Modern Portugese AF paint set Vol.2

The Portuguese Air Force between camouflage and gray

The set follows one specific turning point. The first four bottles belong to the camouflage Portugal carried on its combat aircraft until the end of the 1980s, the remaining four to the gray schemes that replaced it. Both eras therefore sit side by side inside a single box.

The older half is made up of Dark Tan (FS30219), Dark Green (FS34079) and Medium Green (FS34102) for the upper surfaces, with Camouflage Grey (FS36622) underneath. It is the combination known from Southeast Asia, and in Portuguese markings it was worn by the A-7P Corsair II attack aircraft and the light G.91 combat jets.

The newer half is all gray. Light Ghost Grey (FS36375) goes on the lower surfaces, Gunship Grey (FS36118) on the upper ones and Grey (FS36270) on the sides and the transition areas. Together the three make up the standard gray scheme of fourth-generation combat aircraft. The eighth bottle, Light Gull Grey (FS36440), points elsewhere: it is usually the overall color of patrol and transport aircraft.

Because every shade is tied to the FS standard, the paints work outside the Portuguese subject as well. Anyone building American or NATO aircraft of the same period reaches for the same numbers. The set suits airbrushing over the continuous areas of the airframe in particular.

The practical advantage of a box put together this way is that both halves share a single dark green tone. Anyone building a pair of models from different periods gets both eras out of one box, and the shades come out the same on both display pieces.