The Little World

The Fleet Air Arm and Coastal Command aircraft in WWII were painted in many cases with Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey on top – and either Sky or White underneath. I find it a particularly attractive combination but have struggled heretofore – the EDSG is easily got in bottles but the Dark Slate Grey has only been pre-made by Humbrol in their enamel range. All the other times I’ve painted the colour it has been a guess shade.

This time I took advice – both from Special Hobby and from my RAF Digital Colours chart. The best recommendation for the shade was 50% German Grey and 50% Olive Drab ( 2) from the Mr. Color range. I got two fresh pots and a clean 20ml  bottle and mixed the whole contents. I now have more than enough DSG for a Whitley, a Hudson, and a Liberator as well as the Barracuda.

The colours went on delightfully – I thin more and spray lighter these days and the surface is much better. Still no pre-shading or major weathering, but that will come in time. The gloss you see is Mr. Hobby clear acrylic – a little slower drying than the solvent paints but a large pot was quite inexpensive and it sprays well. I just have to restrain myself from handling it until a day in the hot shed has done its magic. I probably won’t use it in the cold or wet months – reverting to a solvent lacquer.

And don’t worry – once the decals are onto the gloss surface a semi-gloss coat will dull everything back down.

PS: if you’re expecting a lot of tiny black stencils on EDSG or DSG, you’re in for a world of disappointment…