Great V. I found the magazine article, and it would seem the 1/72nd scale kit is a 'down-sized' version of the 1/32nd scale kit. The modeller/author, who is apparently from the same area as I originate from, hence his choice of Squadron markings, included some nice detail shots of the two actual aircraft he measured, to check the accuracy of the Revell kit, and his finished model looks very nice indeed. It could almost pass for 1/48th scale, and it's mainly OOB.
Anyway, having got all the sanding and polishing done, which wasn't much, as the parts fit is mostly excellent, I've sprayed the undersides of the model.
The colour scheme on the real aircraft at the time, 1959, was Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey uppersurfaces, with 'Aluminium' undersides, in a gloss finish. In order to achieve a realistic-looking 'Aluminium' paint finish, rather than what might appear as a botched attempt at natural metal, I thought I'd have to mix two or more different 'silver' paints, possibly with the addition of a spot or two of grey.
However, the current Humbrol No11 Silver, whilst being nowhere near the bright, almost chrome shade of the original Humbrol paint, is a virtually spot-on match for the R.A.F. 'Aluminium' paint of the period. I was very surprised when I opened the tin, to find this 'new' paint is very thin, and needed the minimum of stirring. How it will perform if brush-painted, I have yet to find out, but it looked as if it could possibly be sprayed straight from the tin. But, not wanting to clog my new airbrush with a metallic paint, which, as you know, is a pain anyway to clean afterwards, I added a small amount of thinners, and did a bit of trial spraying on the 'hack' model I keep just for this purpose. After all the problems I've experienced lately with the 'new' Humbrol paints, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it sprayed beautifully. So, with the relevant parts of the model masked, I sprayed the underside of the wings, tailplanes and the fuselage, feathering the paint along the fuselage sides, on a line just above the level of the wings.
When this has thoroughly cured, I'm allowing a couple of days at least, a thin coat of Johnson's 'Klear' (Future) will be applied, in order to seal the paint and protect it from damage during handling. This will also allow the masking of the camouflage demarcation to be carried out, without fear of the paint 'picking' or lifting, when the masking tape is removed. The uppersurface camouflage can then be sprayed, with the grey going on overall first. When this is dry, I'll cut masks for the camouflage pattern, possibly from 'Frisk' film, as I need a hard-edged, and accurate separation of the green and grey, to replicate the finish of the period. Had the model been from a later era, when the pattern was soft-edged, I could have sprayed freehand.
I'm reasonably pleased with the underside fuselage joint; this was filled, sanded and polished where neccessary but, as a 'silver' finish is being used, as opposed to a solid colour or polished metal, using any form of paint to check, or smooth over the sanding of the joints is a non-starter, as it will almost always show-through the silver. There is a very small area where the joint is only just noticeable, but I think this will virtually disappear once the final gloss coat is applied.
As the kit is moulded in a very pale grey, almost white plastic, the surface detail was difficult to see until painted, and the 'silver' has suddenly made it come alive. With some very light panel line definition work, it should look rather good.
The pics show the model in between coats of 'Aluminium', and some of the other parts also sprayed, such as the flaps. Although the wheel-wells and flap reccesses will be in a matt silver finish, they were masked in order to prevent any build-up of paint overspray, which could not only affect the fine detail, but also prevent good adhesion of the parts yet to be fitted.
Thanks again for your kind comments, and I'll post some more pics when I get around to painting the uppersurfaces. Meanwhile, it's back to the studio... I mean the '110 build!