VFA-103guy Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 (edited) <_< Edited June 22, 2009 by VFA-103guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Harrison Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Brian, This is great stuff, Have any pictures of what you refer to. Thanks, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VFA-103guy Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 Brian, This is great stuff, Have any pictures of what you refer to. Thanks, Thanks Don. I attached a few photos above for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Brian, These photos a awesome. Thanks a million.... Mike Singh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VFA-103guy Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 Brian,These photos a awesome. Thanks a million.... :blink: Mike Singh No problem! Hope the technique works for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Teeradej Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Hi, Brian I also need your photos too, please. Teeradej Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nergol Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Thank you for your TPS report, but unfortunately there's no cover sheet on it. Didn't you get the memo about that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cowie165 Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Guys does anyone have a scan or link to a decent lo-vis paint guide please? I'm working on a 1/100 Academy kit but it's hi-vis VF-41. VF-103guys first post shares brilliant pointers but only after you've already painted. Any pointers would be great, thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cowie165 Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Found it. http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-detail-colours-02.gif Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waylandcool Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Found it.http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-detail-colours-02.gif That's just what I was looking for my Dragon F-14's. Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waylandcool Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 As a quick follow-up, does the F/A-18E/F follow a similar pattern, or are they just a two color TPS? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VFA-103guy Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 As a quick follow-up, does the F/A-18E/F follow a similar pattern, or are they just a two color TPS? They're just 2 color TPS...36320 and 36375. One thing I've been noticing, lt ghost grey doesn't really fade much, and if it does, it's not very noticeable in scale. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
husker627 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 ***NOTE: I also highly recommend Phil Flory's Pro-Modeler wash. I've seen it used along with my fading technique, and the finish is fantastic! Brian, just curious if you have used Phil's wash personally yet or not and how using it changes this step of you TPS weathering. I use his wash exclusively now and have nothing but the highest praise in the outcome, look, and super ease of use. I plan to use a your notes here in my upcoming Promodellers GB and will be using the washes in place of the gel pen technique. (which I sucked at it, but that's user error not the technique). Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VFA-103guy Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 Jeff- I personally have not, but an fully intend to on my next F-14. One thing I think you'll need to do, is go back over some of the underside areas on the inside of the tunnel with lt ghost grey. I'll post some in progress pics when I get around to painting my jet, which will hopefully be within the next couple weeks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
husker627 Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Jeff-I personally have not, but an fully intend to on my next F-14. One thing I think you'll need to do, is go back over some of the underside areas on the inside of the tunnel with lt ghost grey. I'll post some in progress pics when I get around to painting my jet, which will hopefully be within the next couple weeks. Outstanding Brian, look forward to seeing your results. Thanks for keeping this very valuable information alive for us. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VFA-103guy Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 Like any technique, there's always room for improvement and changes. I'll eventually get around to updated this one because I've made some additions and changed a few things to help improve it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PNW_Modeler Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 where did the very helpful tutorial go? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 where did the very helpful tutorial go? http://www.tomcat-sunset.org/forums/index.php?topic=2836.0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Guys does anyone have a scan or link to a decent lo-vis paint guide please? I'm working on a 1/100 Academy kit but it's hi-vis VF-41. VF-103guys first post shares brilliant pointers but only after you've already painted.Any pointers would be great, thanks! That is one version of the scheme. There is at least one other common "official" variation, and several operator level modifications. Check your photos closely! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PNW_Modeler Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Why is it on another site now? It used to be stickied here and was very helpful....now it's gone and hosted elsewhere....wassup with that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cheese Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 brian seems to be a moderator at that forum Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theemodelstarter Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) OK Guys, An explanation is in order here so everyone understands how the planes actually get this way. First off, the planes don't naturally fade this way due to 'Weathering" from exposure to the sun and sea air. It's a result of the squadron maintenance folks (mechs) performing corrosion control on each and every airplane, each and every day. The sun and sea air do of course contribute a bit though. Think about it, why would paint fade in the middle of a panel and not on a seam? Second, the airplanes are not done uniformly over the entire surface. Areas are worked on as corrosion is discovered, or per aircraft PMS (Preventive Maintenance System) guidelines. Typically, access panels that are opened regularly get the most attention. Walkways ( the places that the mechs walk, climb, or crawl, not just the painted on areas ) follow closely behind those, and finally, scratches , dings and other rubs and bumps are thrown in the mix with those areas that are required to be stripped to bare metal for fatigue crack inspections, to ensures airframe longevity. Third, that is exactly what happens. The paint is stripped off, without removing metal, inspected through a number of different ways, and is then anodized and repainted. Years ago, the anodizing coat was quite a darkish clear brown mess, and was sometimes the only coating applied. This is seen more in 60's and 70's photos. All this means that some areas get done more frequently than others, maybe two or three times compared to others. Some areas aren't done at all until the plane goes to NARF (Naval Air Rework Facility) for a complete strip, inspection and repaint. So, just because there's a panel line, doesn't means it should get this treatment. Also, although the mech types try to repaint treated areas with the correct original color, what was available or at hand was often the norm. And it wasn't uncommon to one color over a second color over the original color either, indicating several corrosion repairs. And keep in mind that sometimes these paint touch-ups were done by spray gun, and sometimes with a spray can, just like WE use! Bottom repairs are obviously due to use, but not to being walked on. However, the bottom was more susceptible to minor flight deck crunchs that might be patched using an epoxy type paste, on minor dents in trailing edges, to full on sheet metal repair patches or complete replacement. These of course also required repainting, but the small epoxy patches would often just be left there original grayish, greenish, yellowish color. So, don't be afraid to mix open your color application, leave some lines there normal color or do duplicate applications over the same area. The whole plane is your canvas, but the whole canvas doesn't need to be done to be correct. And this applies to any plane in the fleet but more to planes that are actually on deployment and not just flying off the boat for a few weeks and then headed back to the Air Station. They were cared for much better while on the beach because they could be. Good Luck and happy modeling of your TPS schemes and corrosion control representations. Edited July 28, 2009 by theemodelstarter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neeko Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) I concur with most of the above statement... Case in point: the picture below, taken on my 1998 cruise, shows one of our nasty-looking Toms looking even nastier because of some paint that was rolled on over every fastener on the forward part of one particular panel. Anyone who has ever worked on Tomcats can pick out EXACTLY which panel it is. I will say though, not all us Naval aircraft maintainer types are "Mechs"... just the ones who change engines, live in fuel cells, and pick their nose all the time. Edited July 28, 2009 by Nick Kessel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theemodelstarter Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 I was thinkin more like the AMS crew types (Aviation Machinest Mate Structures) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cheese Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) Thanks guys!!! I was following Rom's 1/32 Checkmate build and using a mix of his and Brian's TPS technique. Has a few colors thrown into the mix and even does a salt weathering at the end. I bit the bullet and tried it out on a VF-154 bird that has a really dirty bird on it. So far........its really coming out pretty good. Here is Rom's build for anyone interested: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index....howtopic=172921 Cheers, Mike Edited July 29, 2009 by cheese Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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