Recently watched a YT video that featured 5 Corsairs flying together (F4U-1, [2] FG-1D’s, F4U-4, F4U-7). After having watched this video, and a plethora of other videos featuring refurbished, and or completely rebuilt vintage WW2 planes started me thinking. Obviously when thousands upon thousands of dollars are spent on these refurbished, or built from the ground up vintage planes the owner(s) are certainly doing their collective best to make them look like new, aside from the appropriate paint schemes and markings that are appropriate to that particular plane. Has anyone ever bothered to make a WW2 plane, or for that matter a WW1 plane that is not weathered, but looks like new and hasn’t been to hell and back? If so, I’ve not as of yet seen any examples as the bottom line always seems to be about achieving a proper weathered look.
Years ago I converted a Monogram 1/48 T-6 to a generic ‘Hollywood’ Zero of the type seen in Tora, Tora, Tora, ‘Baa Baa Blacksheep’ and countless other movie and TV WW2 epics. I did it just like the big calendar photo I was working from—as shiny and new as though it had just come out of the paint shop.
It looked fine…but it seemed to cry out for some sort of weathering. (Unfortunately, that was back in ‘pre-digital camera’ days, so I never got any pictures.)
The thing about that is that they will all still have wear and tear. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to play around with lots of restored warbirds, and they show plenty of chipping, etc.
Not my photos, but some resto birds at airshows:
Above - Comemmorative Air Force Hellcat. Note exhaust staining and chipping on windscreen frame as well as leading edge of the wing just inboard of the gun.
Above: Planes Of Fame’s Tigercat with exhaust staining, discolored panels and uneven paint depth/walk wear on the wing top.
Above: Planes of Fame’s A-36 flying with a P-51B that shows wear on the bottom of the star and bar marking.
Above: This Spitfire is super clean but still shows paint stripped off the front edge of the cockpit dooor panel, streating from the exhaust (and possibly fuel filler cap) and dots of discolored paint on theunderside of the leading edge.
Above: Lots of tonal variation on the wing surface of this B-25
Old Crow here has plenty of chipping on the leading edge of the wing.
And because undersides almost always show more dirt than topsides, here’s Duxford’s B-17.
My photo:
Above: Planes of Fame’s P-38 “Skidoo” with plenty of exhaust staining on the top.
I can say from sitting in the cockpit of the Comemmorative Air Force’s Bearcat that the seat is pretty worn, the horizontal stabilizers had plenty of leading edge chipping (to primer and bare metal) and showed wear on the spring-loaded panels that kick in for steps, as well as bare metal on the trailing edge where pilots climb in.
I’ve also never seena propeller that had an unworn leading edge.
That said, I have watched a pilot land a P-51D and then spend the next 10 minuteswiping the exhaust staining off the polished aluminum, but there was still a fair amount of wear on that plane.
If it’s flown, it’s worn. Even the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, etc.
-BD-
Back in September 2007, my wife to me to Columbus, OH for the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends. One of the airplanes in attendance was David Tallichet’s Memphis Belle. Sitting there on the ramp at Rickenbacker next to another pristine B-17 and CWH’s Lancaster bomber, Memphis Belle looked pretty beat up – just like a real warbird – a real combat veteran. I thought the airplane looked wonderful. Like it had just arrived back from the ETO. The paint was sun bleached and chipped and scratched. Oil stains and streaks. I think the term is “patina.” The airplane has since been repainted and looks factory fresh.
I’ve done these with no weathering in the past few years…
Years ago, I did a Stearman and a Hellcat as civilian owned…complete with tiny civil registration (“N” numbers) under the tail plane…and the Stearman even had civilian pilots on board.
I entered them in the Civilian catagory at a contest…talk about people getting all sorts of bent outta shape! I’m guessing it was club members that moved my models into the Military catagories in which they would have belonged…I moved em back twice! I got called over the intercom twice, asked to move them…all I had to do was point out the N-numbers…“ok, fair enough!”
Here’s an example I did with two different Corsairs. The weathered Corsair is the original OOB build of the Revell 1/32 “Baa Baa Blacksheep” kit. The cleanly built Corsair is the Trumpeter 1/32 Corsair with interior/exterior PE.
Your friend, Toshi
My “facory fresh” T-6.
Touch of exhaust stains on F-51 conversion from Monogram 1/48 P-51 before Tamiya came out with the exact kit.
