Col. Harold J. Rau - P-38J "Gentle Annie" (MC*R) - 20th FG, 79th FS

[lyric1]

Never seen that photo before.

[Vraciu]

Never seen that photo before.

I found a couple of good ones.  Too bad they have watermarks.

[oboe]

That photo shows a nicely feathered edge between the green drab and grey.   Nice to see a closeup of it, as I have just been guessing which gradient brush to use.

Any idea about what the white rivets are?   Could they be new/replaced rivets and so very shiny compared to the older, weathered or painted rivets?

[whiteman]

Great work!

[Vraciu]

Thanks W.

Oboe, I've been wondering about the paint feathering myself.   Until I found this photo I was using very slight blending now I may have to up that a bit. 

Would this be factory paint?  One source claims this was a natural metal airplane that was painted over with OD.   For a serial number that low I kinda doubt it is the latter. 

The rivets have flaked off paint it appears.   It also looks like some OD paint patching was done on the gun bay doors.   


Lots going on in this photo. 

[oboe]

Agreed - very informative photo.

I just read recently that B-17G "Thunderbird" (42-38050) arrived in theater as natural metal and was hastily painted OD over gray without the use of primer.  I can't vouch for the source, it was on a modeler's decal information sheet.   But its information we've heard before now.

Maybe rivet heads don't take paint as well as other surfaces so the paint flakes off, and the exposure of the film or something makes them look white?

[Treize69]

It's probably a side effect of just how much time the ground crews spend working around that are- the more it gets used, the more wear and tear. Between the cockpit, the gun bay, and the nose gear, that central gondola is constantly the focus of ground crew work.

[Vraciu]

Treize69, I agree it is a wear area no doubt but I also notice that rivet paint flakes off more than the paint around it. 

On the Legacys (sic) I fly even factory paint flakes off on the flush rivets that are used for the winglets.   It's not uniform, but it's more than the flat skin.   Flexing combined with the tiny gap between the rivet and the surrounding skin probably makes it vulnerable to this phenomenon. 

Oboe, it would sure be nice to find some production number guidance on paint.

[guncrasher]

this is what I think.





inside joke.


semp

[Vraciu]

Yeah, I'll never see this plane the same way again.

[guncrasher]

it's a really beautiful skin, great job as usual v 



semp

[Vraciu]

Thank you my friend.