**** DONE: Spitfire Mk IXc - James Edgar " Johnnie" Johnson - Aircraft of the Aces GB

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Swearing helps but knowing stripes were 18" wide also helps. That's 3/8" in 1/48 scale so all you have to do is cut some tape to that width. Paint the white area first (5x 3/8" = 1-7/8" wide) then apply the masks and paint the black. Piece of cake. Remember too that the stripes tended to be slapped on in the field so straightness and consistency of width is not necessarily required.
 
Thanks Wayne. Thanks Andy. I was rereading an article about invasion stripes last night so I knew about the 18" wide for single engine aircraft and 24" wide for multi-engine but you just saved me time swearing at my calculater. Unfortunatly, never having done invasion stripes before, saying "all you have to do" is something like saying playing the saxaphone is easy, just blow in one end and move your fingers up and down the holes. I may just take a tip and overcoat with Future (Klear) first, that way if I fubar it to badly I can clean up the edges.
 
brucejscott said:
Unfortunatly, never having done invasion stripes before, saying "all you have to do" is something like saying playing the saxaphone is easy, just blow in one end and move your fingers up and down the holes.
Click to expand...

Sorry Bruce, didn't mean to sound patronizing. I completely understand what you're saying and it was not intended to make the job sound easy. Sounds like you have a good plan and I look forward to seeing the results.
 
Well, OK. Without specifics, I'm not sure what problems you've had. Maybe bleed through? Use a good quality tape like Tamiya and make sure you burnish down at the edges to be painted. Use something round and hard, like the back of a brush handle. Let us know what questions you have. Happy to help.
 
Once you've masked the areas for the black stripes, over the white, paint a thin coat of white down the edges of the tape. This will seal the tape, and prevent bleed when the black is applied. If there are any ridges after the tape is removed, a very light sanding will remove these, and may even give the appearance of how the 'real thing' looked after brush application in the field.
 
Not much of an update. It's the best I can do from bed with some basic tools, brush and paint. Makes me feel better to be working on it though. Have a doctors appt. today and maybe he'll let me get up and move around other than going to the bathroom and sneaking to the bench.


 
I would like, if I may, to make a point, here; much is made of how the D-day stripes were just "slapped on," but one needs to think just a little more about this. Johnson was a commander of a Wing, not just any pilot, so isn't it reasonable to suppose that the ground crew might have taken just that extra little bit of care? A member of Beamont's Squadron told how the C.O.'s aircraft was painted with ruler-straight lines, and presented to the hierarchy under the lights of a hangar, while they were left to paint the rest in the dark. There's also the question of scale; paint "sloppy" lines that deviate by only 1mm., and, in 1/48, that equates to 2 inches, which is a heck of a lot, even when I wield a brush.
Edgar
 
In the case of Johnson, and similar higher-ranking aircrew, I'd tend to agree Edgar. The picture in post #13 shows the AEAF stripes on his aircraft to be relatively neat, although they still have the appearance of being hand painted, and other close up shots show this to more advantage.
The main thing to attempt to replicate is the 'look' of the distemper-type paint used which, however neatly the stripes were applied, still gives other than a 'factory finish' appearance. That said, post D-Day, with newer aircraft at the MUs, the stripes were applied at these units, and done properly, giving a totally different look to the finished result.
 
Thanks for all the good wishes guys. It helps. On Tuesday the doctor gave me the OK to be up and around ( still eating yogurt and soup ) so I went straight for the bench, did some masking, some painting and this is what I came up with. There are a couple of ragged edges to be touched up with a brush, but overall, I am quite pleased. Now it is time to give Andy and Terry's suggestions a try on the invasion stripes.




 
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