Old MacDonald
Airman
- 65
- Mar 27, 2018
Is Ian still with us? Was going through a folder tonight of camouflage articles I haven't opened in at least 25 years (it was misplaced) that contains dozens of Ian's articles on aircraft camo from pre-WW I through the '80s. I'm pretty sure the articles were published in Scale Aircraft Modelling, the excellent original modeler-centric publication that predated the later slicker but less gritty Scale Aircraft Modelling International.
To educate the younger set, Ian was the original camouflage colors expert, working at a time where not only was there no internet, only a handful of the military camo colors books had yet been published, and the only sources were official documents and correspondence with military airmen, modelers, and aero historians around the world. Even historical official documents were difficult to obtain since you had to actually visit the various museums, repositories, etc., and the only copies you could make were either photographic (as in taking an actual photograph of the document) or "photocopying" on that horrible yellow/brownish paper that turned dark brown within a couple years. Those were the days...
The man accomplished Herculean tasks in a most difficult environment, and truly got the camo colors study genre started.
My recollection is hazy, but I recall he was a young kid during the war and either an Air Cadet or some sort of Observer Corps auxiliary (?). He took copious notes at the time, including painting in his notes the colors as he perceived them at the time (water colors?). He occasionally included images of his contemporary notes in his articles, and it was easy to see that even at a very early age he was very serious about accurately recording colors and camouflage patterns, usage notes, etc.
I hope he's still with us; regardless, the man deserves to be remembered and revered as the legendary originator of serious color and camouflage research and accurate documentation.
Ol' Mac
To educate the younger set, Ian was the original camouflage colors expert, working at a time where not only was there no internet, only a handful of the military camo colors books had yet been published, and the only sources were official documents and correspondence with military airmen, modelers, and aero historians around the world. Even historical official documents were difficult to obtain since you had to actually visit the various museums, repositories, etc., and the only copies you could make were either photographic (as in taking an actual photograph of the document) or "photocopying" on that horrible yellow/brownish paper that turned dark brown within a couple years. Those were the days...
The man accomplished Herculean tasks in a most difficult environment, and truly got the camo colors study genre started.
My recollection is hazy, but I recall he was a young kid during the war and either an Air Cadet or some sort of Observer Corps auxiliary (?). He took copious notes at the time, including painting in his notes the colors as he perceived them at the time (water colors?). He occasionally included images of his contemporary notes in his articles, and it was easy to see that even at a very early age he was very serious about accurately recording colors and camouflage patterns, usage notes, etc.
I hope he's still with us; regardless, the man deserves to be remembered and revered as the legendary originator of serious color and camouflage research and accurate documentation.
Ol' Mac
