Any Rules about Paint Schemes for Fighter & Bomber Aircraft Models?

[Cobra]

Hey Guys, Can Anyone tell me if there are Any Rules about Paint Schemes for Fighter & Bomber Aircraft Models? planning to Create My own Little AF, and Could use some help in planning how to paint a Few of the Models!

thanks for looking at this.

[sotoolslinger]

The rule is "it looks cool to me"   This is what if . If your whiffing an existing camo scheme onto a vehicle that has never worn that paint then study that particular paint scheme. Otherwise camo what colors and patterns look cool to you. The profilers on this site come up with some superb schemes. But you can always do a pattern with different colors or vice versa

[sequoiaranger]

....there are no rules!

The only "rule" I have for whif camo schemes is that somehow they disguise or hide the features of the aircraft from would-be observers. All one has to do is look at a good nature book and see what animals (frogs, birds, etc.) use, or one of those "from the air" books on patterns on the land---nature is my inspiration.

But then again, I'm a park ranger, so it figures!

[Weaver]

There's also disruptive camo schemes that are designed to deceive the eye as to what the aircraft is doing, rather than hide it as such.

Air forces TEND (there are exceptions) to have standardized schemes for either the whole force or for specific missions, so two different fighters will have the same "air superiority" scheme, two different strike aircraft the same camo scheme etc... However smaller air forces often keep whatever colours "donated" aircraft come in, hence the profusion of USAF SE Asia camo in South and Central America during the 70s and 80s.

Most aircraft will carry a "roundel" (not neccessarily round though) that distinctly belongs to the Air force but is usually in national flag colours, and a tail flash which is a bit more like the national flag (it might even be the national flag). Some air forces also have the name of the service in a "banner" somewhere on the aircraft. They almost always have a serial number, and all or part of this might be repeated in places where ground crew can easily see it, such as the lower forward fuselage of the nose gear doors. Some air forces have large "buzz numbers" to identify individual aircraft in the air: these might be derived from the serial number, or they might be randomly allocated.

Roundels might be repeated on the top and bottom of each wing, or just on the top (on the principle that underside ones would be obscured by stores anyway). Some air forces put a roundel on the top of one wing, a serial on the top of the other, and the reverse on the undersides. Fuselage roundels may be placed wherever there's room, or the air force might have a "hard and fast" rule that it goes in such-and-such a place, which leads to awkward compromises on some aircraft.

Then there's squadron badges, individual mascots, kill markings.......ad infinitum............

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

A good place to start is our very own gallery - There you'll see everything from my own very close to real world camo patterns to stuff that really belongs in a gallery of contemporary art and all points in-between.

Perhaps looking at where your Air Force is going to operate will help. If it's arid desert conditions, look at light sands & tans with contrasting darker browns or olive greens. Overwater and maritime ops would probably need greyish blues, bluish greens and dark greys. Over forrests, then think of using rich greens, off-blacks and/or earth browns and greys.

And ultimately, as STS says, have a look at what our own profilers turn-out. There's endless inspiration there !

HtH

Ian

[Mossie]

I borrowed a few Hind profiles from Wings Palette & thought I'd have a go at re-colouring them.

First three based on Joe's advice, white over a section of the base camouflage:




Next three are on a Czech three tone camouflage, a few changes made to the base colours.




What do you think?  Might do some more based on the WWI era patterns that Jeff mentioned.

[nev]

1st one for me

[Mossie]

Thanks Nev, nice & simple, does look good doesn't it?

A few more, first one was an attempt to try & represent an all over distemper that was then either weathered or deliberately partially removed for thaw periods:



Next two, up to the minute digicamo, two & three tone.



Don't read into the colours too much, I'm not up on Soviet camo so any suggestions for colours are welcome.  Same with markings, it'll probably be Soviet (don't think I've got much in the way of Warsaw Pact decals).

[noxioux]

You knew this was coming, but I can't help it.

1. The first rule of whiffing is, there are no rules.
2. The second rule of whiffing is, there are no rules.
3. The third rule of whiffing is. . . (ad nauseum).

999999. The last rule of whiffing is, "It's my fecking model!"

[cthulhu77]

Yep. As I've said before, my father's stories of the paint jobs in WW2 were amazing. When they were off duty, they'd drink beer and paint PT boats in all kinds of schemes, or decorate the aircraft. What else is there to do in the South Pacific when you can't do anything else?  Go scrounge some paint, and have a bit of fun.

Love the digital camo, would it be ok if I used that on the next Hind?

[Mossie]

I'd be honoured Greg!  I was using those profiles to test schemes, but not actually for a Hind so there's no worry of clashing, if I ever get around to mine anyway!

[royabulgaf]

Build what you want, how you want to- they'll flame you anyway.  Or something like that.  From the late Al Superczynski.

Also, from Mike Horina, the resident Bf 109 expert, talking about real 109 camo, not whiffs-
"By 1942 they were losing the war, and the last thing on their minds was f#$%$ing pigment!  In the field, if they had to paint a plane they'd use captured French stock thinned with f*&*^ing diesel fuel!  You think at the factories they would sit around with their thumbs up their asses waiting for some RLM f&^%ing 73 brown?  They'd use whatever brown they had in stock!  And if they didn't have brown, they'd grab some f(*&ing green!

[GTX]

Build what you want, how you want to- they'll flame you anyway.  Or something like that.  From the late Al Superczynski.

Also, from Mike Horina, the resident Bf 109 expert, talking about real 109 camo, not whiffs-
"By 1942 they were losing the war, and the last thing on their minds was f#$%$ing pigment!  In the field, if they had to paint a plane they'd use captured French stock thinned with f*&*^ing diesel fuel!  You think at the factories they would sit around with their thumbs up their asses waiting for some RLM f&^%ing 73 brown?  They'd use whatever brown they had in stock!  And if they didn't have brown, they'd grab some f(*&ing green!

At last sanity!!!

Regards,

Greg

[Mossie]

So this is where my images ended up.  I'll be moving them back to their original home.

[Geoff]

In the same vein -
The Japanese used captured allied paint in the early stages of the war where needed and by the end of the war if they had no paint, it didn't get painted, or a lot had upper colours but no lower cammo.