Can anyone tell me what colors were used to paint the upper surface of the Tamiya Spitfire IXc that was featured in the Workbench Reviews section of the March 2010 issue of FSM? I have e-mailed FSM but they did not respond. Since there are no LHS in my area, I am going broke ordering paint from the web that appears to match but doesn’t. Help!
I don’t have my copy of the March 2010 FSM issue here in front of me but… The most common schemes on a Spitfire Mk IX are Ocean Grey and Dark Green over Sea Grey Medium, or Dark Earth and Midstone over Azure Blue for service in the MTO. Most of the paint companies (except Tamiya) make all of these colors in their paint lines.
I have Humbrol’s Midstone and Middle Stone which don’t match the lighter top color at all. I also have Humbrol’s Dark Earth which is a little dark but could be used for the darker color.
If you are gonna compare against a model for your basis, yes you will need to find out what brand that the builder used. But Humbrol, being an English company, I am pretty sure matches up their paints to actual BSC color chips for accuracy. 225 Middle Stone is to my eye a very good match for the RAF color.
Looking at the review photos on line here finescale.com/…/Tamiya%20Supermarine%20Spitfire.aspx ,
the builder/reviewer used a paint for the Mid Stone that is lighter and “sandier” than the original base color.
You can see in these IWM WWII color photos that the Humbrol shade is proper
I am trying to match the color in FSM which I realize isn’t historically accurate. But the color in FSM is more pleasing to the eye. That is what I want on the Spitfire I am working on.
In that case I might suggest starting withTamiya Buff and adjusting from that as the lighter base color. Tamiya Flat Earth would work for the darker shade.
Thanks. I will try that. At least I can find Tamiya in my area. I live in the Houston area and there are very few hobby shops that carry supplies for the scale modeler. Most are devoted to R/C and trains.
Try Model Master enamels: RAF MIDDLE STONE and DARK EARTH, they match the Spitfire desert camo.