Today the new decals arrived. This should allow me to replace all of the fuselage and landing gear door numbers and letters.
However for the large wing numbers I’m going to have to attempt to make a set of masks and spray them on.
So I started out with measurements. The original decal numbers on the wing measured 1 inch tall
And 3/4 inch wide.
In 1/48 scale this would mean the original numbers would have been 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide.
Sounds simple enough. But the best laid plans...
After the ground work was done with the sizing I decided to try and mix up a color that would match the new decals. I did not have anything in my paints that was a perfect match so I had to improvise a little.
I started out with an old bottle of Model Master Luftwaffe RLM 04 enamel. I daubed a little drop next to the decals and confirmed it was too light. It was also not red enough.
It just so happens that I have the Mopar muscle car color “Go Mango” sitting on the table. It’s a very bright Orange color. So I added a little bit at a time and stirred it until it was very, very close.
I daubed another drop on the decal sheet to see how close it was getting. Now it looks good but it’s a tad bit too dark. This prompted me to add some Insignia White into the mix. Just a few drops is all it took.
Bingo ! A perfect match ! I placed a tiny drop of the new color on the actual decals and let it dry. Once it’s dry you can’t see the difference other than its a little bit flat when the decal material is more shiny.
So far so good.
Time will tell if I’m making a mistake, but I think that I’m on the right track.
There’s a slim possibility that the original numbers and letters were simply toned down a little with a gray or black paint mixed in with the white.
This would have shown as a light gray on the real Corsair.
Unfortunately we will probably not know about this for sure. Until after I make the changes that is. Then someone will find an original WW2 color photo similar to the Avenger one that I posted earlier. This new found photo will show me how the original numbers and letters were white, and how much of a fool I was to mess up a good thing.
I like how it looks with the yellow so yellow it is. I know that they were using the color at this point in the War.
Jim Sullivan sent me a picture several years ago of some Jacksonville NAS planes and they clearly have white numbers and letters. These numbers matched with the US insignia perfectly even though it was a black and white photo. The planes in his photo were from an earlier time during the War and were all wearing the tri color blue / white or the Gray Blue and Light Gray. I’m fairly certain that the yellow wasn’t used at this earlier point in the War. It came around later in the War and is occasionally found on Stateside training unit aircraft.
As usual comments are encouraged.
Thanks
