PC10 Paint Question/Questions

[James]

Don't want to open a can of worms, what color/colors do y'all use for PC10? Is there a PC10 paint or if not, what colors do you all mix to get a PC10 color? I'm a brush painter and want to start the Wingnut Sopwith Triplane.

James

[macsporran]

Depends where you are and what's locally available, James.
Back before I had a spray booth and could use an airbrush I'd brush paint with Humbrol enamels or various Xtracolour, Revell Aqua, or Vallejo paints.
PC10 could appear a different shade according to how the lamp black and yellow ochre were mixed so a range of colours is easily possible.
I've always leant towards a brownish shade after reading so many biographies mentioning brown RFC aircraft, so Humbrol 98 Chocolate was a popular starting point for me mixed with a little 155 olive drab or lighter green. Attached an Eduard Triplane  painted with 98/155. Nobody will shoot you down though for opting for somewhere in the brown-green spectrum.
HTH
Sandy

[James]

Thank you so much Sandy. Just ordered those two Humbrol colors and your Eduard Triplane looks amazing my friend. Your PC10 color looks amazing as well. How much do you mix of each color?

James

[macsporran]

Experiment a little James - the original colours were mixed in batches and could vary quite widely - get a shade that you are happy with and go with it, I'd suggest.
When you take into account how the strong French sunshine would affect the tones it really gives you a wide palate to work with.

One thing I should have said is that Humbrol has changed the formula for its paint much over the last few decades - to conform to rules regarding lead content etc internationally. The result is it does not cover as well now as it did in the nineties when my Tripehound emerged from the paint shop! I'd suggest you give several thin coats rather than applying paint too thickly.

Some of the other guys here (Dave W for example) get great results from brushing the current humbrol range so maybe might comment.
Good luck and let's see your results.
S

[Dave W]

Hi James

The question of what shade is PC10 has been one of the most frequently discussed/ argued topics among WW1 modellers for many years.

The 'brown vs green' choice is very much down to the individual. I have seen original fabric which is clearly green and read reports from pilots who referred to the RFC aircraft as brown.

As a brush painter I have for many years used Humbrol enamels and mixed a PC10 batch using two parts of Humbrol 29 dark earth and one part Humbrol 33 matt black.

Here's my Wingnuts SE5a using that mix:



Incidentally Wingnut Wings recommend Humbrol 155 green for PC10 and I've used that too.

I used to be an enamels-only brush painter but have converted to acrylics. Humbrol acrylics are the best so the mix formula is the same as with the enamels.

cheers

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

[WD]

Not to add any fuel as to what could become a fire, but hasn't the Humbrol enamel range been discontinued entirely now? That's my impression based on a recent posting from another forum based in the UK.

James, and I'm not being a smarta$$ by saying this, really, but have you (or anyone else here) considered making your own by mixing black and yellow paint?    Could this be a solution?  (FWIW, I can't find a dark olive oil paint for a wash I need and I plan on trying my hand at mixing black and yellow oil paints this weekend. Wish me luck!)

Apart from that, I'd suggest finding a good olive drab color you like from a paint range you feel comfortable with for brush painting and go from there by adding brown or whatever to get what looks good to your eye.

Just my two kopecks,

WD

[PJ Fisher]

By the way I like how you used that picture frame as the base of your model.  Clever and effective idea.

[RAGIII]

Not to add any fuel as to what could become a fire, but hasn't the Humbrol enamel range been discontinued entirely now? That's my impression based on a recent posting from another forum based in the UK.

James, and I'm not being a smarta$$ by saying this, really, but have you (or anyone else here) considered making your own by mixing black and yellow paint?    Could this be a solution?  (FWIW, I can't find a dark olive oil paint for a wash I need and I plan on trying my hand at mixing black and yellow oil paints this weekend. Wish me luck!)

Apart from that, I'd suggest finding a good olive drab color you like from a paint range you feel comfortable with for brush painting and go from there by adding brown or whatever to get what looks good to your eye.

Just my two kopecks,

WD

Warren,
Not sure if you are OK with an Acrylic wash but this one works pretty well for Me.



Reference PC 10 I tend to just take whatever OD and or Khaki I have on hand, mix in a touch of red to turn it brownish, and go from there. I also have used Valejo Olive Green and Olive Brown mixed together. The funny thing is having just looked at all of My British birds in the case, They all are very close in color and shade even though they all had different paint mixes. An advantage to just "Eyeballing" things I guess 
RAGIII

PS: All of My mixes are pretty close to this:

[Stuart Malone]

For one frame of reference, the Windsock Datafiles list 26 different shades for PC10 (3E4 through 3E8, 3F4 through 3F8, 4E4 through 4E6, 4F2 through 4F8, 5F3 through 5F6, possibly 5F7, and lastly 5F8) and 5 for PC12 (5F5, 8E8, 8F8, 9E8, 9F8) the last four of which have been rescinded.

I came to the conclusion to differentiate the two on my models I would go with a brownish green for PC10 and a greenish brown for PC12.

Here's my mixes for them:
PC10 Methuen 4F5 Vallejo Model Color 70.924, 70.921, 70.911 mixed in the ratio of 4:1:2 parts respectively.
PC12 Methuen 5F5 Vallejo Model Color 70.826, 70.893, 70.829 mixed in the ratio of 1:3:2 parts respectively.

I went for a mid-range color for the PC10 and the singular 5F5 for PC12.  These colors may not be acceptable for everyone, may be completely wrong, or downright ghastly.  If someone prefers a different color and has a Methuen code, I would be happy to mix up some Vallejo and share the formula.

Stuart

[WD]

Thanks for the suggestion Rick. I was really wanting to try the oil paint thing, never having done it before. Also, I did want to try a home brew if, for no other reason, I can replicate it over and over and not have to mail order anything.

WD

[RAGIII]

Thanks for the suggestion Rick. I was really wanting to try the oil paint thing, never having done it before. Also, I did want to try a home brew if, for no other reason, I can replicate it over and over and not have to mail order anything.

WD

Got You Warren. Just remember that  the black and yellow mix will make a pleasing olive green. If you want it a tad more greenish brown add just a "Touch" of red. I have used this mix of oils for ages on Fokker Dr1 streaking and as a blended in mix for weathering PC10.
RAGIII

[xan]

very interesting. No references in Gunze paints ?
I had that for PC 10 H52 and PC 12 H7. Have somone more info about those references ? Have they to be mixed ?

[James]

On several Wingnut Wings Sopwith instruction manuals, Clear Doped Linen - Humbrol 121 which is Pale Stone, is that a decent equivalent?

[DaddyO]

As an inveterate acrylic user I'm with RAGIII and would start with one of the Vallejo olive greens and add a touch of red to taste

(For what it's worth  using dope on models over a number of years I've noticed that the older ones tend to darken because of the longer exposure to UV light so my personal take would be within the brown green range that fresh out of the factory (or newish) aircraft would tend towards a greener shade and older aircraft would be slightly more brown in shade)

Paul