Louis is an inspiration to us all, Greg! To be honest painting RAF WW2 planes seems, with their somewhat prescribed camo schemes, so much less exciting than some of the Luftwaffe aircraft, or the US planes with their brilliant nose art. Typically understated, the RAF tended to have small emblems or personal touches and not some of the exciting decor of the other forces at the time. Add to that the fact that I will have the paint at the ready, and that these all come from the same era, and you have your answer. I have also said I'll build a few for this GB, so I am playing catch up! Glad to have you along - and hoping for some words of wisdom as it develops!

Hey Paul,
I just caught back up on your build journal... and you have made some good progress. I like the choice of decals you picked out, and they should look fantastic on the Lysander.

I don't have the answer for your questions about the silver paint. However, I vaguely remember reading something similar on the early Spitfires and Hurricanes, and how the undersides were left in aluminum dope colors shortly after the War started. This was done mainly on the elevators / stabilizers / underside of the fuselage behind the wings, on planes that received the one wing painted in white and the other in black.

It makes sense that the Lysander could go that route too.

I'll do some research and let you know what I find... I hope to help you with your quest.

I am very pleased to see another "Iron Werks" style build coming along...

Well done my friend. 🙂 You made my day.

Here’s a brief update. Having an interesting time getting a feel for the newer Airfix and older Eduard plastic by prepping the small parts. I was initially a bit surprised by the width and large numbers of sprue attachments in the Airfix kits, but they are compressed so as to be thin at the point of cutting from top to bottom, and so cut really well. The Airfix plastic is good to sand too - neither too brittle, nor too soft.

Here are a couple of photos to illustrate the point for those who, like me, haven’t built one of the newer Airfix kits.

Here are the sanded parts.

And finally a snap of the three boxes of small parts - one for each of the builds!

Paul,
I think I just found the answer about your Lysander and how they were painted ...

This photo came from the Imperial War Museum, and reportedly shows a Lizzie with the following caption:

"Royal Air Force in France, 1939-1940.
Lysander Mark II, L4767 ‘OO-E’, of No. 13 Squadron RAF, on the ground at Mons-en-Chaussee, France, as ground crew investigate a deflated tyre on the port undercarriage. The serial number has been painted over for security purposes. Date between 1939 and 1940"

This plane looks as if it too has the entire fuselage painted with brown and green, just as your decal sheet has it depicted...

The lighter color under the wings and stabilizer could very well be "Aluminum Dope". If you look at the next picture it becomes even more apparent, since the wing that's visible on the first plane photo of "KJ-M" and "KJ-O" is dark probably in the RAF "night" color.

It looks as if the planes from "No. 16 Squadron" were also painted in this manner, with the brown and green fuselage colors extending all the way around.

Number 16 Squadron flew alongside Number 4 Squadron, over Northern France in 1939 / 1940.

No. 16 SQ had the fuselage side codes of "K J".

I also managed to find a good photo of a few "Number 16 Squadron" Lysander's in flight.

(You just have to love the internet... What did we do back in the day before it's existence ? We either purchased a lot of books or spent some serious time in the library...)

These planes appear to have the fuselages painted in green and brown as well.

However, they also look as if the underwing surfaces were white on one side and black on the other. If you look really close, the ailerons are a much lighter color on the dark wing, and darker on the light wing, as if the ailerons were painted in opposite colors of the wings.

But then if you look at the nose of "OO - E" it is different...

It has the same pattern as "KJ - L" in the second photo...

Maybe the rudder and fin were replaced on "OO - E" since the fuselage is painted like "KJ - L " ?

If you look close at "OO-E" from the first photo, then compare it to the second two planes in the last picture (KJ - M and KJ - O), you will see they demarcation lines between the colors looks almost identical. The only difference I noticed is the colors seem to be reveres on the "OO - E" plane, with the green and brown switched in positions...

I also am posting a link to another website that is dedicated the 4th Squadron. This link should take you right to the unit losses during the time frame that your plane would have served. It lists the crew members names, sometimes the aircraft serial number and if you are very lucky, once in a while the fuselage side codes are also listed.

Here's the link:

http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/4_squadron.html

Hope this helps on your venture my friend...

Now I'm back to masking a certain Heinkel...

As for the Spitfires, Louis - I think it would be brilliant. If you ask anyone about THE iconic plane of the RAF it would be The Spitfire. Those you have chosen are fairly unique historical versions and it would be an honour to see the authentic "Iron Werks' in action for this GB. And all that said your maxim about 'fun' will always apply!

Thanks for the confirmation Tom, even in my brief research it is a bit of a minefield, and as you say even with access to the official orders there is still 'grey area' based on the staggered availability of materials. I can't wait to see the 87 Sqn Hurricane!

I found the following while floating around the net which may add credence to the suggestion of 'aluminium' undersides for the Lysander and pre-war RAF planes. Unfortunately it didn't come with a citation (anyone know the source?). Some interesting possibilities here if it is accurate. Alternate B and W ailerons, and sky/black wings are not commonly built.

Louis, looking at the Lysanders in flight the Ailerons may be a different shade. I have also read that in some cases they were not painted (staying aluminium) to avoid changes in balance. That may be a stretch, but is definitely open to interpretation - it is admittedly more difficult given that the undersides are in shade in the photo.

I knew you'd know, Tom! Thank you for identifying the source.

It is an interesting thought about the height of the wings too - I knew the Lizzie was a tall plane - not least because I sat my oldest (five years ago when he was 2 years old) next to one at the RAF Museum at Colindale!

Perspective is a little 'enhanced' by the wide angle of the shot - but it is quite a tall bird. I suppose you'd need a brush on a broomstick to get close to the undersides of the wings!

I have never had the opportunity to stand next to a Lysander. They really look like a very big plane.

Several years ago there was a PBS documentary on restoring a Lysander in Canada. It was finished in overall "Aluminum Dope" colors. There were a lot of inner details visible during the program. I'll try to find a video of this, and if I am lucky I'll post a link for you.

I'm sure you would really like it.