Frog 1/72 Dornier Do 17 Z, DN 51, 2/LeLv 46, Noljakka, 1942.

[KSaarni]

Just as an additional interesting detail of the DN-51..
DN-51 was the only Do-17 used in FAF that had the bottom painted in silver dope.. all the other Dorniers had the regular RLM-65

- Kari

Makes sense. I’ll bet that they were all delivered with RLM-65 undersurface. So then the question is, at what point in DN-51’s life with FAF was the silver dope applied?

Jep, they were all on Luftwaffe camouflage. When the planes (2nd hand stuff) arrived from Germany in beginning of 1942, they first received a full service. I believe these planes came directly from action. Some even from Luftwaffe bases in Polan.

Then they were all re-painted into the Finnish "War camouflage" (as it was called ). DN-51 was the first plane to be re-painted and reasons why its undersurface was painted silver dope I don't know, (thanks Carlos for the correct word!).

I will, just of curiosity ask this question in a Finnish flight history FB group.. There might be someone who knows as I find it very odd DN-51 plane was painted "against" the official paint standard...

- Kari

[mustang1989]

Bruce...............you are one busy fella in modeling. I do like what you're doing here with this one and am locked in on it.

[speedgraflex]

Thank you so much for your information, Kari and Carlos! I am excited to potentially know more... and wondering how to make silver dope finish happen in 1/72 without loss of paint depth (must be less opaque?). SOS!

Thanks for your kind words, Joe. I obviously have ADD but I am trying to pick a project and stick with it until its done. No excuses except the ones we all share: work, other pursuits, our daily routines. If I put 30 mins into model building I get a lot out of that time. I sincerely appreciate everyone being supportive—especially considering the stop-start nature of model building momentum.

[jkim]

I agree with Carlos... that photo of DN 51 doesn't look like a doped metallic finish to me but photos can be deceiving. There are some unusual characteristics to that lighter paint... the swirl that Bruce pointed out. and the streaking on the leading edges of the wings. I wouldn't attempt to replicate the brush strokes... it would be almost impossible to establish scale fidelity at 1/72. One possible way is to put on a pre-shade that mirrors the wear/brush markings you see in the pics. Or do it in post with oils.

[KSaarni]

To be honest, I am not so familiar with the color "doped metallic ." I can't recall I have ever heard that expression.
In Finnish the color used is called ( a direct translation ) "Silverish grey".

From another discussion board (IPMS FInland), I find an older post where this "silverish grey" topic has been discussed. There it receives a color code of "Light Aircraft Grey 627" and a reference to Humbrol nr. 166 and Extracolor nr. 702

Could that explain what you John and you Carlos see in the picture ?

Or is doped metallic precisely same as all those colors mentioned couple of rows above ?

- Kari

[speedgraflex]

Ouch.

Silver dope is real. I apologize, sincerely, if I caused confusion! I would assume that the silver dope on DN-51 is actually made from a nitrate based clear lacquer with aluminum particles mixed by hand from a paste. We could call this “aluminum paint,” perhaps?



This is a very exciting discussion, and I appreciate everyone taking the time to articulate their ideas! Sincerely.

[speedgraflex]

[KSaarni]

- Kari

[KSaarni]

Still one "last" picture of this silver dope v. RLM 65, a great comparision picture!




- Kari

[speedgraflex]

Kari!

Simply incredible - finding the photo of the same aircraft and finding a comparison between silver dope and RLM 65!



But
But

How would you create the silver dope effect? You mentioned two Humbrol colors... is that what you would yourself choose???