Great project, Jaime. I’ve had that decal sheet for years too. I’m looking forward to seeing this develop.

@jetmex - You can use the Testor's metalizer, if you then spray a clear coat over it. That is what you want with this airplane, because it was not "NMF" but rather painted in aluminum lacquer. You could also use what I have been successfully using for aluminum lacquer, which will allow you to "weather" the finish. That is Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum, thinned 50/50 with a clear gloss (I've been using Micro-Sol clear Gloss, you could also use Tamiya Clear Gloss, but thin it 50/50 with Tamiya's thinner X-20A). Paint the model overall Tamoya Semi-gloss Black X-18, which will cover that godawful red plastic, then mist on the aluminum - you can let the Tamiya aluminum have "varied surface" which will take care of your weathering, then apply the clear gloss, then apply the decals, then apply a clear flat and you will have a Korean "Mosquito."

Jaime, @jetmex
Welcome back to the Korean War group. Mr. Bebout @tom-bebout
is quite a good guy ! You should take a look at the spray paint isle at the home improvement store called Lowe's. They have this color along with the rest of the camouflage colors at our local store in stock. I have also seen it at the auto parts store called O'Reily's.

As far as the Model Master metalizer paint, it's some of the best spraying stuff I have run across. You can thin it down with lacquer thinner, but this is only necessary if it is drying up or is very old. Otherwise you can spray it as is straight from the bottle. Sounds like the air brush compressor I gave you is working out very nicely for you. This makes me VERY happy !

You should seal the MMM with a clear after it has been sprayed. Before you do, just make sure that you have not left any evidence (i.e. fingerprints) behind. It will also transfer to your hands and fingers in the same manner that never seize bolt thread protectant does... You and I being mechanical in nature during our "previous life" will know exactly what I mean there... 😉 I got to where I started wearing gloves when I was handling a MMM finish and this works great.

As far as the clear to use on top as a sealer, good old "Future" clear floor acrylic will work just fine and it does the same job as the specialty dedicated MMM clear sealant does. It's next to impossible to find any of the MMM paints now. Good score with finding it.

Thanks for starting another project for our ever growing group. Like the others, I too am strapped in and watching this one as it comes to life in front of our very own eyes.

Many years ago I was very fortunate and got to ride in this plane...

So the T-6 / SNJ is a plane that I will always love. They have a distinctive sound on take off too, if the pilot has the prop set just right, the tips almost break the speed of sound, and this is what gives the T-6 (I'm an Army guy, served in tanks) it's distinctive "growl". You know what I mean if you have ever heard this, and I know that you have.

I will definitely be watching for another update soon.

Thanks for the info, Tom. I was under the impression the airplane was in bare metal, but the aluminum lacquer makes more sense in that environment. I have a bottle of Floquil Old Silver that might work as well. Might have to pull out the paint mule and see which I like better...

Jaime,

I am fairly certain that the Air Force operated T-6’s that were painted with an aluminum color, but they also used planes that were bare metal. Here’s a few color pictures of various planes that I found online in a matter of minutes. Several of these planes are definitely not painted. This one looks like it’s bare metal based on the different colors of the inspection panels.

This B&W picture is hard to tell.

These planes could very well be painted or bare metal.

I have the Squadron Signal “In Action” book and I’ll look to see if a picture of your plane is in there if you want me to. Then you might be able to tell if your plane was painted or not.

Nice choice! It is a nice kit,I did the Skytyper version, It's some where on this site. I learned basic aircraft mechanics in high school where we misused and abused several old SNJ's.

I finally got caught up with life and was able to get back to work on the T-6. First thing was to get the wing glued on, which turned out to be more of an ordeal than I expected. Fit was awful, especially at the root, so assembly went in several stages. There will be some seams to fill, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Engine was installed, and then there was a lot of filing and colorful four letter metaphors to get the cowling to fit. It's not glued yet, I'm still not happy with the way it fits. The rest of the remaining parts (landing gear, prop, etc) got painted and are ready to be assembled.

I decided to fit some 2.5 inch smoke rockets to the airplane, and found out that the Christmas tree missile rack from the Monogram 1/72 F-82 kit will work with a little modification and looks about right, so I'm going to use them. I only have two of them, so the model will be short a couple of racks, but it will be better than nothing.

My little bit of advice - if you're going to build this model, don't get the red one! It makes for some interesting painting. I'll probably have to primer this one, which is something I don't usually do. One more new thing to learn...

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.