ivanmoe

Found a nice color pic of a plane undergoing a been a bit of maintenance: The Kingfisher would appear to be either VERY well cared-for, or new. Note that the silver paint, is REALLY silver. BTW, if anyone would like a look at high-res version of the image above, here's a link to the original TIFF file: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/80-G-K-05000/80-G-K-5152.html

One more image capture, this one that highlights the difference between the Vought and Edo beaching gear:

Lots of nicely documented USN/USMC livery schemes for the type, and YW-decals has done a fine job of replicating the markings in 1/32.

Okay, it appears that there were two types of floats attached to Vought Kinfighers: The top, side-view drawing depicts the Vought floats, centerline and outrigger, while the bottom example is of those manufactured by the Edo Corporation. Assuming that Edo painted the floats before delivery, this could account for the difference in color that appears to exist in so many period images, color and B&W.

Western governments have been printing money without any economic growth to support its value. The kit's cost may well be reflective of currency concerns as the world attempts to move past the pandemic. Please don't take those comments as political, one way or the other. Just simple facts.

Another pic, and a second cut from the original: The original was a 6kx4k TIFF file from the Naval Heritage website that weighed in at a UI-busting 90mb. Hence the size-reduction of the first photo, and the cut from the original for the second. Black 33 may well be the plane imaged on the ground and posted several pics up. So, what the heck color is it? Well, I can't help but think that all the planes above are overall silver dope with yellow upper-wings (and black lettering). I did find pics of overall, light-gray Kingfishers with white lettering, but they were cited as being assigned to observation squadrons, not training units. I have no idea why the floats appear to be a different shade than the rest of the plane in several of the pics above, excepting the possibility that they were painted separately and attached after the plane was manufactured. As to why so many of the planes appear gray, rather than silver, I guess it can just be attributed to the limitations of photography contemporaneous to their capture. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread.

Very interesting. Particularly intrigued by the apparent difference in color between the fuselage/pylons and the floats. Thanks!

Ron, Given that the date on the pic is 1941, that's certainly plausible. However, I think that the lettering on the light gray scheme was typically white, as the paint scheme was intended as camouflage. Found more pics of planes with similar paint: The third and fourth pics, above, may very well be from Corpus Christi as well. Also, "black 55," appears to have its leading edge painted a third color, orange yellow, perhaps. Interesting. Edit: found a color pic. The caption says Pensacola: Don’t know if 32 is related to 33 in the previous picture. Subjects in B&W pics can be difficult interpret, color-wise.

Found a pic of a flight of Kingfishers apparently associated with Corpus Christi NAS: Any thoughts on what colors that we're looking at for the plane and floats above?

Are you using the cap that goes on top of the paint bowl? If so, paint won't drain and flow properly if the hole atop the cap is clogged.

Ah, a brave man indeed. Thanks, Albert, and good luck!

So, I'm noticing that the label on MRP clearcoats is the same as the maker's other, pre-mixed lacquers. Question... Is it safe to apply MRP's clear-coat varnishes over microscale decals? Don't want to destroy the markings trying to protect them. -Moe

Were it not for Dive Bomber and a spread of Enterprise pics in LIFE Magazine, we wouldn't know exactly what a lot of the planes actually looked like in the livery and setting of the time. Here are some stills from the film that I've collected over the years:

I hesitate to state that I really enjoyed The Thin Red Line (1998), but I think that the film touched on some important realities of combat and the military that such movies rarely do.

I’m a little surprised that no one has mentioned the different Das Boot series. True, both the original and newer versions are subtitled, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole lot. Band of Brothers is marvelous.

Great suggestions above, and am particularly enamored of BoB's soundtrack. As runner-ups, some films that you might not think of as conventional "war movies"... Lawrence of Arabia The Mission Last of the Mohicans Apocalypse Now Is Paris Burning -Moe

Greg, Kleenex makes a product called a "bathroom hand towel." https://www.kleenex.com/en-us/products/hand-towels It's not a paper towel and it's not a Kleenex. Rather, it's this really strong sheet of absorbent material. I've never measured one, but they appear to be about 9" square. I mentioned that they are strong. As evidence, I've accidentally run a used sheet through the wash on a couple of occasions. Then, I've accidentally put it through the dryer. In both instances, the product emerged from the ordeal intact. Sure, the sheet was pretty well crumpled up, but it had absolutely survived the laundry. I didn't reuse the sheets afterward, but I don't see why I couldn't have. The product is sold at most grocery stores. -Moe

Its really, really old, but All Quiet on the Western Front is a great movie.

One more tranche of pics and the backstory of the primer: Early on, Vought and Brewster had quality control problems at their Corsair plants. The original spec for the production Corsair called for 5 coats of zinc chromate. However, within months, corrosion commenced to appear. Vought and Brewster reacted by painting the pink-tinted primer over the top of the ZC. The thinking was that by doing so, they'd get at least two visible coats of anti-corrosive on the plane and staunch some of the oxidation issues. This went on for several months before the manufacturers returned to all ZC. Quality control issues at the plants gradually abated and the pink primer disappeared into faint memory. Grumman and Douglas never experienced the problem. I was told this story thirty years ago by the former chief of airframe inspections at the Navy's Alameda O&R facility.

More pics:

Got some pics related to the primer in question, so I thought that I'd share them:

Here's an example of "Mr Color" (not MRP) orange-yellow on what was something of a test subject for paint and rigging options: Out of the bottle, the concoction appeared to be too dark for orange-yellow, compared to Tamiya's "Camel Yellow." So, I mixed it 3-1 with insignia yellow as the lesser amount. Still too orange for my liking!

Mozart, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Lovely model that you've got there! I was always surprised that Testors never made a proper color for USN "yellow wings." Here's Tamiya's Camel Yellow. IMO, it's a good match for the subject matter, but I don't love the rattle-can bidness. Too wasteful and has all the other vices of spray-can solutions. Let me acknowledge that your MRP-treatment looks like a good one. In fact, it appears closer to a proper color for pre-war, US Navy types than MRP's designated bottle. Again, I'm looking for a nice, subtle orange-yellow and MRP's just looks too dark with too much red to me. Thanks again, -Moe

It was a little bit more involved than just the landing gear. See below: F11C-2: The plane was then modified for use as a dive-bomber, becoming the BFC-2: The navy liked the Goshawk in its new role and ordered an updated model with retractable landing gear and other upgrades. This was the BF2C: However, this one was a complete dud. The upper-wing vibrated so badly that use of the plane had to be severely limited. The USN retired them as quickly as possible. I've never understood why Hasegawa wasted its time on the BF2C. The F11C/BFC was far more successful, not to mention more attractive. So it goes.

Sorry, but you’ve got the wrong bird in mind. Hasegawa made a BF2C kit, one modeling a plane with retractable landing-gear that was unsuccessful in USN service.