I am currently building a Revell F/A-18E. The Top Gun version. I have a bit of a dilemma with the choice of colour for the top and bottom surfaces. The kit, and every site I have found on-line say the colours should be light and dark ghost gray with numbers FS36375 and FS-36320. I have bought Mr Colour paints that are clearly labelled with these numbers, and I also have what’s left of the quoted nearest Tamiya equivalents.
However, I have applied two coats of the light ghost gray over white primer to the bottom surfaces and it looks far darker than any photos I have from the net, or those I took myself on a visit to the US Naval Aviation museum at Pensacola. Indeed, the dark ghost gray looks as though it will be much like the F-15E’s and C-17’s of the USAF. The photos I have look almost a dirty white rather than grey. In fact last year I used Insignia White as recommended on a Skyhawk model and that was really a light grey similar to what I appear to require for this F/A-18E. I have looked at the painted model in all lights from sun to shadow, natural and artificial, and in none does it get close to the photos of real aircraft. I does not seem to be a manufacturer fault either as, although there are obvious differences, the paints from different sources are fairly close.
Do I press on with what I’ve got, or do I mix my own colours to match my photos?
However, I have applied two coats of the light ghost gray over white primer to the bottom surfaces and it looks far darker than any photos I have from the net, or those I took myself on a visit to the US Naval Aviation museum at Pensacola. Indeed, the dark ghost gray looks as though it will be much like the F-15E’s and C-17’s of the USAF. The photos I have look almost a dirty white rather than grey. In fact last year I used Insignia White as recommended on a Skyhawk model and that was really a light grey similar to what I appear to require for this F/A-18E. I have looked at the painted model in all lights from sun to shadow, natural and artificial, and in none does it get close to the photos of real aircraft. I does not seem to be a manufacturer fault either as, although there are obvious differences, the paints from different sources are fairly close.
Do I press on with what I’ve got, or do I mix my own colours to match my photos?
