Colour for Hellcat Nightfighter

[VFM-76 Hellcat]

Hi, I'm going to start building a 1/48 hellcat nightfighter but I don't know the exact colour for the plane . It is from VFN 76 if it is any help.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Hopefully this will help:

Grumman F6F Hellcat

I found this pic in Osprey's American Nightfighter Aces of WW2, Page 23

 

[Wurger]

 

[VFM-76 Hellcat]

Thanks, thats brilliant. Would you know what the two blues would be in revell/humbrol paints?

 

[kgambit]

ANA 623 (FS 15041) converts as follows:

Revell - No direct equivalent
Humbrol enamel - Sea Blue 181
Polly Scale - 505344 Navy Blue
Tamiya XF-17 Sea Blue

Source:

Ultimate Model Paint Conversion Chart - Paint4models.com

 

[R Leonard]

Hellcats operated by VF(N)-76 during its combat deployment were F6F-3N's.

As the USN had no special paint scheme for night fighters vs day fighters, the paint scheme would be the same as for any other F6F-3 type, specifically, non-specular sea blue on upper surfaces of the fuselage; semi-gloss sea blue on upper surface of the wings and horizontal stablizers; non-specular medium-blue - actually more of a blue-grey color- on the sides of the fuselage, vertical stablizer and rudder, blending into top sea blue and the non-specular insignia white on all surfaces viewed from below. Last five inches of the propeller tips would be gloss-yellow-orange.

 

[VFM-76 Hellcat]

Thanks for the information, got the tamya paint today . My inspiration for the kit is off the dogfights: nightfighters episode, where two hellcats destroy a destroyer and several japanese floatplanes. The colourscheme for the hellcats on that is like the picture provided by vikingBeserker but again thanks for the information .

 

[vikingBerserker]

Glad we could help. Make sure you post pics of it when you're done.

 

[R Leonard]

Ah! I knew I had one around here somewhere. This is a VF(N)-76 F6F-3N (radar on right wing is a dead give away)
in standard tri-color scheme. This one is from VF(N)-76 Det 3 aboard USS Essex in May 1944.

Rich

 

[VFM-76 Hellcat]

Damn, I've got to build another hellcat nightfighter

 

[N4521U]

OK, I've been looking for the proper color for the FGU-1 and as above it's Dark Sea Blue, Humbrol 181........... thing is 181 is no longer available! Will 81 do? or is this one too blue? or has anyone a formula to make this 181 color? buggah, Bill

 

[kgambit]

OK, I've been looking for the proper color for the FGU-1 and as above it's Dark Sea Blue, Humbrol 181........... thing is 181 is no longer available! Will 81 do? or is this one too blue? or has anyone a formula to make this 181 color? buggah, Bill

Try checking this link:

Ultimate Model Paint Conversion Chart - Paint4models.com

According to that, Humbrol 81 is a kind of dark mustard yellow so I would say 81 is a no go.

Try XtraColor 121 or Model Master 1717 - those should be a close match if not exact.

 

[N4521U]

Well don't I have egg on my face. What I Realllly have is Humbrol 104, Oxford blue. How close is this one? I may have to look for the Xtra or MM then. Which color did You use on the Hellcat? thanks for the reply. Bill

 

[kgambit]

Well don't I have egg on my face. What I Realllly have is Humbrol 104, Oxford blue. How close is this one? I may have to look for the Xtra or MM then. Which color did You use on the Hellcat? thanks for the reply. Bill

Closer than the yellow.

Couldn't get a chip of the 181 to post for a side by side comparison - Urban's color chart would NOT let me grab the color for some reason. But to me the 104 looked lighter, perhaps it would be a good match if you take the scale effect into account. I'm not an expert on Humbrol paints so I am going to defer to more learned scholars on this one.

 

[N4521U]

You are right. Just accessed the color reference chart for most of the military colors and got all the different brands with corresponding colors. Thanks for you effort, it was a great help mate. Bill

 

[N4521U]

Well here's my verdict. Went to a Sydney shop, down town. Didn't know the XF series Tamiya paints were enamels, duh, and that Mr Hobby was the same as Gunze! I compared MH54 with XF17 and shook both to mix. I saw the XF to be a little more blue tone? Am I correct? So my choice was XF17, I am thinking the color should be more blue than gray, my preference anyway. So, I wonder if this would be the correct night fighter color as well, or my choice. Not having the Humbrol181 color to compare with, I wonder again how close the XF17 would be? Anyone have the old 181 color to compare with? bill

 

[Airframes]

Bill, Tamiya pints are acrylic, NOT enamel. The XF means 'Flat' (matt) paint. I know the colour you want, but the tin I have is around thirty years old, and no longer produced with the same number! The last time I had to use a larger quantity, I just mixed it, using Humbrol (enamel) No.25 matt, and matt black. It was mixed until it looked 'right', allowing for the scale effect, and used on a 1/48th scale Corsair of the French Aeronavale, with a final gloss clear coat.

 

[N4521U]

A.F. I got the little square bottle of XF-17 and on the side it reads "ENAMEL PAINT SEA BLUE" and when I sniffed the contents, it is enamel, no mistaking. When the clerk grabbed the Tamiya I was taken aback because I thought all Tamiya paint was acrylic. Go figure. What do you think?

He also told me to go to an IGA grocer and look for Pledge One Go as a clear gloss floor polish. He also said he uses it for the flat finish by using a lot of air and low paint delivery. So I will look and see what I can find.

Sometimes I wish I didn't get so caught up in this detail quagmire, I tend to get a little ratteled over it. Bill

 

[kgambit]

A.F. I got the little square bottle of XF-17 and on the side it reads "ENAMEL PAINT SEA BLUE" and when I sniffed the contents, it is enamel, no mistaking. When the clerk grabbed the Tamiya I was taken aback because I thought all Tamiya paint was acrylic. Go figure. What do you think?

He also told me to go to an IGA grocer and look for Pledge One Go as a clear gloss floor polish. He also said he uses it for the flat finish by using a lot of air and low paint delivery. So I will look and see what I can find.

Sometimes I wish I didn't get so caught up in this detail quagmire, I tend to get a little ratteled over it. Bill

Now that's just wierd because Pledge One (or Future) usually requires a flat base mixed into it to produce a Satin or Matt surface.

Terry, Tamiya does make enamels. And the wierd thing is that they label the paint colors exactly the same as for the acrylics, so XF-17 is a flat paint but it can be EITHER enamel or acrylic - that must be why they have different shape bottles. Check out this link and look all the way at the bottom of the listing:

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/archive.htm

 

[Airframes]

Well I never! Haven't seen the square bottles in the UK, but then there was an EEC ban on some paint imports, especially Tamiya, due to their contents. This included all the acrylic metallics, which apparently have been re-formulated now, and are available again. Don't like the stuff anyway - toy paint!!
If Johnson's Future/Klear is sprayed as a single coat, neat, lightly, it very often dries almost matt, with a slight sheen. But for semi matt to full matt, just add Tamiya Flat Base as required, testing the finish until happy with the result.