RAF Centenary GB - Discussion thread

[kitbasher]

RAF RB-57 by chance?

[PR19_Kit]

RAF RB-57 by chance?

Grrrr, you know too much!

It will be a Canberra PR9, Shorts never got around to building one, so the RAF bought a batch of RB-57Fs from General Dynamics. They lasted LONG after the USAF had grounded theirs, right until the Summer of 2006 in fact....... 

[zenrat]

What colour scheme was applied to RAF seaplanes and flying boats in the 30's?
I'm thinking Silver Dope with NMF where appropriate.  But would surfaces like the top of the wings, floats and fuselage have been painted in a different colour?
The Schneider Trophy Supermarines had blue parts but IIRC that was the official GB racing colour and not an RAF thing.
I have googled and find nothing but B&W images (which appear to show Silver Dope) or WW2 era colour profiles showing camo on stuff like Catalinas and Sunderlands.

[NARSES2]

There are a couple of Sunderland profiles in an Osprey book I have and the third Sunderland built was painted in high speed silver in 1938. This was the scheme for most early Sunderland's although there is also a profile of an aircraft based at Pembroke Dock in Sept 1939 which is sky grey overall.

So high speed silver overall for later 1930's seaplanes ? I do have this "feeling" however that the surfaces that came into contact with water were treated differently ?

The blue as far as I know was just the racers.

Edit - Just found a note that pre-war Swordfish were painted aluminium overall. I know they are FAA, but as that was under RAF control at the time ?

[PR19_Kit]

The Stranraer in the Hendon Museum is HSS all over, but it is the ONLY pre-WWII flying boat left these days.

Some of the Southamptons had their planning surfaces in a brownish shade, but that may have been varnished wood rather than brown paint.

[zenrat]

Thanks guys.  I'll have to have a look at my silver car paints and see if i've got one that doesn't look like natural metal.
I've done parts box rummage and put most of the parts i'll need into the kit box.
I'll take some pics tomorrow.
I won't say anymore except that the main base kit is Italian.  🇮🇹 

[McColm]

What about the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird?
I'm sure I read somewhere that RAF personnel got to fly or be part of the crew..
I know it's main purpose was strategic reconnaissance but it would make a great bomber

[jcf]

Swordfish were aluminum dope on fabric and Cerrux grey on the metal bits.

Bare metal was not a feature of seaplanes in the '30s, anodizing was used on
a few otherwise it was overall aluminum dope/lacquer/enamel. An exception
was the Short Empires, which were evidently coated in lanolin for corrosion
protection, the erks must've had the softest hands.
 
Some countries painted parts of or the entire upper surface of the top wing in a
bright yellow, yellow-orange, or red i.e. US Navy, Germany, Italy and others.
From all available evidence this wasn't done in the UK.

High Speed Silver is just a fancy name for an aluminum paint and clear
dope mixture. 


An overall medium silver/aluminum would be the best, I like the Tamiya sprays:
TS-17 Gloss Aluminum, TS-30 Silver Leaf, TS-76 Mica Silver, TS-83 Metallic Silver,
AS-12 Bare Metal Silver. None of which look like bare metal. TS-17 is my go
to for 'tween the wars aircraft and, along with TS-30, 1950s rocketships.

The Hendon Strannie is a pre-war type, however the aircraft itself was built
by Canadian Vickers in 1940, my Dad flew on it a number of times in the '50s,
from Vancouver up to Ocean Falls and back, when it was still operated by Queen
Charlotte Airlines aka the Queer Collection of Aircraft. He also flew on their Canso
and others.

His recollection was that it was all aluminum paint/dope finished, inside and out,
in one of the photos he took looking out a window one of the wing floats is visible
and it is clearly painted. The seat upholstery - if you could call it that, was green
leatherette. He also noted that water sloshing around underfoot was not unusual.

[zenrat]

Thanks Jon.
I have a number of silvers of various types.  One will be suitable.
I am toying with painting the upper surfaces in camo using sea shades.  It might not be authentic but then this is whiffworld and for me it's always the look of the thing first.

[NARSES2]

An exception was the Short Empires, which were evidently coated in lanolin for corrosion
protection, the erks must've had the softest hands.
 

[jcf]

As an aside the lanolin coating of the Empires, and related, has led to statements that
the aircraft was an ivory colour, and the resultant profile illustrations in various off-white
and ivory tones. The problem with this is that while lanolin is a white-yellow material in
solid form, spread out on an entire aircraft it will be translucent, especially in direct sun,
which is clearly demonstrated by period colour film of Empire boats in Australia. The
aluminum skin shines through the anti-corrosion lanolin coating. Photos taken in the UK
show the aircraft to be a dull light-grey, probably a result of the typical lighting conditions,
grey and gloomy, , and no doubt aging/clouding of the coating from salt spray, accumulated
dirt etc., lanolin attracts schmutz.

Go to 7:15 in this video and you'll see the gleaming Empires:
https://youtu.be/ieX9UvzVORQ

[jcf]

Thanks Jon.
I have a number of silvers of various types.  One will be suitable.
I am toying with painting the upper surfaces in camo using sea shades.  It might not be authentic but then this is whiffworld and for me it's always the look of the thing first.

The Japanese Army used field extemporized cammo in China applied directly to the bare metal
of the topsides without primers, both simple single colour blotches, single colour, and two-tone
camouflage.

The Netherlands East Indies Martin bombers, export B-10s, had a single, and later two-tone
cammo applied to the topsides with the bottom left in bare metal.

[zenrat]

Thanks Jon.  Usefull to know.

[Mossie]

Very late thirties, from '38 I believe, the RAF Coastal Command started to paint up their aircraft in the run up to war.  The earliest scheme was dark earth and green over silver, or sometimes night like Bomber Command.

[zenrat]

Thanks Mossie.