I am mid build on testors 1/48th scale sr71. I want to achieve a realistic weathering effect, here is a photo(you may find better) of what i would like it to aproximate http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/SR-71/Large/EC94-42531-4.jpg. Some helpful details are that it has raised panel lines, and will be flat black. This brings me to my next question… the directions suggest a paint scheme of flat black on the leading edge and titanium coor in the center, after looking at dozens of photos I have yet to see a color difference between the body of the plane and the leading edge. ALso while i have some of your attention I was wondering if there is any book you would recomend that goes into advanced modeling techniques I love the forums but sometimes if ther isnt supporting photos it can be hard to understand, also i get the magazine.
There was a time when the SR-71 did have bare titanium wings/fuselage and black leading edges, but then later adopted the all-over black scheme. So it will depend on the time period you are depicting.
Here’s a pic of one in the “old” scheme, with a D-21 riding piggyback.
The titanium/aluminum color is only on the A-12, the predecessor to the SR-71, they are nearly identical. Flat black is the appropriate color for the blackbird. I know a guy who was stationed at Kadena whe the SR was there, he was able to get close enough to say that the plane was flat black. He says the texture is rough, like a fine grit sandpaper. If you want to replicate the streaking, I would use various shades of dark grey; put a small amount at the top (or starting place) of the streak, then wipe down with a soft cloth (old t-shirt, for example).
As for the book, when I first started out, I got Testors refernce book. http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=2550 it was a good starting place with a lot of basic but important information. The forum is still a very vital place for me to learn new techniques, and if you aren’t clear on something you can post a question and ask; everyone seems to be pretty helpful. Also there is a Private Message function, so you can ask a particular person a question without putting it out in the open forums if you want to. I’m sure there are other books out there, but I don’t have any of them, maybe someone else can help there.
Good luck, and post some pictures if you can. I’d like to see the plane, I’m building the same kit.
I’ve been up close to both the YF12 and the SR-71, and the finish (to me anyway) is more of a very deep midnight blue (almost black). It’s a satin finish, and I wouldn’t call it a flat color like primer is. I’d say the overall finish is more like a fresh sanded piece of paint (like it were wet sanded).
I once read an article that detailed the SR-71 all the way thru development, and had an interview with Johnson (the designer). One of the things that was brought up about the plane was how hot the outter skin temp got during flight, and the paint actually changed colors to a somewhat burnt finish after flight. How hot that is I don’t know but I do know they can’t refuel it in flight without first letting it cool down.
The plane does get very hot! I watched a show on the SR-71. According to the show the plane actually leaks fuel until it gets up to speed and the metal expands. It refuels immediately after take off. I just did a search and here is what wikipedia had to say:
To allow for thermal expansion at the high operational temperatures the fuselage panels were manufactured to fit only loosely on the ground. Proper alignment was only achieved when the airframe warmed up due to air resistance at high speeds, causing the airframe to expand several inches. Because of this, and the lack of a fuel sealing system that could handle the extreme temperatures, the aircraft would leak JP-7 jet fuel onto the runway before it took off. The trail of leaking fuel would often be ignited from the engine exhaust, with the effect that the plane’s takeoff would be accompanied by a streak of fire trailing it down the runway. The aircraft would quickly make a short sprint, meant to warm up the airframe, and was then refueled in the air before departing on its mission. Cooling was carried out by cycling fuel behind the titanium surfaces at the front of the wings (chines). On landing after a mission the canopy temperature was over 300 °C (572 °F), too hot to approach. Non-fibrous asbestos with high heat tolerance was used in high-temperature areas
The very first speed record the SR71 set was for a 1500 mile lap (or maybe 1500 Kilometers). The plane took off from Vandenburg AFB ( might have been Edwards AFB, where ever that is)and headed north. Had to refuel over Idaho and western Washington. They flew in circle for over twenty minutes to let the skin cool down, and then went back home. Of course they blew the speed record into oblivion while doing almost twice the milage in the lap!! The crew wears the same suit that the astronaughts wear, but is tinted a straw color due to glare from the bright sunlight. The actual plane is 93% titanium, and the other major pieces of metal is Hestalloy and the next one is Waspalloy (I have no idea what that is, but the place I worked for did the castings for both). The SR71 can photograph 100,000 square miles in one hour of flight. The one thing that got my attention was just how big it was! It’s big as in really big. Lastly the SR71 is considered to be the first real stealth plane, and most radar systems in the seventies wouldn’t pick it up till it was within 36 miles (at a comfortable mach three). There’s also a neat photograph of an F104 flying past an SR71 taking off at just under the speed of sound; The SR71 caught it and passed it before it went a hundred miles!
