DONE @ p.8 +++ Saab J31B, Flygvapnet F1 Västmanland Flygflottilj, late Fifties

[Old Wombat]

Ooh! Shiny!   

[Dizzyfugu]

Yes. Odd aircrafts call for simple outfits, IMHO. For the intended time frame (and for Sweden in general) there is only little choice of liveries. Green/grey like the Vampires might have been a cammo option, but as a an indigenous night fighter and because the J29s were delivered in NMF, too, I decided to take that shiny route    But it looks good and suits the aircraft, without an immediate Soviet feeling, which I feared.

[Rick Lowe]

Yes, she suits silver. 

[zenrat]

Yes. Odd aircrafts call for simple outfits, IMHO...

I agree.   You want her shape to be seen.  A familiar shape on the other hand you try to make it look different with a scheme of some sort.

[Dizzyfugu]

Not much new to show, detail painting makes slow progress. Radomes are black now, and first panels have been shaded in different aluminum tones. I consider painting panel lines with a soft pencil.

[Dizzyfugu]

Some things to show! As per usual, the model received a black ink washing, less for panel emphasis and weathering, but rather for a "cloudy" look of the metal surfaces. The black radome yields a strong B-66 resemblance!


1:72 SAAB J31B 'Val'; 'Blue T/Blå Tore (s/n 31040)' of the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) F1 Västmanland Flygflottilj, 2nd Squadron; Hässlö AB, Västerås (Central Sweden), 1956 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


After some panel shading here and there to simulate surface details that are not there (anymore) I also went the tediousroute and added panel lines, all drawn with a soft pencil. Appears to work, though.  And, yes, we have lost some antennae along the way... 


1:72 SAAB J31B 'Val'; 'Blue T/Blå Tore (s/n 31040)' of the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) F1 Västmanland Flygflottilj, 2nd Squadron; Hässlö AB, Västerås (Central Sweden), 1956 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Closely related: decal work. I started with the unit markings, a blue band behind the radome (which will also carry a small tactical code in white) and the large blue T on the fin. The latter was scratched from generic decal stripe material in white and blue - the best way to create a letter in proper size and color, together with a white outline for more contrast. Looks good so far.


1:72 SAAB J31B 'Val'; 'Blue T/Blå Tore (s/n 31040)' of the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) F1 Västmanland Flygflottilj, 2nd Squadron; Hässlö AB, Västerås (Central Sweden), 1956 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Keen eyes might notice and wonder about the odd landing gear struts' color: it's a metallic brown, something pale bronze-ish. Found that on some J29 and J35 aircraft, not certain whether it is a lacquer or bare material (maybe magnesium? But complete struts?), and thought it would add some excitement to the overall NMF aircraft - at least more than simple silver like the rest?

[Wardukw]

That's looking bloody great Diz..that silver really sets it off 👌 😀

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. What really changes the painted finish is some treatment with grinded graphite. It adds that metallic shine that paint (except for Metallizers, maybe) cannot create alone with mica/pigments. And the resulting cloudy unevenness is another bonus.

More markings coming soon. Finding Swedish roundels in proper size (and color! There is so much variation in print paints... ) in the scrap box is hard, they will probably become quite bright and large on the wings. There will also be black walkway lines on the wings and the spine, and some colorful stencils as well as some kind of "nose art" under the cockpit. I wanted to place the fuselage roundels there, but past-WWII Flygwapnet doctrine places them behind the wings, together with the squadron code number. The big engine nacelles will hide them somewhat, but that would have been the aircraft's livery in real life.

[PR19_Kit]

You could go REALLY WhatIf and put the roundels ON the engine nacelles instead.   

[Dizzyfugu]

Would be well visible there. 

[Pellson]

Thank you. What really changes the painted finish is some treatment with grinded graphite. It adds that metallic shine that paint (except for Metallizers, maybe) cannot create alone with mica/pigments. And the resulting cloudy unevenness is another bonus.

More markings coming soon. Finding Swedish roundels in proper size (and color! There is so much variation in print paints... ) in the scrap box is hard, they will probably become quite bright and large on the wings. There will also be black walkway lines on the wings and the spine, and some colorful stencils as well as some kind of "nose art" under the cockpit. I wanted to place the fuselage roundels there, but past-WWII Flygwapnet doctrine places them behind the wings, together with the squadron code number. The big engine nacelles will hide them somewhat, but that would have been the aircraft's livery in real life.

Roundels: Tell me what you need, and I will post them to you.

Finish/paint scheme: IRL, the Swedish night fighters first wore Bristish night fighter camouflage (Mosquito and Venom), and later an overall dark olive scheme (J32B Lansen). That said, silver is nice..

Nose art: Tread carefully here. There were some sqn markings, but if they appeared on aircraft at all, they soon disappeared again.
Also note sqn colours (valid for all wings). These were used for code letters (A-Ö) on the tailfin and maybe repeated in small sizes behind the radome, and/or for a ring around the nose behind the radome:
1st: red
2nd: blue
3rd: yellow
4th: green (rarely used, generally the 4th was a ground based training unit)
5th: black
Orange was used for test and evaluation units (Fc/Försökscentralen) and white by aircraft used to maintain flying proficiency for staff members.

Re roundel placement:
Yes, you're correct they originally were placed on the fuselage aft of the wings, and the wing code aft of the roundel. However, once the Draken appeared, having no "free fuselage", things changed, and roundels appeared on the nose. Still however, the wing code was aft of the roundel, on the fuselage. The early, unpainted AJ37 Viggens featured the wing code on the intakes, behind the cockpit, but as they were camouflaged, the codes soon moved to the nose again, but this time in front of the roundel! In your timeframe and aircraft layout, the rear fuselage is it!

[Dizzyfugu]

Roundels: Tell me what you need, and I will post them to you.

Thanks a lot for the offer and the unit marking info, that confirms what I know (so far) and my choices for the J31.  I think I have already found a suitable set, generic material from TL Modellbau. The blue is quite bright, but I think that's O.K. on an NMF aircraft. The relatively slender wings make size choice tricky - I want them to be big, at least on the wings, so that the aircraft is, as an interceptor, easily identifiable.

[Dizzyfugu]

things slowly become more and more concrete, here's a look at the J31 in all of its glory approaching the finish line, even though there's still a lot of detail work to do. But now "Blå Tore" looks... well, Swedish. 


1:72 SAAB J31B 'Val'; 'Blue T/Blå Tore (s/n 31040)' of the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) F1 Västmanland Flygflottilj, 2nd Squadron; Hässlö AB, Västerås (Central Sweden), 1956 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 SAAB J31B 'Val'; 'Blue T/Blå Tore (s/n 31040)' of the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) F1 Västmanland Flygflottilj, 2nd Squadron; Hässlö AB, Västerås (Central Sweden), 1956 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Pellson]

 

[Dizzyfugu]

I hope it becomes approved by natives.