Some stupid questions.

[Guest]

Hey guys. So I'm building this Hawker Hunter and I've yet to decide whether I'm building it as an F6 in RAF camouflage, or as a GA11 in the Navy colour scheme. Either way, the cheapo Nichimo kit I bought has no directions on paint colours. The only paints I can source locally are the Tamiya paints in the little jars. Does anyone have any idea which colours I would need? Also I'm a bit confused as to the underside colour if I do the camouflage scheme. I've seen a few completed kits that people have posted pics of, and the undersides are plain aluminum colour, but if I do a Google image search, all the pics of real Hunters I can find are light grey on the undersides.

Finally, can I dilute these Tamiya paints and use them in an airbrush? If so, would I just think them with water? Do I need to filter the paint to get out any lumps?

[col68]

Hi Paul afraid I can't help with the paint scheme. Tamiya paints need to be thinned with isoprpyl thinners as they are not really acrylic based paint I use their x-20a

[Guest]

Does anyone have any idea which colours I would need? Also I'm a bit confused as to the underside colour if I do the camouflage scheme. I've seen a few completed kits that people have posted pics of, and the undersides are plain aluminum colour, but if I do a Google image search, all the pics of real Hunters I can find are light grey on the undersides.

I’m not an expert on the Hawker Hunter, but I do have a copy of a book on paint schemes for it: Warpaint No. 8: Hawker Hunter by Alan W. Hall (Husborne Crawly: Hall Park Books, n.d., ISSN 1363-0369). A quick look through this seems to tell me that RAF Hunter Fs were Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green on the upper surfaces and Light Aircraft Grey on the lower in the 1950s–80s, or you could go for a wrap-around scheme of only those first two colours in the 1980s. Royal Navy Hunters were Extra Dark Sea Grey on top with white underneath, or Extra Dark Sea Grey all-over in the 1980s.

(Hopefully this is fairly accurate, but if not, somebody with more knowledge than I have is bound to correct it )

Finally, can I dilute these Tamiya paints and use them in an airbrush? If so, would I just think them with water? Do I need to filter the paint to get out any lumps?

Yes, yes, only if there are genuine lumps in it — in that order. Stir the paint well with a flat stick, put it into the airbrush and thin it a little — it should spray really well.

Tamiya paints need to be thinned with isoprpyl thinners as they are not really acrylic based paint I use their x-20a

They are very much acrylics, and though the solvent Tamiya uses is some or another alcohol, this means you can thin them with water just fine as well. Tamiya thinner is horribly expensive compared to buying a bottle of windscreen wiper fluid, which is ±99%* identical in composition to Tamiya X-20.

* Rough guess, not supported by scientific analysis

[Mr Bowcat]

I thin Tamiya 1:1 with X20A or IPA, not tried other liquids. It sprays great, although recently I've been using Mission Models paints which I actually prefer.

[Guest]

Thanks so much for the info guys. The GA11 variant is a bit worrisome because in every picture it looks like a different colour. Some look grey whereas in some pics it looks blue.

[flyjoe180]

The GA11 variant is a bit worrisome because in every picture it looks like a different colour. Some look grey whereas in some pics it looks blue.

Standard colour is Extra Dark Sea Grey, it appears to have a blue tinge to it in certain light. Depending on your markings you can have a white underside or overall EDSG.

This page might help you out: http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co...r/profiles.php

[Guest]

Standard colour is Extra Dark Sea Grey, it appears to have a blue tinge to it in certain light. Depending on your markings you can have a white underside or overall EDSG.

This page might help you out: http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co...r/profiles.php

Thanks, that's actually very useful.