I just finished the third color, base color, of my Me410. RLM 74, 75, 76. I used Gunze paints and I am happy with them, but as with all the paints I find the color match to RLM, according to numerous paint charts including IPMS to be incorrect.
So, I used iModelKit RLM chip charts and mixed my own colors for the three listed above. I didn’t hit the magic ratio, but I found they matched better to the chips than the bottled paints did when representing each RLM color. I other words I thought they matched better to the chip. Anywho, now that the color is down it doesn’t look like I had expected. So, here are some images for you to see and give me your opinions. Should I run with it and mottle it up or stop, re-prime and paint from the bottle and not bother with my personal mix?
RLM colours can be a can of worms, but having myself seen original chips I would recommend the following as the closest to the original colours for RLM 74. 75 & 76
Go with the Vallejo model air range with the following colours.
RLM 74 71.054 Dunkelgrau RLM74
RLM 75 71.128 Grauviolett RLM75
RLM 76 71.046 Lichblau RLM76
Vallejo have worked from these original chipsets to produce the paintsand they include “Scale effect” so you can’t go far wrong.
The model looks good. Just waiting for someone to produce one in 1/32 that is in my cash range!!
EDIT. Use RLM 75 as the upper base coat all over and then the dark grey RLM 74 as the splinter/mottle pattern.
I’d say the 75 is too dark and maybe to violet, and the 74 is a tad too green. Compare to color pics and see where you are at. I usually lighten my gunze 75 a bit.
Brandon, one thing I can input here…when comparing your colors to a paint…be sure to use a light source that’s bright and white. Color is affected by light. If you look at sodium lights for instance(yellow/orange), they cast a false color onto whatever is in their reach. So the “blue” you’re looking at in one room may look more “violet” in another all depending on the light. That’s at least a good place to start. Once you get those concepts straightened out…then the idea of how green a RLM should be or what have you can start.
Heya Brandon. I spend alot of time on Luftwaffe subjects. About the best match I’ve found so far is the Vallejo Air paints like snapdragon is talking about. Also bvallot has a point with the lighting. Sometimes low level lighting can play tricks on your eyes so make really good and sure your lighting is in the soft white range as opposed to the more “yellow” incandescent bulbs.
Thanks guys, I appreciate all the words of help. I see Vallejo paints are nearly dead on to RLM, but I’m not ready to start buying them just yet. I think since I am not happy with the colors as they lay now I will re-shoot the plane in the basic Gunze paint and be done with it. I will start to look at Vallejo paint for the future but for now I guess I’ll tweak it a bit and live with it. I’m just not happy with these colors right now.
About 80% of these aircraft were re-spot painted in the field.RLM colored were a close estimate on what they actually used.Also the SS officers often came to the airstrips and hand painted aircraft kills on selected aircraft,and if anyone had questions of that -they were shot.Thats the story I got from a german who was a mechanic on an ME-109 who lives a few houses from me.Thats why I question any german ace w/over a hundred kills.Also colors were at random on what was on hand.They used spray cans.
For your information the paintwork is original and gives you an opportunity to see how these are painted.
The undersurface is RLM76
Fuselage is RLM 75 basecoat with a slight overspray mottling of RLM 82
The upper wing surfaces look to be RLM 82/83 splinter pattern up to the wing root.
THe fuselage demarcation line is a high one with the RLM 82 breaking up the line and coming low onto the fuselage. The RLM 82 is a very light spray, just to break up the outline and blend the base coat with the undersurface colour.
The upper wings have the full depth colour splinter pattern.
Luftwaffe ground crews late in the war had a lot of latitude over camo colours and patterns and usually painted the aircraft on the airfield to match the area of operations. Actual RLM chip colours are a good base to go from, but actual colour tones varied from batch to batch and also with the thinning component used.
Paint is not original and the aircraft have a rebuilt look to which it was.Also I visited that area and seen it up close.Chip marks were added to make it look originalTo me they did a good job on it.I visit England and all areas of that country yearly and Germany.if it were in its original condition,it would lock real bad.
That page is very useful. I will refer to it when I do another one. This one got 74, 75 and 76 and full on mottle job. She’s looking pretty good. Thanks for all the help guys.
Gunze’s RLM colors look perfect to my untrained eye. Of course mine get faded and weathered moderately before its all said and done so I never worry too much about exact matches. Interesting about Vellejo being dead on. I’ve tried their “Air” and found to be too thick for my needs. It was like trying to airbrush Tempura (poster paint) .
I settled down and just went with out of the bottle color and found them close enough for Govt work. I am much happier with the results now that the mottling is down; it ties together better now. Since Tamiya largely doesn’t mix RLM colors I’ll get used to Gunze colors. Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.
