Modern Luftwaffe paint set vol. 4

Phantoms in the gray coat of Norm 81

These eight lacquer shades aim at a single but very widespread subject: the Norm 81A/B camouflage scheme that F-4F Phantom II machines wore in Luftwaffe service from the beginning of the 1980s. The striking combination of green and gray was replaced at that time by an all-gray coat, and the Phantom saw out its service in it well past the end of the Cold War.

Where each shade belongs

• RAL 7039 Quartz Grey, RAL 7009 Green Grey, RAL 7012 Basalt Grey and RAL 7037 Dusty Grey make up the broken pattern of the upper surfaces.
• RAL 7035 Light Grey belongs to the undersides of the fuselage and the wings.
• RAL 7001 Silver Grey covered the lower surfaces in the original form; after 1983 it was replaced by RAL 7030 Stone Grey, which also went onto the sides of the fuselage.
• RAL 9005 Jet Black is the standard color of the radome.

Anyone building a Phantom in the early or the later Norm 81 form has both stages of the development together in one box thanks to the pair RAL 7001 and RAL 7030. The four shades of the upper surfaces are not freely interchangeable: each of them has its fixed place in the broken pattern, and swapping two of them changes the overall impression of the model more than the closeness of the tones would suggest.

Before you start spraying

This is a lacquer range, so lacquer thinner from the manufacturer belongs to the thinning, not water. It is laid on very thinly so that the panel lines stay legible, and a short pause between coats is enough. With solvent-based paints it pays to ventilate the work area thoroughly and to wear a respirator.