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A finalist in the "what color will your airplane be" contest

H

humptybump

Well Known Member
IO have not discounted a personal design but lately I've not been very successful in the creativity department so I've been looking at a lot of airplane photos and one picture ? ironically labeled a ?TBD? ? caught my eye. After some investigation, I found it was the Douglas TBD Devastator.

One thing I liked from WWII Navy aircraft was the variations on the paint schemes. I found five different schemes and set about moching up each. Eventually one started to rise to the top ? the USS Wasp from the Atlantic fleet in 1941.

There will need to be some refinement and then a conversation with the paint shop about feasibility. But for now, it advances to the finalists round.

photo-576x327.jpg


Full write-up: http://thesalmonfarm.org/blog/p/2964
 
I started with the PDF from JJohnston and imported that into GIMP and merged the three "pages" into a single image. GIMP is like Photoshop (functionality wise but totally different interface). It support layers so I created a layer for the outlines, a layer for the base gray, a layer for the black, and a layer for the "R V 8". These are common to all of the different fleet schemes I wanted to render. Then I created a layer for each of the five schemes. I saved this work and then exported each scheme as a JPG file so I could have them on my phone, computer, and tablet. Anytime I wanted, I'd flip thru the five schemes and order them to my preference. After a few days, "Atlantic" kept staying first :)
 
Rion's RV4 (EAA 105) is in the hangar next to mine. It looks as good in person as it does in the photos. Simple, pretty visible and complements the airplane shape nicely. I approve. :)

I went a bit wilder with my paint scheme. Also, I did my tail black.

DSC_0629.JPG
 
Bill, is there a chance you could find out the diameter of Rion's "stars". I assume those are vinyl. I'll need to track down a source and order four.

On the TBD, the stars are on the top and bottom of the wings.

Also, an intersting note - the underside of the TBD wings are gray. The yellow is only on top.
 
I plan to add custom printed vinyl on my 8A. I did lots of research and will try this company for printing my plane vinyl. I will be using the premium auto vinyl.
Your paint scheme will look great finished.
Robin
 
paint scheme

That looks real nice. One thing you may want to consider, are the wing walks you will be installing on the upper wing surfaces. They will cover some of the nice detail you have there. I initially put clear ones on my wings but was not satisfied with them. They gathered dirt and could never be cleaned well enough to become clear again.
 
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