Hi all, a couple of things are holding up my build of the Texan in South African markings.

1: The colour of the orange parts on the plane.
2: The wheel bay coulour.(interior green or bare metal?)
3: The colour on the inside of the flaps
4: The colour of the anti glare section on the nose(Looks black but have seen a decal sheet stating dark sea grey).

Any helpers out there much appriciated.

Rob this article ‘South African Air Force Harvards’ at the aircraftresourcecenter.com by Sinuhe Hahn should answer most of your questions.

IIRC the original ‘orange’ colour for the aircraft is actually high gloss signal red, the same colour as the Red Arrows aircraft. In SA the colour fades very quickly because of the constant exposure to the sun. Also because of the different batches of paint used the signal red fades to different shades of orange.
HTH

Edit: Forgot to mention that at CFS Dunnottar (and on photos) I saw Harvards with red ranging from ‘blood red’ to ‘day-glo orange’. Once again it probably depends on the batch of paint used.

Hi Rob,

1. The orange is "Dayglo Fire Orange". Modelmaster 2041 FS28913 is an excellent match. Humbrol 205 & 209 and Revell 332 are fair alternatives.
2. The wheel bays were green.
3. No idea, but since the wheel bays were green I would imagine the flaps were similar, or perhaps Green Zinc Chromate?
4. The anti-glare section is a dark grey. Try Dark Sea Grey Modelmaster 2059 or Humbrol 164.

HTH, and we want pics once she's done!

Rudi

Rob, I emailed John van der Linden, Chairman of The Harvard Club of South Africa, with your questions. His answer partially confirms Rudi's.

Quote: “The orange colour was Daglo, you can still obtain this paint, but is very expensive and fades rather quickly
The inside of the flaps and wheel bay were normally painted in the silver colour that covered the main fuselage.
Trust this helps you.”

For some excellent reference photos have a look at the The Harvard Club of South Africa's Gallery.

Nice work fellas, and thanks. I think I will paint the orange quite dayglo as the pics my dad has of the one he flew in seem so.

I will post pics when done probably at the weekend.