So I was looking at my Testors 1/48 F-4F/G kit, which I’m gonna build up as the F-4F Luftwaffe JGB-36 out of Hopsten, Germany in 1977. So I’m looking at what colors I’ll need to use, and the underside is supposed to be “Silver Gray” FS 17178, which is MM Chrome Silver.
What the heck? Who in their right mind would paint the underside of an a/c chrome silver? Or am I missing something? Anyone have any personal experience seeing this a/c? The pictures I’ve found on the 'net are inconclusive…hard to see the belly of the plane.
Most of the planes that I have seen the Germans capture has always been painted with a bright yellow underside.You my what to do a search on your search engine to find more details on this.Digger
For my Luftwaffe F-104G, I found tons of photos for the build, and I found that plain old Testors MM aluminum enamel works just fine, and matches well. Only problem I have with it is, like the chrome silver, though not quite as bad, it takes forever to cure.
And, am I the only one who has found MM acrylic aluminum next to worthless? It goes on transluscent at best, and doesn’t get much better as you spray on coats. And, forget about brushing the stuff on.
Tom
The Italians also paint the undersides of their IDS Tonka’s silver - even the desert camo ones for the '91 Gulf War.
Best bet - Tamiya gloss Aluminium spray cans
They give excellent coverage with minimum hassle.
I recently painted a Tamiya using only spray cans ( F4J ) and she worked out fine
