Hasegawa 1/32 Fw 190D-9 Late "Brown 4"

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys!  Appreciate the comments.  The Gunze Mr Metal colors are something new that I'm trying.  I picked up a few shades looking for metallic paints that I could brush paint with and they seemed to shoot through the airbrush ok.  They shot ok out of the bottle but I've also thinned them with Mr Leveling Thinner with similar results.  I'm gonna talk a little bit about my camo painting choices as there are a lot of interpretations of Brown 4 out there.  But first let's back to the model for a bit...

 

Typically, I paint in the rough order of real-life paint application.  Camo first, markings afterwards.  However, in this case, I decided to deviate and paint the black and white JG26 tailband first.  There are some advantages to doing this that I wanted to take advantage of, primarily being the reduced number of paint coats.  Minimizing paint coats is always important on my riveted builds as the small holes tend to get filled with paint.  The white is sprayed on first.

 

The demarcation between the black and the white is masked off with Tamiya yellow tape and then the black is sprayed on.

 

 

The whole band is then masked off with Tamiya yellow tape and we won't get to see the results until after the camo painting is done. But doing it this way has saved me at least 2-3 layers of paint under the tail bands. Another advantage is that the masking is a little bit easier as the cross-section is a bit more uniform than masking the bands afterwards.

 

 

I am going to do some hairspray chipping along the wing roots so in preparation for that, the wing roots are sprayed using Tamiya AS-12 silver spray paint decanted into my airbrush and thinned slightly with Mr Leveling Thinner.

 

[JayW]

John - your airbrushed areas seem so controlled, with the feathered zones quite narrow.  What pressure do you use, and was that done with the HP-C+?  If so, did you use the limiter nut on the aft end?  I haven't used that much; I don't think I like it.

Edited September 29, 2022 by JayW

[Thunnus]

On 9/28/2022 at 4:32 AM, Troy Molitor said:

Love to see the coloring applied.  The photos you take are just as good as the model.  We are so spoiled witnessing this one come together.  

Looking forward to the top side as well.  I recall this particular aircraft had two different tones of RLM 76 applied?  The RLM 75 on the underside really pops next to the natural metal.  Another epic build coming together for you John.  Love it.  

 

Thanks Troy! Ailerons in standard RLM76 and lower fuselage in the late war variation of RLM 76, so yes, two types.  Some profiles show the tail unit in standard RLM 76 which I might consider.

 

 

On 9/28/2022 at 11:52 AM, 66misos said:

Super build. I really like your attention to details. Hope you don't mind if I post some pics for you inspiration.

 

Note some panel lines on the bottom side of the wing are bright - looks like light grey putty (?) overpainted with thin layer of the camouflage color, in your case RLM 75:

 

I am really curious for your interpretation of that panel - its color and the color of the line around the panel:

 

What color are you going to use for the upper surfaces - RLM 81 of the brown shade or dark/olive green shade?

Happy modeling.

  66misos

 

 

 

Thank you for the comments and the photos!  I'm not sure I'm going to try to replicate all of the subtle color differences that are shown in that first photo.  I see it and acknowledge it but I find it difficult to incorporate those types of things if I don't have a good view of the other areas of the aircraft.  As far as the large underwing panel is concerned, it looks to me like the cover is missing, along with the smaller oval ports inboard of that big panel.  FYI.. I am aware of a very informational discussion regarding various aspects of Brown 4 at modelforum.cz including the disposition of this particular panel.  Color for the upper surfaces?  See below!

 

 

10 hours ago, JayW said:

John - your airbrushed areas seem so controlled, with the feathered zones quite narrow.  What pressure do you use, and was that done with the HP-C+?  If so, did you use the limiter nut on the aft end?  I haven't used that much; I don't think I like it.

Hey Jay... I'm running HP C+ at about 15-20 psi.  And yes, I use the limiter nut in certain situations.  When I want an especially fine line or demarcation, I'll thin my paint, drop the psi to about 10 and use the limiter nut to put a max limit on paint output as to minimize paint pooling.

 

Ok... a little bit of explanation on how I am approaching the camo painting of Brown 4.  First off, a disclaimer... I am not claiming any type of authenticity or accuracy with my color choices.  Most of it is based on published references but there are also some personal preferences and interpretation involved. I am approaching this as an interesting and fun exercise to juggle the different references and come up with a version of Brown 4 that makes sense to me.

 

There are a lot of different interpretations and color profiles of Brown 4 and considering that all of these are based on a few black and white images of the aircraft, they are all arguably valid.  I consider Jerry Crandall and the folks at JaPo to be two of the more inforrmed resources when it comes to Doras and so I tend to give their interpretations more weight than others.  The difficulty comes when these two resources come into conflict with one another, which is the case with Brown 4.  

