What kind of reaction would this idea get?

[Graeme Halliday]

I have been flying model warbirds for a lot of years and I was thinking over the weekend, what kind of reaction would a warbird get if it turned up at an airshow having had a modellers weathering paint job.

So the airframe would be painted properly in correct scheme and markings.
Then a paint job was done to look like a combet veteran. Maybe even a few painted bullet holes?

Now I'm going to hide and wait for the reaction.

This was provoked by seeing the beautiful Snafu flying shots and thinking what if?

[Mike J]

Well, Hangar 11's P-40M has been flying in a weathered movie paint scheme, complete with fake streaking from the guns on the wings, for the past couple of seasons.

[Tin Triangle]

True, and as years pass since it's last painting Spitfire BM597 is looking increasingly "weathered". (fantastic in my view)

[Hot_Charlie]

Take a look at the photos of AR501 in Tony Holmes' "Spitfire: Flying Legend" book.

Properly "weathered".

[Martin Garrett]

Sally B of course flew on the circuit for a short period in the heavily weathered Memphis Belle scheme she had worn for the film of the same name.

[|RLWP]

Do you mean with every panel line picked out in black, leaking oil? And with every panel painted a slightly different colour to it's neighbour and with a colour gradation across it? And with random chips of paint missing all over with the bare metal showing? Plus the underside and flanks coated in light brown 'dust'?



Richard

[Malcolm McKay]

Do you mean with every panel line picked out in black, leaking oil? And with every panel painted a slightly different colour to it's neighbour and with a colour gradation across it? And with random chips of paint missing all over with the bare metal showing? Plus the underside and flanks coated in light brown 'dust'?



Richard

[aeronut 2008]

I just wish owners would stop polishing bare aluminium to a mirror finish.

[Snoopy7422]

The BoB film a/c were (over) weathered. 'The Piece of Cake' were too. I seem to recall even one or two of the BBMF had 'cordite' weathering at one stage. Schemes naturally weather with use and fade in the sun.
'Bullet holes?. Now we are being childish... What about blood...?

[ZRX61]

I just wish owners would stop polishing bare aluminium to a mirror finish.

That's still better than muppets who paint the aircraft with base/clear. Cruises P51 is painted with clearcoat & it's a PITA.

[pistonrob]

yeah but what happens when you get glue all over the canopy n melt it lol

[JT442]

Nevermind the canopy... what's Charlie Brown going to say when someone glues him to his seat?....

[TonyT]

I just wish owners would stop polishing bare aluminium to a mirror finish.

Yeah, Betty used to have hers done until they realised they had polished half of the skin away.

[J Boyle]

I just wish owners would stop polishing bare aluminium to a mirror finish.

Hopefully you mean on warbirds only.
Postwar, many general aviation aircraft were delivered with very shiny surfaces from the factory: Luscombs, Cessna (120/140/170s), as well as Beech Bonanzas and Model 18s.
Often, especially on the higher-end aircraft like 18s, they were kept at a mirror finish by their owners.

Many warplanes were delivered shiny (look at some of the factory photos) but soon weathered because no one wanted to polish them unless used by VIPs.

A friend has just bought his first plane, a Luscombe, and he's giving it it first polish in decades.

In other words, for some historici aircraft, a mirror finish is correct.

[Dan Johnson]

I just wish owners would stop polishing bare aluminium to a mirror finish.

Not nearly as silly as artificially weathering them to look combat worn, since they aren't flying combat.

Most of us don't pour mud our cars so they look used. More likely to wash and polish

[vultee35]

I don't think 'Sally B' ever looked better than here.

[DazDaMan]

The BoB film a/c were (over) weathered. 'The Piece of Cake' were too. I seem to recall even one or two of the BBMF had 'cordite' weathering at one stage. Schemes naturally weather with use and fade in the sun.
'Bullet holes?. Now we are being childish... What about blood...?

I think the Battle of Britain planes were decorated in accordance with the model team's efforts, not the other way around. Of course, as the planes were flown every day, they weathered very quickly!!

