A rare wargames question

[grizzlymc]

Gentlemen, this is for those sad people who actually know what they are talking about, although I do hope that the remainder pile in with irreverent irrelevant bon mots.

I am painting 'einkels, I started with the Humbrol 251 Schwarzgrun, masked them off (my hand painted splinter looks like RAF) and then painted dunkelgrun over the top. I can just, in bright Sydney sun, see the difference. Now, I know the stuff about paler colours for smaller planes, but the fact is, I could paint half the bloody street in them and they are almost indistinguishable. Is this a Humbrol problem or were they in fact near indistinguishable? Most of the diagrammes online show the schwartzgrun as a dark olive about 20% paler than the dunkel which is less yellow and more blue.

I shall assume that RMD and ET are giving serious answers with their first post each.

[Slugbalancer]

RLM 70 & 71 are very similar. This is one of my Bf 110s

It's even worse when you come to the maritime colours of RLM 72 & 73, one of my He 177s


I try and go as accurate as possible but you go with what suits you and yours.

[grizzlymc]

Ta slug, I forgot that we have another expert.

Your 110 looks jus like my 'einkel. I think that I might lighten up when I go TOTS.

[Buff Orpington]

It will be affected by your choice of varnish. What is your preferred brand?

[grizzlymc]

I do not understand the question. There is no choice of varnish, the only varnish is Testors dullkote. You may paint windows with Humbrol gloss.

[grizzlymc]

Sluggy, whilst I have your attention, would a Defiant in day fighter cammo have the same pattern as an 'urricane.

[goat major]

as somewhere lower down the tree than expert (in the region of idiot).... I'd be tempted to make the colours contrast more just for the visual effect with the small model. Not because of accuracy. So lighten or darken one of them a bit to cause a pop. Yep heresy I know.

Sluggy's do look very nice indeed though.

[Slugbalancer]

Sluggy, whilst I have your attention, would a Defiant in day fighter cammo have the same pattern as an 'urricane.

Yes they would. There was a standard patttern for single engined monoplanes, as there was for other aircraft layouts.

[RMD]

Yes, they are very similar shades and definitely need artificially contrasting by lightening one and/or darkening the other.

Re Defiant day-fighters; yes they had the standard day-fighter camo scheme, which was common to the Spitfire and Hurricane. Don't paint the day-fighter 'sky' fuselage band though, as that wasn't added (after the Battle of Britain) until after the Defiant was relegated from the day-fighter role.

[Slugbalancer]

Whilst there was a standard pattern, it could employed as a mirror and the colours could be reversed, so there were four possibilites. I've kept with the standard on most of mine, which I believe was the most common form.
It would be the same for those in North Africa, just Middles Stone instead of Dark Green.