USN Grey

[paddy]

So what is USN Grey , its not a colour listed by Tamiya etc.
I did a search and its just listed as a ship colour that changed with every ship getting darker as the war went on. The only time i used it was on the radome of a F4 and it was an off white...

Does this look like the USN Grey that Grumman shipped F4F-3s in ??

TIA

 

[moon puppy]

I use Light Sea Grey from Model Master.
According to the Ultimate Paint Conversion chart Light Sea Grey would work out to be X25 from Tamiya.

 

[kryptosdaddy]

Moon 's right- thats what came to mind when I saw Navy Grey- Light Sea grey is my favorite primer along with gull grey. Hasegawa also suggested that color (light sea) for my F-14.

 

[paddy]

OK thanks guys, i will go with LSG and it will probably end up lighter by the time I "sun bleach" it for desert effect

 

[paddy]

Sabotage !!!....X25 is clear green !! :laugh:

http://www.modelsforsale.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=34361m

 

[moon puppy]

OMG! Sorry Paddy, my mistake. XF25

http://www.modelsforsale.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=xf25&x=0&y=0

Dang that would have been funky!

 

[moon puppy]

Let's make sure we're talking about the same grey here. You looking for that Grumman Grey, the primer they mixed? or the underside grey?

 

[moon puppy]

Maybe this will help us.

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/Wildcat/F4FColors.html

 

[paddy]

Well as i understand it the F4F-3 shipped to Greece were in Grumman grey all over as they would have been diverted off the production line from a USN order.??

 

[moon puppy]

Grumman Grey would have been their primer, one of those unknown colors.

I keep end up going back to this picture, don't know why but it really interest me.

Note the different shade where the wing root would join? It's speculated that would have been Grumman Grey. link back to the IMPS Stockholm website

According to this link

In late December, 1940 shipboard aircraft were ordered painted Nonspecular Light Gray. This color would later become Light Gray ANA 602 and under the FS595B standards, Light Gull Gray 36440. There was some variation to the national emblem, but not as much as would come with the Blue Gray over Light Gray scheme that replaced the overall gray scheme. Some aircraft carried a small insignia forward of the tail planes, while others had a larger one slightly forward of that position. With this change the national insignia was reduced to four positions: Both sides of the fuselage, the top left and bottom right wings. The alpha-numeric codes were to remain for some time.

In the summer of 1941 Blue Gray was painted over the upper surfaces, leaving the lower surfaces in Light Gray. Blue Gray had no ANA number and seemed to vary in shade. In most cases painting was done aboard ship resulting in some inconsitancies. A good example would be the F4F-3 Wildcats delivered to VMF-211 on Wake Island. Those aircraft were painted while aboard the USS Enterprise while she and the Saratoga were delivering them to Wake. The Blue Gray was brought up short of the cowl ring, leaving the Light Gray all the way to the top. They also retained the four position national emblems.

What his source is I can't find.

When did your Greek Wildcats ship out from Grumman?

 

[paddy]

Italy invaded Greece in Oct 1940 so soon after that MP. or about that time. I have now been told Deck Tan is correct XF-55
I think its open to me to aim at anything light grey to be honest

 

[moon puppy]

For Grumman Grey, I used Light Gull Grey with a couple of drops of white in it. If no one knows for sure...who's going to call ya?

I wonder if it was not the overall Nonspecular Light Gray as mentioned above, time frame would have been cutting it close.