The Piece of Cake Spits weren't really weathered much, as I remember. They were all painted in generic 1940 camouflage, initially with peel-off squadron codes until they were omitted entirely on the grounds of continuity. The Messerschmitts were painted in generic Luftwaffe camo also.

[JollyGreenSlugg]

G'day folks,

I'll add my vote for a big, two foot-wide, gluey thumb print somewhere on the upper surface of the aeroplane!

Cheers,
Matt

[Ian Hunt]

... and some of the aerial masts and guns snapped off.

Or the undercarriage legs the wrong way round.

: )

[JollyGreenSlugg]

Oh, and the yellow prop tips should all be of slightly different sizes, and show evidence of having been applied by dipping the blade in a tin of paint!

I think there'd need to be a shiny, clear coat over the insignia, extending about six inches outside the borders of the markings.

*cough*

Cheers,
Matt

[Graeme Halliday]

Those posts referencing plastic modelling errors missed the fact fact I specifically said flying models. I have seen many excellent examples of large scale Rc models which look the aged part. Some of which would be difficult to tell from the full size in flight.

[JollyGreenSlugg]

As one who jumped in with silly jokes, I'll be serious for a minute.

I don't understand the idea that one would need to recreate a modeller's work on a real aeroplane. The modeller is recreating a scale version of an aeroplane at a given point in history, while an owner of a real aeroplane could also weather the aeroplane to represent a certain point in history. This, then, doesn't need to refer to scale models at all.

If model A in 2011 is a representation of aeroplane B in 1943, then aeroplane C in 2012 could also be painted up as aeroplane B in 1943. Even if model A was done before aeroplane C, the work done to aeroplane C is surely a representation of aeroplane B in 1943, not a representation of model A in 2011 which is also a representation of aeroplane B in 1943.

Hmm, I think I've confused myself!

I don't mean to be smart here, I just don't see that one would copy a scale replica of an original when one bypass the middle-man and just copy the original. I'm very happy to have my misconceptions set straight, by all means.

Cheers,
Matt

[J Boyle]

G'day folks,
I'll add my vote for a big, two foot-wide, gluey thumb print somewhere on the upper surface of the aeroplane!

It would be fun for Airfix to sponsor an aircraft for the airshow season decorated like you suggest.
I can't see a Spitfire owner going for it, but perhaps a jet.

[vultee35]

Looking through the history books, I can't say I've seen that many glossy, polished, washed down after every flight fighting machines. There's a picture of an olive drab P-51 in Roger Freeman's Mighty Eighth in Colour which shows all the underside paint around the dog house to have been blasted away by the prop wash. Nice perfectly masked invasion strips is another thing I'm not keen on. If I had the money to spare, I'd pay someone to paint a warbird to look used, repaired etc, so long as it was done carefully without going OTT.

[canadair]

Quote:
I just wish owners would stop polishing bare aluminium to a mirror finish.



I completely agree, this is a disgrace!

[aeronut 2008]

And here's me thinking this was a thread about warbird schemes and in response to my personal opinion about mirror finishes I'm shot at with examples of civilain aircraft, where the mirror finish is appropriate (but it still doesn't get my juices flowing).
My personal favourite warbird was the Shuttleworth Spitfire Mk V before her restoration. She was kept clean (but not by someone with OCD) but the paintwork was grubby/scratched/worn. I do hope that when she reappears from the workshop she is again allowed to 'weather' naturally.

[|RLWP]

Those posts referencing plastic modelling errors missed the fact fact I specifically said flying models.

{snip}

I'm afraid that is a subtlety that was lost on me Graeme.

Richard

[taylorman]

Hmmmm yea Hangar 11's P40 looks nice!

http://www.hangar11.co.uk/p40gallery.html

[CIRCUS 6]

I don't think 'Sally B' ever looked better than here.

That's pretty nice but when I first walked through Sally B, she was bare metal with a blue stripe up the fin and looked much much better, IMHO.

[8674planes]

Quote:
I just wish owners would stop polishing bare aluminium to a mirror finish.



I completely agree, this is a disgrace!

That aircraft recently sold on Platinum Fighters. Apparently it is coming to Europe. Good for some but bad for others!