Who the hell would fly this?

[Brian da Basher]

Leigh this is one of the most interesting camo schemes to come down the pike in a long time! I think you should go with it! It's got a certain subtlety to it that I appreciate. I can imagine it in certain arid countries that have winter. I see it flying ops over the mountains of Afghanistan.

As to the interior decorator thing, well you're just too hetero for that line of work. Reminds me of a joke:

"Do you think our interior decorator is gay?"

"If not he's missing his best bet."  

Brian da Basher

[Captain Canada]

what I need from you guys is an HONEST opinion as to whether this works or not.

Well, when I saw the first pic I thought " oh no, he's ruined it ! "

Then I saw the second pic and thought " hey, that does look kinda cool ! "

And upon viewing the third pic " Wow, is that ever gonna look cool when she's all done "

I think you've got it spot on, Leigh. First impression is kinda ugh. But once you've added all of your bits and bobs, decalled and weathered it, it's going to look just right. The camo scheme will also attract more interest, get peoples noses down into it so they can see all of your interior detail. I also believe that seeing it with masking removed so that the glazing is visibale will really set it off.

As for a desert scheme, I'd have to go with the same scenerio. At first I thought " no way ". But imagining it in a diorama of sand and palms, I can barely see it ! It'll blend right in......

Great stuff, Buddy !

     

[GeorgeC]

Your work on this has really inspired me.  I have encountered some problems with sprays, fortunately only undercoats, going grainy on me.  This seems to happen in the temperate regions of SE England about dusk, so I guess it is something to do with the paint trapping moisture which is condensing as temperatures fall - or perhaps the other way round - enough of 'Mr Science' !

As to the camouflage scheme, personally, I can't reconcile how the aircraft would have come to look like that.  It would probably have started off in some 'vanilla' scheme, standard green/gray say, and possibly have had some temporary, block finishes added, like the whites, grays and desert pinks of the last few ops.  However, these are still going to be in a broadly consistent pattern  - whether big stripes, all over, little stripes etc - over the airframe; I think this scheme has a few different styles on the same airframe which is why it looks odd to your eyes. Even the wackiest dazzle schemes are 'consistently wacky'.  The gauze effect is fantastic, producing something very like the RAF's 'black squiggly line' SF Chinook in Gulf 2, but because the gauze has masked off the original scheme you have a kind of 'negative' image, with original colours in the squiggles rather than temporary colours applied by a techie with a spray gun.

I hope you dont think I am criticising this fantastic piece of work - I can't even manage to point a rattle tin in the right direction - I am only trying to explain why it looks 'odd' compared to the mental picture we have how camo schemes work.  In the end go with what you are happy with, it will look great.

Regards

GeorgeC          

[BlackOps]

I'd be tempted to shoot a real light transparent coat of grey or black over it to tone it down a bit but it might be a mistake. I think it's just a bit bright but I love the pattern. very effective camo in my opinion.

It is reminescent of Rhodesian camo with a bit of tropical flavoring. I think it's going to look great once you get the little bits attached and some decals on it.


Jeff G.

[Runway ? ...]

Stunning !
A cool in theatre experimental camo scheme.
Not sure where though but a rocky sandy place sounds good to me.
Hey the original thread title starts to take effect    

[philp]

Leigh,
OK, I love the pattern.  Not too sure here but if it is white color showing through, I would try to hit that with more tan or brown or something.  Still works for desert for me but a jungle scheme would also go if you added some green to the area of white.
Either way, stick with it.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Hi Leigh san,

Not trying to upset the apple cart here but there is a nice build article of the 1/72 Airfix Rotodyne built by Steven Pietrobon on Modeling Madness that you might want to check out and enjoy for a moment or two before continuing on with your own project.  

[Leigh]

Right time for a response on this;
1. The idea of recessing the compound curves is brilliant, where you get that one area that seems to be holding the whole piece away and no amount of shaping gets it right. Just scribe a recess for it to sit in BRILLIANT.

2. Left this thing sitting on the bench with the white base and background used for the photo with the light on it so I have to look at it every time I go in the kitchen and it's kinda grown on me, I think I'll leave it as is, partly 'cos I don't wanna tempt fate and really screw it up. I do like the effect it was just not quite what I had in mind. Also it does fit in with the concept of field applied camo and Barry's original  thatch concept which was kind of what i was aiming at.
Also the pics are deceptive it's not white, it's Desert tan and Afrika mustard over dark green.

Jeffrey that Rotodyne is nice but I hope mine doesn't take eleven months like it took him