all over the place, but I haven't gotten round to take that decalling up yet. Annoying. But at least, the stuff is on the table. It's a start. 

[NARSES2]

I do like that top Phantom scheme, Experimentalschema 2. For some of the others I'd just feel sorry for the painters if they'd ever gone into general usage. That Norm 81B Version 2 uses 7 colours. Can you imagine the masking ? 

That one actually did go into service. 

I thought I had a vague memory in what I call a brain, but went "nah, they couldn't have used that" 

[Pellson]

The three Mirage deltas are decalled! Ok, it did drag on over midnight (one of the call sign decals REALLY made me remember why I'm not that fond of decalling) but it's done! Tomorrow, they'll be ready for varnish.