R

ron sterba

Well Known Member
OK today I need some ideas on a paint scheme. 3 color. White base color for sure and two trim colors. One trim color will be RED.Wife doesn't like the gold stripes. Does anybody have photo bank from Oshkosh? Hoping to get a scheme with flowing lines similar to the RV14A but white on top and color on bottom in a sweeping way to finish either straight out the back or a swosh up the tail with maybe divots or balls or just something! Darn this is hard! I guess I'am almost there but I NEED THAT STIMULI.

Milestone today! Got my tail # from the FAA. N421 HJ...>>>>>>>fast>> WHY U SAY One Hotel Juliet is easy to say.

Thanks
Ron in Oregon, EAA292
 
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Check out airliners.net. There are thousands of photos there. Set up your search filter to the aircraft type and enjoy the show.

You may find it somewhat simpler to break your quest into two phases; design phase and color choice phase.

I was very generous with my surface area calculations...800sq ft. At this point, all the fiberglass stuff is painted. Now I am gearing up for the aluminum stuff.
 
Spend the time to design your own with a pencil & 3-view

You do not want a copy of something or some splash dab thoughtless paint coating. This is your opportunity to work with those thoughts and desires that you and your wife have to create something special. It is a one time thing basically and it is what you and everyone that sees it will remember about your airplane. IT IS WORTH THE TROUBLE TO GET OVER YOUR DESIGN ANXIETY AND EXPERIMENT WITH VARIOUS DESIGNS ON PAPER THREE VIEW DRAWINGS.

After you produce several designs that are interesting to you that you think will hold up to scrutiny over time, then produce several copies of each and use colored pencils to fill in the patterns. There is a value in doing this hand motion, eye direction & observation and comparison evaluation SIDE BY SiDE that should gradually guide you to something you will like for a long time. You should save them as you complete them and not make a quick decision.

After my wife and I went through that part of the process for a significant time and we were confident that we knew the scheme and the colors we wanted, we took a large roll of paper and made full size patterns which we took to the hangar and taped them on the airplane. We refined the layout of the tail and fuselage and created whole new patterns for the landing gear fairings. We made reference measurements for precisely locating the patterns and wrote the requirements for the painter. The document and the patterns were given to him and they were made a part of the contract.

We were very happy with the result. I believe if you copy someone else's work you reduce the value of both.

Bob Axsom
 
Ron,
I went almost 5 years without paint because the ideas just weren't coming to me. Worse, I lacked the artistic ability to take whatever ideas I did have and put them on paper. I struggled with this for a long time. I knew I wanted something unique, eye-catching and flashy. I had photos from all my visits to SNF, OSH, and other fly-ins. Some other good sources for ideas in addition to the Scheme Designers website, and Airliners.net are model airplane magazines, hot rod magazines, race cars such as NASCAR, INDY, and NHRA. I also used logos, emblems. and patches from aerospace companies, Apollo and shuttle missions, and sports teams. The sports teams logos were a gold mine. It didn't matter whether if it was NFL, NHL, NBA, or college. These people spend a lot of dough on their logos and it shows! I finally hired Scheme Designers to help me with my ideas and it was the best money I spent on my project. In the end I got what I wanted... A very unique, eye-catching, and flashy paint job that encompassed 95% of my own ideas.

As for colors... I visited every car dealership and automotive paint supply store in the south Atlanta metro area! I can tell you that there a million shades of red and there are a million more of white. Don't assume that certain colors will go well together. They can also look very different in the sun, shade, and different lighting. Initially I picked Corvette red to go with my custom blue and it clashed big time! Who would have thought! I finally went with the red from the Infinity G-37. BTW, Hyundai has some very nice colors. Be careful you don't come out with a new car! Important safety tip, don't wear brown sunglasses when picking colors!

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Jerry
RV-8 N84JE
 
There are fads in both color and design which tend to identify the period in which those were chosen. They generally aren't long-term classics, although some of the better ones become that.

So find something which pleases you and your family. It doesn't necessarily have to match another airplane.

Dave
 
Bob Axsom said:
....

After my wife and I went through that part of the process for a significant time and we were confident that we knew the scheme and the colors we wanted, we took a large roll of paper and made full size patterns which we took to the hangar and taped them on the airplane. We refined the layout of the tail and fuselage and created whole new patterns for the landing gear fairings. We made reference measurements for precisely locating the patterns and wrote the requirements for the painter. The document and the patterns were given to him and they were made a part of the contract.

....
Click to expand...

Bob,

My painter did not want my design to those specific details, and stated that the engineer's way of projecting a paper/CAD design onto the plane may not be the best. Yes, I'm an injunear too, and that's what I wanted to do...:)

His criteria for get the stripes to look right as they traverse over the curved areas of the fuselage was quite interesting. He would stand at the trailing edge of the wingtip and make the lines or curves of the stripes look "correct" from that vantage point.

