I do all WWII era planes in 1:72, but I:m confused over what kind of varnish to use and when. It’s usually matt, just to seal decals, but I like satin finish, but I’ve only used it on a Wildcat. Were there any groups of planes that had the shinier finish ie USN?
Also, I know you’re meant to use gloss before decals then matt, but I find that putting matt over gloss or satin gives a horrible finish, so I normally don’t bother. I brush varnish with Humbrol. Any better suggestions?
Keith-a
From my references, except for trainers, the navy painted its aircraft w/flats until it changed to the tri color scheme (sea blue/intermediate blue/white). The TO’s called for “non-specular” (flat) paints except for the tops of the wings, horizontal stabilizors and elevators, calling for semi-gloss paint in those locations. Aircraft operating in the Atlantic were painted in in a combination of whites and greys. (Gloss white unders, flat white sides and flat grey uppers). In late 1944 the scheme started to change to Gloss sea blue over all.
You will need to do some research on the particular aircraft you want to build as each time the schemes changed you would end up with a unit operating both paint schemes at the same time (Replacement aircraft in new scheme and old aircraft in the old scheme). This was true for a year or two after the war ended (Someplace out there, there is a great color photo of 3 PBY-5s on a ramp somewhere on the west coast in 1946 or 47. One is overall silver, one is tri-color and one is overall gloss blue. And they all belong to the same unit).
keith-a,
I spray Future Floor Polish for my gloss coat, then I spray MicroScale Microflat over that after the decals have been dry for at least 24 hours. You shouldn’t have to thin either one. Maybe the brushing is what is causing your problems. I tried brushing my gloss coat, then flat coat, a long time ago, and it made the finish look HORRIBLE!!! Needless to say, that was the first AND last time I tried that. Anyway, that’s my [2c]