 

Below is JaPo's profile of Brown 4.  The late war variation of RLM 76 as the primary fuselage color is shared with Crandall but JaPo describes the upper colors as primarily RLM 81 Brown with maybe a touch of RLM 82 Bright Green on the canopy frames and rear fuselage.

 

 

The profile of Brown 4 from Crandall's Dora Volume 1 is a bit different.  Crandall describes the upper camo colors as a combination of green colors (RLM 82 Bright Green and RLM 83 Dark Green) with the upper wings being possibly RLM 74 Dark Grey/RLM Grey Violet.

 

 

If you have both of these excellent references, you'll notice that there seem to some recurring themes that manifest themselves in the camo interpretations.  For example, JaPo holds strongly to the opinion that the forward wing bottoms of Mimetall (500xxx) Doras were painted in the darker of the two upper wing colors, most likely RLM 81 Brown.  In contrast, Crandall usually asserts that this forward wing bottom color was RLM 75 Grey Violet.  Nearly impossible to say who is right or wrong but I present the interesting case one particular Mimetall D-9... Black 8 (500581).

 

JaPo's profile of Black 8 is very similar to its Brown 4.  Late war RLM 76 as the primary fuselage color with the top fuselage color being a singular application of RLM81 Brown. Upper wings are described as a high contrast pairing of standard RLM 76 Light Blue and RLM 81 Brown, with the brown wrapping to the forward wing bottom.

 

 

And consistent with its own description of Brown 4, Crandall's profile of Black 8 specifies a combination of green (RLM 82/RLM 83) on the top with area forward of the windscreen being RLM 81 Brown.

 

 

Unlike JaPo, which seems to only have access to black and white photos of Black 8, Crandall's book also has COLOR photos of Black 8 to support its camo description.  In the photos, it is clear to me that a bright green was used on the upper fuselage and that the upper wings were a combination of grey colors, presumably RLM 74/RLM 75.

 

 

In addition to confirming the use of bright green as a fuselage camo color, this throws a little bit of water on the idea of RLM81 being applied on the forward wing bottoms and has lead to my decision to use RLM 75 instead.  But I do think there is merit in JaPo's contention that an upper wing color was continued to the forward wing bottom.  But instead of the darker color like RLM 81, it will be the lighter RLM 75 and I'll base the upper wing camo pattern on another Mimetall Dora that JaPo describes.

 

 

Further thinking about JaPo's assertion that Mimetall Doras were painted with a singular application of RLM 81 Brown on the upper fuselage... I think it could've been possible with a field application of green(s) showing up on some/many/all Doras like Black 8.  Blue 12 (500570) is one of the more heavily photographed Doras.  And based on color photos, JaPo has grudgingly acknowledged the use of green on the upper fuselage along with its favored RLM 81.  I think this is a good blueprint for what Brown 4 might have looked like.

 

 

Below is a photo of Blue 12 prior to being scrapped.  I don't know if you see the same thing that I do but it seems possible that there is a darker application (RLM 81) underneath the green.  RLM 82 Bright Green field applied over a factory application of RLM 81 seems to be a good compromise/explanation between the different Crandall/JaPo interpretations and that is how I am planning to approach the upper fuselage colors.

 

[Antonio Argudo]

here some interesting color pics, maybe useful 

 

 

[Thunnus]

Thank you Antonio! Yes, those are great photos! 

 

I really wanted to try the high contrast RLM 76 and RLM 81 scheme for the wings that JaPo presented on some of the Mimetall Doras and depicted in some photos...

 

 

But based on the pic of Brown 4, it seemed like a lower contrast RLM 83/RLM 75 or RLM 74/RLM 75 was more likely.

 

 

Based on the color photo of Black 8, which is also a Mimetall Dora (500581 vs 500647), I chose the latter.

[spyrosjzmichos]

Looking really good so far John!

[66misos]

Yes, there a tons of the different interpretation of Brown 4, plus different interpretation of RLM 81, from green to brown.

Here is a nice summary http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/luftcamdb_3.htm - exact shades of 81 and 82 were not defined from RLM level, neither real paint chips were provided. However, Focke-Wulf defined 81/82/76 scheme as "green" one.  

According to the http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/2008/07/01/luftwaffe-paints-new-discoveries/ they found a can with the LW paint from WW2 - it was marked "81" and content was dark green. 

So combination lighter green (82) and darker/oliva green (81) seems to be more probable than light green (82) + dark brown/brownviolet.

