I had not meant to, but I subscribed...actually, I was made aware of the site when I saw the spitfire advert on tv, and well, the zero looks nicer.

Anyway, I will want to paint some parts in that aotake colour and I was wondering what do people on this forum use? Especially you, Mr T, as you make it look so easy.

I'm sure it's not though.

My skills are basic. I have some experience but nothing like the standard which seems to permeate from the site.

My last realisation was a Pocher car, which I am quite proud of even if its not 100% (or even 80%!) accurate. I have another Pocher car which I am rebuilding, as well as a small sailboat and an airplane model I bought in the states which is the same concept as the zero except in wood and no skin. The last 3 are in various stages, from taken apart to not started. These are long term projects, pretty much like the zero will probably be.

I have perused the forum and found what looks like the answer to my question in a previous post. I should have started there really.

Welcome to the group and build. I think that you will gain much information from here and everyone will help with questions etc.

Aotake is actually a resin which was coloured by a mixture of blue and green dies and was used as an anti-corrosive protective coat on Japanese aircraft.

there has been a very animated discussion on here over Aotake and its actual colour. Indeed, on many forums this colour is still a hotbed of discussion.

The main problem with aotake is that although it has a blue/green colour to it it also has a translucent property and a gloss finish to it. Also due to chemical properties with the resin and die it tended to react not only within itself, but also to light and over time with curing, but also to light and a salt (sea air) atmosphere and colour changes were noted.

This means as modellers when push comes to shove we can use a great range of metallic blue/green shades to represent aotake. Indeed during the mixing process the dies used were not evenly balanced so even at that shade it seems that colours would vary between batches.

We can look at official colour cards and say "That is the colour of Aotake - End of discussion!" The real world of usage is different and if you look at various discussions and also photographs of surviving components of original aircraft and photos during restoration we can see that not only did the colour of Aotake vary, but so did every other colour used!

Field applied paint job colours were different from factory paint jobs, not only in the shade, but how the colour was mixed in the first place.

So we say. Look at the evidence and the arguments and choose a shade that you think is appropriate and that you are comfortable with. Then it is right for you.

Everybody is different

Welcome

James

A.K.A Captain Grumpy

Me like simple route!

Thank you Captain, and I had read your posts as well as the 4 part explanations so I was not as ill prepared as I made it sound! That said, I am not so interested in accuracy as in the way the plane is built, and I find the intricacies of the airframe model beautiful in itself. So the plan is to do a 1/2 skinned plane, with bits of colour around which might be sacrilege to purists. As it happens, I like the aotake colour but if I can get the aluminium looking as good as in the pictures, there will be plenty left "au naturel".

As I said, it is a long term project and I thank everyone for the welcome.

I would certainly consider it good enough for me!

Andy, seeing as I am also now signed up for the Zero, can I ask what you are priming with before the Lifecolor. The Tamiya clear primer seems impossible to source here.

Thanks Mr T, I've ordered some.
P.S. The Website ordering doesn't work, as it won't accept a valid shipping. But I phoned him and he was extremely helpful. The Post Office is laying down the law on shipping liquids, but apparantly they have exempted beauty products, so you can post flammable Perfume but not water based paint

can not answer your spacific question, however, can i ask are you cleaning the parts prior to assembly/priming?

Hi Greham
Generally I have been degreasing with white vinegar and then a quick dip in deoinised battery water to remove any traces of vinegar, I use a large ceramic lasagne dish/tray for my vinegar bath .
I have been spraying the undercoat with a clear laqueur I get from my local pound shop nothing fancy but it works ok and it comes in 500ml cans.
The Aotake I spray at around 15PSI using light fast coats and im generally happy with the colour at around the 3rd light coat.
I have purposefully gone for the blotchy look but up to the second light coat its quite opaque and uniform.
Hope this helps
Andy

Hi, the link you gave shows it as clear on the title but the product description further down says it is light grey.

i was spraying at 12psi with a 50/50 mix so maybe I was being a little heavy handed

Graeme