What have I done here?

[flyjoe180]

I agree with Steve, the demarcation between the colours on RAF aircraft painted at the factories were hard edged. The edges between field-applied paint colours may have been softer due to a lack of masks or time, but the general consensus is a hard edge.

[Guest]

Well, it has hard edges. It's my model

So there!

:-p

[Guest]

Hard edges on the real thing Mike. But look at an aircraft far enough away as the scale of your aircraft. are the demarcation lines sharp ?

In my book they are slightly hazy. Due part to our eyes and to the atmosphere and the further away you are from an object the sharpness fades into fuzz.

Opposite look at an object on a desk top. Now put it under magnification and the realisation is there.

Working to scale or not. An interpretation of the real or to what you actually see in reality !

Laurie

[stona]

Quite right Laurie. In the end it's open to interpretation and everyone should do their camouflage in a way that suits them. I'm only ever pointing out how it was done on the original aircraft. It's certainly not up to me to tell anyone how to paint their model

It is worth remembering that the schemes on British aircraft were known as disruptive schemes which might explain both the demarcations and the colour contrasts. They were not applied on a whim but developed as a result of extensive research over many years. The principle reason for the hard edges was however simply a solution to production problems. Merging the colours led to rough demarcations which increased drag. There were attempts to rectify this by rubbing down the affected area, but this caused more problems. The simple and easiest solution was to insist on sharply sprayed demarcations, whether masked or otherwise. There were inspectors from the MAP in every factory (including those in the US fulfilling British contracts) and these standards were mandatory.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Always amazes me that even in the dire circumstances that Great Britain (as she was called then) found herself in WW11 rules and regulations were adhered to.

Also the letters commands and history of aircraft was preserved through the WW11.

Just quite incredible that this nation just feasts on preserving all things. Births Deaths and Marriages for instance. It is just incredible especially that it is only recently that the Nation relied on the old pen and paper method.

To repeat I just find all that in the heat of war whether camouflage colours or who got married with all the details all recorded on bits of paper or in logged books. Quite amazing.

Laurie

[Guest]

I think what amazes me is the amount of thought and research that went into whether the lines should have hard edges or not in times of limited technology!

No wind tunnels, no liquid flow dynamics, or any of the other technologies sat at the back of a Formula One team garage that costs tens of millions to return a 0.004 second improvement in lap times!

[Guest]

Mine's still hard edge though :P

[Guest]

Mine's still hard edge though :P

Naughty boy. :P

[stona]

I think what amazes me is the amount of thought and research that went into whether the lines should have hard edges or not in times of limited technology!No wind tunnels, no liquid flow dynamics, or any of the other technologies sat at the back of a Formula One team garage that costs tens of millions to return a 0.004 second improvement in lap times!

They knew all about aerodynamics though. A lot of the data was gathered by experiment. They had wind tunnels too. The Germans had one big enough for a full sized fighter. Most, as today, were big enough for models.



This is the Hermann Goering wind tunnel at the 'Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt' (aviation research institute) Braunschweig in Germany (obviously).

You might be able to make out the typically Nazi slogan on the wall in the background:

"Das deutsche Volk wird sich

durch die Eroberung der Luft

seinem ihm gebührenden Platz

in der Welt erzwingen."

This translates roughly as "The German people will by the conquest of air seize its rightful place in the world."

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

A couple of interesting articles.

A knew of a wind tunnel at the NPL (National Physical Laboratories) as the year before leaving school I had decided, on the recommendation of my Church Organ Tutor who was a scientist at the NPL, to study Metallurgy and the Fatigue of Metals. Decided in the end to join the Fatigue of Architectural Training. I have always wondered if I would have become involved on the Comet metal fatigue problem.

http://www.npl.co.uk/about/history/research/wind-tunnels/

http://gizmodo.com/you-can-explore-this-wwii-era-wind-tunnel-for-the-first-1599888633

Laurie

How did we get from an airbrush problem to a wind tunnel although I suppose it is all pushing air around.

[stona]

Getting even further off topic, there is a BIOS report (British Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee) on this facility. It covered four square miles and the British, or more accurately the Canadians who wrote the report, were mightily impressed with it. I have a copy of the report, but for anyone else interested it is No. 160 and comprises 44 pages of data about the site, the various wind tunnels, including a supersonic wind tunnel capable of achieving Mach 1.75 and a water tunnel.

Report No.119 covers the other major aviation research institute the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt fur Luftfahrt (D.V.L.) It covers the different fuels and a bit of engine testing.

Cheers

Steve

[Ian M]

Sorry to throw a curve ball but the OP of the "freehand" comment, was I think possibly referring to the actual shape of the line rather than the demarcation between the colours.

The flow of the line being soft curves rather than jagged.

Still the resulting posts where very informative.

Ian M

[Guest]

Sorry to throw a curve ball but the OP of the "freehand" comment, was I think possibly referring to the actual shape of the line rather than the demarcation between the colours.The flow of the line being soft curves rather than jagged.

Still the resulting posts where very informative.

Ian M

Hahaha!! OK, I see your point now! You mean a more flowing camo pattern like in the real thing:

And not the randomness of mine! Come to think of it I seem to have replicated something more akin to tank camo, I see your point!

I also notice the above picture of a Hurricane in the RAF museum quite clearly isn't a hard edge camo either!

[Guest]

Steve, Laurie,

Is there anything you don't know?!

[stona]

Sorry to throw a curve ball but the OP of the "freehand" comment, was I think possibly referring to the actual shape of the line rather than the demarcation between the colours.The flow of the line being soft curves rather than jagged.

Still the resulting posts where very informative.

Ian M

Good point, and he'd be absolutely right too. I love the S shaped curve on the starboard side, under the cockpit of a Spitfire like Johnson's here.



Cheers

Steve