Modelers, I have a few questions concerning using olive drab and it’s weathering properties. The aircraft in this case is a B-25D.
I assume that this color weathers pretty badly. Other than using strraight it out of the bottle, I was going to use it darkened with black along the panel lines. However, I can’t imagine that mixing in white would do well for the center of the panels. What about mixing in a small amount of yellow? Also, how would fabic control surfaces weather having this color sprayed on it?
Olive Drab varied from a pale olive green to an almost brown color. There have been countless articles on the various shades of OD & how the lighting of a pic can drastically change it’s appearance. Assuming you start with the FS match, the weathering would depend a lot on the environmental conditions the aircraft was operating in. A darkening of the color would result from accumulated dirt, grime, oil leaks, exhaust stains, etc. Fading would result from sun exposure, rain & wind. As a general rule, darkening a color with black will have an unrealistic muddying effect & lightning it with white will result in an unrealistic chalky effect. For OD, I’d suggest darkening it with a small amount of very dark brown or blue & lightening it with a small amount of yellow. Experiment on a scrap piece, keeping track of your mix, & when you see what you like, use it.
I have been successful using different brands of paint as well. Tamiya’s Khaki Drab is a good sunstitute for your typical brownish shade of OD (Since their normal OD is so dark green…). Then- on the control surfaces, I have used MM OD and it is good for a faded look.
Let me ask another question. If the underside of an aircraft was painted light grey or white, would the fabric surfaces show any difference to the surounding metal? I realize that sun fade wouldn’t be an issue, but I can’t help but think that the fabir would react differently to the paint then the metal. If so, how would it’s apperance differ?
One thing you have to remember is that the fabric covered control surfaces were not painted with laquers or enamels but with dope (either nitrates or butyrates). And most pictures I’ve seen of OD dopes would indicate they weathered (got lighter) much quicker than OD enamels or laquers, especially on surfaces that were exposed to sunlight. As far as the undersurfaces of a fabric covered item, it would be painted with dopes that were the same color as the laquers/enamels which usually stayed about the same color because they weren’t exposed to sunlight.