geedubelyer Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Hello fellow plastic manglers. Here's a few quickies. Does anyone have any info on the tape used to cover the gun ports on WW II RAF aircraft please? I am aware that it was a red in colour but what sort of shade? Bright, scarlet red or (perhaps more likely) a darker shade like a brownish, brick red? Was the tape similar to modern duct tape in texture? How wide was the tape and how was it typically applied if anyone knows. Any info is much appreciated, thanks. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitt_a Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Hello @geedubelyer, As far as I am aware, the gun port sealing was done by applying a doped fabric patch big enough to cover the gunport to the leading edge of the wing. This was held in place by the stickiness of the wet dope. The dope was the red primer used on fabric covered aircraft, therefore brick red. However, I have heard of medical bandage material also being used, and in the case of the Typhoon, male contraceptives. I hope this helps, or at least brings a smile to your face. TW geedubelyer, CRAZY IVAN5 and Troy Molitor 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 1 hour ago, whitt_a said: The dope was the red primer used on fabric covered aircraft, therefore brick red. However, I have heard of medical bandage material also being used, and in the case of the Typhoon, male contraceptives. Brick red male contraceptives? Now you’re talking ! thierry laurent, europapete, CRAZY IVAN5 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAZY IVAN5 Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 7 hours ago, quang said: Brick red male contraceptives? Now you’re talking ! Ya just HAD to go there didn't ya! Right on!! europapete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Some words of wisdom from Edgar. Spitfire Gun Patches Ah, the old, faithful, condom story. In an emergency, yes, but proper rubber sheaths were supplied, right back as far as the first cannon-armed Ib in 1940. There was always a shortage, since the temperature change played havoc with the rubber, and it was recommended that they be used no more than three times (if the guns weren't fired, obviously.) Using them for longer risked damaged rubber circles being forced, by air pressure, down the barrels. The .303" fabric patches were introduced in September 1940; before that there were "covers" for the gun tunnels and empty case chutes, and I haven't been able to find out what they were. The fabric covers were pre-shaped, pre-painted, and peel-off, rather like a sticking plaster. This is why you see blue covers, at times, and the squares, or oblongs, are perfectly shaped. They were doped over, but with clear dope, not red. If you look, carefully, at that famous photo of Vb ZD-F, it's possible to see the darker areas, around the red patches, caused by the clear dope. The patch doubled up, as a warning; when loaded, the guns were cocked, as well, so only the brave (or foolhardy) walked in front of them. Edgar There are some more posts from Edgar on the subject but I can;t find them at the moment. Stills from a re arming video on Britmodeller. Below showing the roll of tape. Cheers Dennis CRAZY IVAN5, europapete, geedubelyer and 3 others 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 (edited) Brilliant info folks, very much appreciated This should allow me to create some patches for my current build rather than relying on the kit decals. By my reckoning 8" translates to 8.4mm(-ish) in 1/24th scale Cheers Edited March 3 by geedubelyer DavidnotDave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 After spending a minute spilling various shades of red into a mixing pot I got something I felt happy with. After I'd created my tape squares it dawned on me that I could simply have used roundel red for the patches since the colours ended up very similar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 11 minutes ago, geedubelyer said: After spending a minute spilling various shades of red into a mixing pot I got something I felt happy with. After I'd created my tape squares it dawned on me that I could simply have used roundel red for the patches since the colours ended up very similar Indeed: I've got some old 1/72 RAF fin flash decals that I just cut suitably-sized pieces off when I need gun patches. geedubelyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitt_a Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 I didn’t know there was standard for such things. One learns something new every day. Did the FAA use them as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 They also put doped newspaper on the spent cartridges chutes. Cheers Dennis geedubelyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 1 hour ago, dennismcc said: They also put doped newspaper on the spent cartridges chutes. Cheers Dennis Have you ever seen any images Dennis or any to share? That would be a neat feature to replicate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 12 hours ago, geedubelyer said: Have you ever seen any images Dennis or any to share? That would be a neat feature to replicate. This is the only one that I have seen, from a Britmodeller Thread, it also shows the cannon covers. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/11379-raf-gunport-fabric-sealing-patches-colours/ Cheers Dennis CRAZY IVAN5, John1 and geedubelyer 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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