Patriotism is a GOOD thing! 
Most of my builds are Royal Australian Marines, & that service doesn't even exist! 
What colour you paint your builds is the same as how you build your builds; entirely up to you! 
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and you government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain
The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.
Thomas Paine
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
Samuel Johnson
Indeed, i think that patriotism is a good thing as long as one remembers that this is one world for all... Only after that should come national and cultural pride.
And i agree with all 3 quotes. Unfortunately, we do have to defend our countries from governments, which is where you find the kind of patriots Samuel Johnson was referring to.
Wombat, ideas like your RAM and Fred's Zenrat industries and PDRV(saying that really fast sounds like PJ Harvey...
), are what i find beautiful in the freedom of whiffing. I didn't create a service branch but i've given the Portuguese Marines something they never thought of having in reality, an air corps and Harriers! And the Portuguese Navy has already been given Hornets, Bearcats... They'd need aircraft carriers but i haven't built or even bought one yet... but i'd like to...
Can't win either way..... it's either "boring" or "looks like cat vomit." I think some of what makes some schemes boring are that we are used to them that way. I'm pretty happy with my boring P-51D in Air Superiority two tone grey because that's the whole point. Hell, colors can be boring sometimes, too, if it's just one or two and not many markings. Some builds have boring paint but exciting markings and stuff... U.S. Navy for instance back in the 60's therebouts.. two tone grey but they had so much STUFF they threw on there with it, esp. CAG birds that it made them stand out.
PoAF F-14 should be coming up soon.
There's an Hasegawa Tomcat in the stash which was bought with the Portuguese in mind but not the AF, it's for the Navy and it's carriers...
I've always said i'm more into darker tonalities but i also think everything has a time, place and a reason so i like a good bright/light color mix once in a while...
And i agree with what you say about markings, some simple color schemes simply look good on something that's busy with data stenciling, numbers, emblems and insignias. The US navy birds of the 60s are a very good example of that, indeed.
There's also the fact that both the Raptor and Viper are modern jets and you know how the fighter camo scheme trends have been going with most recent birds. Besides, i like these schemes and colors so that's how i should do it... and i sometimes forget that i've got 120 kits in the stash so, why no need to stress about these issues, plenty to try on.
I love the look of the recent Vipers, the stealth birds like the F-22/35, J-20/31... I've been thinking of schemes for a show bird with a black/dark blue/dark gray/yellow, black/red/gray/white Viper... A military bird would be matte black but a show bird should be glossy...
Grey is under-rated.
When I use grey on a model car, usually with another colour like primrose yellow or pink people say things like "ooh that looks nice. I don't think of using grey but its not actually that boring is it?"
But boring is what is normal and everyday. The Red Arrows probably go to work, look at all the red planes and think "wish I had a grey one to fly today".
I have long maintained that even a seemingly exciting job like racing steam locomotives, piloting mobile suits or oiling underwear models would get boring and there would be days when you didn't want to go to work. Those days would be fewer and further between than if you were an accountant or postman but they would come.
I taken part in motorcycle (OK, moped) racing and there was an awful lot of standing around doing nothing and very little actual racing.
Mind you, there is a school of thought that cultivating boredom makes the days go by slower and so extends your life (possibly from a Terry Pratchett book?).
I'm rambling. Must be time for bed.
Rest up, mate. Sounds like you could use it...
But you have a point there, it's boring cause it's seen often but i can't deny what i prefer, i'm the kind of guy who doesn't mind wearing black jeans and shirt everyday...
And to show that not everyday is a gray day, today i finally decided what i wanna build next and dug it out of the stash.
Obviously, i'm not going to use the kit's decal sheet, after the Raptor and F-16, this will be the next in my PoAF's whif inventory...
So, after i've made up my mind regarding the aircraft schemes and patriotism issues, i've also mixed up some paint to see if it won't be such a normal scheme... The compressor tank is filled so i'm taking the Raptor into the paint shop right now. Later, y'all...
