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Dayglo fluorescent red for beginners

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Kevin Brewer
Posts: 605
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:35 pm

Dayglo fluorescent red for beginners

Post by Kevin Brewer » Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:25 am

In common with several others on this Forum I've recently returned to 1/72 aircraft modelling. I've recently made a start on the S&M Models Sycamore, but would like to finish it in Training Command Dayglo Red of the early 60s period. I've found a Humbrol shade in gloss which looks pretty close (Humbrol 209, fluorescent fire orange), but can any of you more experienced people out there suggest a better alternative, for brush painting please?

Also, I saw a mention somewhere on the internet that it's advisable to use a white undercoat. Any thoughts on how best to arrive at a convincing, gloss finish would be gratefully received!

MTIA

Kevin

Doughnut
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Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:21 am

Re: Dayglo fluorescent red for beginners

Post by Doughnut » Fri Apr 10, 2020 11:34 am

I used Humbrol 209 over a matt yellow with surprisingly good results on Airfix Gnat and Vampire

Kevin Brewer
Posts: 605
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:35 pm

Re: Dayglo fluorescent red for beginners

Post by Kevin Brewer » Fri Apr 10, 2020 7:22 pm

Thanks very much for this, I'll give it a try on a spare fuselage.

Having now looked at any number of pictures on the web and in books, it seems that Dayglo red was used initially in the form of coloured self-adhesive vinyl strips/sheets and later in paint form, each producing a slightly different shade. The paint seems to have been much more prone to fading over time, thus making the correct colour match for any given aircraft even more problematic!

Cheers

Kevin

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Thunder
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Re: Dayglo fluorescent red for beginners

Post by Thunder » Fri Apr 10, 2020 8:07 pm

Unfortunately Day Glo Orange is probably one of, if not the hardest colour to replicate as it fades a lot quicker than most other colours right down to a Yellowish White colour. Humbrol 209 is probably your best bet straight out of the tin, and like Doughnut above I would use Yellow as a base, as White would make it pop too much. I’ve heard that Hu209 requires substantial thinning to get it to a good consistency for brushing. There are other alternatives out there but require mixing to get to the correct colour.

As for a convincing Gloss finish, best bet is to use Pledge floor polish it used to be called Klear and mix with a bit of Windex, however it takes a bit of skill and not advisable for beginners.

If you think you’ll take up modelling as a hobby I would invest in an airbrush and compressor sooner rather than later, as it gives you a lot more scope and flexibility when it comes to painting and achieving a realistic finish overall.

Kevin Brewer
Posts: 605
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:35 pm

Re: Dayglo fluorescent red for beginners

Post by Kevin Brewer » Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:53 am

Sounds like great advice Thunder, thanks very much indeed.

Kevin

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