BELGIAN AIR FORCE COLORS 1970S-1990S [SET]

Belgian aircraft of two decades

The period from the 1970s to the 1990s was a time of transition for the Belgian Air Force. Older supersonic machines in bold multi-color camouflage were gradually replaced by types in understated gray tones, so both philosophies of finish existed side by side. The set matches that straddling of eras and offers four shades that cover both intricate camouflage and plain surfaces.

The shades listed

The contents are Green to FS 34102, Dark Tan to FS 30219, Camouflage Grey to FS 36622 and Dark Green to FS 34064. The first three named form the combination that many European machines of the time carried, with the light gray going on the lower surfaces. The dark green then serves as a second green tone for the contrasting fields of the upper camouflage.

Notes on spraying

The transitions between fields were fairly sharp on these aircraft, which is best imitated by masking with a slightly raised edge rather than tape laid down flat. The gray lower surface is sprayed first and allowed to run up onto the sides, and only then masked off. With paints listed to standard codes it pays to compare the shade against a color standard, because the photograph on the label can be misleading. The package follows on from a sister set for the earlier period of the 1950s to the 1970s.

Anyone building several machines of one country will appreciate that the two packages form a coherent line and that the tones can be compared between them. For a single model the four shades will usually do, but for the cockpit, the landing gear bays and the exhaust sections further shades not represented here have to be added.