People see the details while it sits on the ground and not as you wizz by on a low pass. Standing at the trailing edge of the wing tip is where the majority of the viewers will see the entire fuselage striping scheme, so make it look best from that point.
 
Thanks guys for the heads up on web sites. I actually felt I could incorporate something from airlines.net for the fuselage and idea I had for the tail. Starting to settle in on a design in a sweeping motion, I get it guys! When its over the plate I'll swing. Colors, well I like a recent white from auto/ KIA. Not sure on pearlescents, a red on a new Nissan pick-up truck. I'll have to stop by the dealerships for sure. Appreciate all the thoughts guys!

Ron in Oregon Now N421 HJ
Just saw N420 HJ is the new Honda Jet, WOW maybe its workable for styling. Idea just hit me. Got it written down.
 
Once I settled on my design, I worked on the color combinations. I used the scrap aluminum from the rib lightening holes and painted them in the colors I thought I wanted. Some were solid colors, some were combinations of all the colors. I kept them in my car, and as I saw various autos on the road that I liked, I would hold up my sample paint disk and compair the two. I ended up changing from one shade of blue to a different shade of blue.

If you happen to have a good relationship with your paint supplier, he may give you "small" sample sizes of your selected color to try on your scrap surfaces.
 
az_gila said:
Bob,

My painter did not want my design to those specific details, and stated that the engineer's way of projecting a paper/CAD design onto the plane may not be the best. Yes, I'm an injunear too, and that's what I wanted to do...:)

His criteria for get the stripes to look right as they traverse over the curved areas of the fuselage was quite interesting. He would stand at the trailing edge of the wingtip and make the lines or curves of the stripes look "correct" from that vantage point.

People see the details while it sits on the ground and not as you wizz by on a low pass. Standing at the trailing edge of the wing tip is where the majority of the viewers will see the entire fuselage striping scheme, so make it look best from that point.
Click to expand...

I just finished painting my RV-10. My experience reinforces Gil's comments. The illustrations that I received from Scheme were very precise on where most of the lines were to be placed. But when you placed them on the plane, there were several places that just looked off. Working with the painter, we tweaked the design a bit to achieve a better look to the eye. This by no means is a slam to Scheme's quality of work. Their designs looked great in 2D and they were very effective at getting consensus of design from my wife and kids. My painter mentioned that it saw it all the time where 2D plans don't always transfer directly.
 
The full size perspective is important

We got ours by making full size patterns taping them to the aircraft itself and working through the necessary changes and repeat until we get it right.

This is something that reflects you and should be the apple of your eye. You and the painter both want it to look good but your motives are not exactly the same. He may want swooping graceful lines and you may want a look of straight line speed and dash. He may want to avoid some difficult masking or painting jobs like the bottom surfaces "that nobody sees anyway."

I agree that you will be surprised that the 2 dimensional three view miniature does not look exactly the same or "right" at full scale on the airplane but the adjustments there are a step in the development process in my view. YOU CERTAINLY SHOULD NOT SKIP THIS STEP but I think the developer should not surrender to the implementer anything except the implementation. That doesn't mean the developer should not except feedback from the painter, friends, family, etc. - that is like a critical design review but you should make the final decisions on the design to be implemented.

Bob Axsom
 
Suit yourself

Ever notice how hard it is to satisfy two or more persons? My advice to you is to satisfy yourself on the design and colors and then have it painted! Sometimes, projects can stagnate when the 'committee' must be satisfied.

Do your research and you will find the 'right' combination. Trying to satisfy both you and your wife or family may prove to be impossible. Make your choice and stick to it. You are the man.:cool:
 
Mr. Eliot and the rest of you, i think you have hit the nail on the head! That is satisfy your own visuals. Now that I look around at home I still don't know what ART schools the ladies go to but but its somewhere, so thats what I'm going to do. just pick a scheme and do it! Thanks guys.
Ron in Oregon
 
Mike that is some BEAUTIFUL artwork my friend! Ettore, thanks thats one website for the whole package,got it in contacts too! thanks
Ron in Oregon
 
Ron:
Are you painting it yourself or hiring it out? If hiring it out do you already have somebody in mind? A friend (very professional with shop) in Albany if interested. Let me know and I will hook you up. He may be able to help out with ideas as to his capabilities (unlimited if your wallet is) and he is close. He can also be pretty reasonable $$ wise if your desires are Spartan.

doug knight
white/black 9a
talked a couple times

PS: He didn't paint mine, I painted it myself. he is way beyond my capabilites
 
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