I had a little extra time, so I painted the light gray color on the bottom of the airplane, along with the light gray rudder that is really out-of-place with this 2-color early paint scheme. I used Vallejo Light Gull Gray for the basic color, thinned with a bunch of Vallejo Airbrush Thinner so I can get some thin layers. I applied several very thin layers then added some Dark Gray and added some random splotches, then added some Tire Black and repeated. I plan to let everything dry till tomorrow and see what it looks like. If I need to, I will apply a very heavily thinned layer of the original color to draw everything together. I hope to go as far as I can with paint and then use weathering products to get the rest of the appearance in the photo. I hope to get the blue/gray done tomorrow, this time using the same mix for the blue/gray color that Eric (@eb801) used on his Birdcage Corsair. Cheers everyone.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Looking awesome so far, my friend @gblair!
Would be amazing to see some pics of this building, my friend @lgardner!

Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten).

Thanks, Louis (@lgardner). I think our thoughts are going down the same road. It is sometimes easier for me to weather a model if understand how the exterior of the plane came to be that way. The story I have in my head is that this plane was a "station" plane used for proficiency flights for the station's staff pilots. This checks with the info along with the photo of this plane in two different books. These planes notoriously had intermittent care because they didn't really belong to a squadron, so there wasn't dedicated maintenance for them. They were not routinely painted like squadron planes, so their paint was often weathered. In my mind, this station aircraft often sat on the ramp in both sun and rain that would really fade the paint in irregular patterns. I think the left wing was replaced by one that was held in a depot, and was prepainted in the later dark blue finish. I was reading in a book that students said that there were 2 types of student pilots: Those who have ground-looped a T-6, and those who will ground-loop a T-6. I still don't have an explanation for the light gray tail. In a 2-color camo, the tail would have been blue/gray. In a 3-color camo, the tail would have been light gray, but there is no evidence on the rest of the plane that it had a 3-color camo. In the photo, it appears that there is some blue/gray overspray on the gray tail, or alternatively, an incomplete light gray paint job on the tail that didn't completely cover the blue/gray paint on the tail. I really can't come up with a good reason for the gray tail. I would get it if it was a prepainted replacement tail, but the tail was obviously painted while on the plane. In the end, I will just try to replicate the paint scheme without totally understanding how this plane came to have the paint scheme that it does. This is why I wanted to do this plane, because I think it is an oddball.

Thanks, John (@johnb). I used Vallejo ModelAir diluted by about 40% with their Airbrush Thinner. This created a very thin mix. I dialed the aiirbrush pressure down to about 12% so that I wouldn't flood the surface as I painted. I made three or four light passes over the entire underside. After the initial color, I added some dark grey to the mix, thinned it even more, and then sprayed in a random pattern, being sure never to leave the airbrush in one place to prevent paint runs. I added a little black to the mix and repeated, but with fewer places getting the black. I have read that you can get the same effect by mixing the paint with clear flat. This allows you to get a transparent layer without having to add so much thinner. I have never tried it, but I want to try it on the top of the plane. I am taking some time to figure out a plan for painting the upper color. I hope to start painting the upper surfaces later today. Cheers.

George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
Yes sir, I think we are definitely thinking along the same lines. You made me smile when I read your comment about ground looping the T-6. 🙂

You're using Vallejo but I used Tamiya and I find these two brands require completely separate paint to thinner ratios. They both need a bit of retarder. @gblair

I started painting today. I want to try to replicate the T-6 in the photo, including the worn and weathered paint and the new replacement wing. I wanted to try a bunch of different techniques I decided to star with the lightest color first, and then add the darker blotches after.

I added the wing walk areas first, using a black/gray AK Real Color. I then added some sun-faded areas using a light gray with a touch of tan to match the patterns in my reference photo.

The base color I used is AK Real Color's USN Blue/Gray, which is a fairly light color. This color is a good match for the faded color in the photo. I masked the left wing, which will be a much darker color. Not much of the pre-shading survived, so I will fix that later.

I wanted to try a little shadowing to indicate the fabric areas of the control surfaces. I cut 1mm strips of tape to block out the rib pattern on the control surfaces. I then sprayed on a slightly darkened mix of the base color. I did the same on the rudder using a darkened gray. I have never tried this before and I like the way it came out.

I mixed 3 Tamiya colors to create the darker blue/gray shade in the photo. I thinned it about 50% with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner. I slowly built up the darker patterns that I can see in the photo. I also wanted to try a technique to add some blotchy, sun-damaged paint. I sprayed this dark mix through a paint mask made by AK that is basically just irregular blobs. The contrast between the light base color and the dark blobs was way too much, so I mixed a really thin (20% paint, 80% thinner) mixture of a slightly darkened base cofor, and used it to blend the blobs and base color together. I like the effect, so far. I did make the mistake of masking the control surface so that I could preserve the frames, but it is way too stark. I will fix that later.

I want to wait till tomorrow to evaluate my progress. I still need to do the left wing with its new, clean paint. Then I want to seal everything under a clear semi-gloss that will protect the paint from the weathering steps that will follow.

The only negative thing that happened today was I managed to break off the pitot tube. It survived for two weeks. I managed to find it and I will reattach it at the end.

Cheers everyone.

11 attached images. Click to enlarge.