 

Several thought/inspirations regarding the upper surfaces:

There were no significant dark blotches on the vertical stabilizer (from Ta-152) on 500647 and her a bit younger sister 500645:

 

 

compare it to this:

 

The whole vertical stabilizer is a bit darker than fuselage:

 

here in artificial colors to make it more apparent:

 

It looks like orignal 76 was oversprayed with thin layer of darker (green?) color.

 

Upper surfaces on the horizontal stabilizers of "non-Mimetall" Doras and Tas had usually (?) low contrast colors at that time - darker and lighter green?

 

while for Mimetall Doras the high contrast seems to be more typical:

 

I do not know whether that patter is by accident or a result of the local habits or a result of the strict technological process. Any official painting instructions from Mimetall have not been found yet.

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by 66misos

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys!

 

Time to establish the pre-shade layer.  First, I go over the panel lines in black.

 

 

Using a trimmed piece of a kitchen scrubbing pad as a paint mask, I spray more black to establish a random mottle pattern.

 

 

This is applied to the entire exterior of the model.  What it does is provide some tonal depth/variation to the camo colors which are to come.  I developed this technique as an alternative to black-basing, which is similar but is essentially an inverse of what I do.  It uses less paint than black-basing as it forms contrast between the dark painted mottle and underlying plastic as opposed to two paint layers.

 

[Hoss FL]

It's coming along beautifully, John. Looks awesome. 

 

Regarding the paint scheme, I went through a similar exercise with a 1/48 scale Mimetall Dora, Black 4 W. Nr. 500576 and ended up with the high contrast wing pattern and the brown RLM 81 under the wing leading edge, even though Jerry's profile indicated RLM 75. I also based the upper camo on Blue 12. It's always a puzzle. 

 

 

By the way, have you tried Mr. Color Rapid Thinner with their Super Metallics? I've been experimenting with the Super Metallics and have found that Rapid Thinner results in a very smooth metal finish. It's smoother and less grainy than when used with Mr Color Leveling thinner.  

 

Loving your build and learning a lot. 

[Thunnus]

Beautiful quarter scale Dora, Hoss!  Love it!

 

Ok... I'm gonna be rushing through these next few painting steps.  I'm leaving for a week in Hawaii and I wanted to get the hairspray chipping done before I leave tomorrow.

The main fuselage color is the late war variation of RLM 76.  It's a yellow-green color similar to RAF Sky.  You can see that the Mr Hobby Aqueous version of RAF Sky matches the paint chip pretty well.  Being described as a "fragile" color and prone to color fading, I'm going to tint the Mr Hobby Aqueous color with some tan (Mr Hobby Aqueous Hemp).

 

 

Using a thinner:paint ratio of about 1.5:1, the Sky color is slow added to the fuselage, working small areas at a time.

 

 

Using thin mixes, you can modulate the pre-shading effect exactly the way you want it.  In my case, I want a very subtle, almost invisible to the eye, effect.

 

 

Leaving the tail assembly for later, I move on to the upper fuselage.

 

 

Covering large areas with a thin mix of paint takes time but it's a good practice of airbrush control, especially if you paint within panel lines and around objects.

 

 

After the fuselage is done, I move on to the next color, which is the lighter RLM 75 Grey for the wings.  

 

 

The second wing color is RLM 74 Dark Grey. Both grey shades are Mr Hobby Aqueous colors. No masks have been used, just careful spraying with the Iwata HP-C Plus.

 

 

After I let the grey shades dry for about an hour, I attacked the wing roots with a stiff paint brush and water.  There's a little more paint over the hairspray than is ideal but I was able to eke out some chipping.

 

 

I'll catch you guys later in about a week!

[MikeMaben]

Have fun John ...

[LSP_Kevin]

Great stuff as always, John! Have fun on your trip.

 

Kev

[JayW]

Magical painting once again John.  Have fun on vacation; do not think about Doras.

 

[Thunnus]

Thanks for the comments!  After a longer than intended stay in Hawaii, I'm back home in California.  Still have lots of post-trip logistics to deal with but I was able to re-visit the work on Brown 4 and make a bit of progress.

 

I've decided to paint the tail unit in the standard RLM 76 light blue (Mr Hobby Aqueous and lightened with a bit of white).  A few color profiles of Brown 4 show this and I thought it looked interesting.  It's also plausible/possible since the tail unit was manufactured and painted separately. The fabric-covered rudder will receive a mottle per other Mimetall-manufactured Doras like Blue 12.

 

 

The white upper wing crosses were painted using custom-cut masks.

 

[scvrobeson]

Always excellent progress John. I hope the trip went well for you.

 

I meant to ask, which black do you use for your pre-shading? It looks like it really gets the job done well.

 

 

Matt