HiMaxFlyer

My Feedback: (1)

I'm building a Balsa USA Nieuport 17. I have one of the Williams Bros. Vickers machine gun kits. Great kit of the gun, but no instructions as to the color of the original gun. Does anyone know what color the gun and ammo belts really were. Flat black for the gun maybe? Ammo.........?????

All information will be appreciated.

Barry in Arkansas

Tmoth4

My Feedback: (1)

Try mixing a small amount of white with your black to make a very dark charcoal black color instead of pure black and paint the gun. Then take a q-tip or small brush and dip it in some silver. Blot out most of the silver from the brush on a paper towel. Then lightly rub the brush or q-tip on some of the edges and corners of the gun, especially around the cocking and loading areas where it would have been be handled a lot. After all that's dry spray the whole gun with a satin clear. Then you can spray the muzzle area a little with the pure flat black. You'll end up with a very realistic result.
The knob on the cocking lever should look like dark wood. I think the ammo belts should be brass colored.

Jim

pittsdriver

My Feedback: (7)

Go to your LHS and look at Testors Model Master paints. They have a color called gunmetal that looks like blued metal. That and a few silver highlights and your in buisiness. Don

Mustang51

My Feedback: (25)

The gun would have been "Gun Metal"(it's a color(Testors) available at your local hobby shop) as color goes.
Wood color cocking lever.
Not sure as to why guys put silver on guns to show distress, as guns are made of steel(not silver in color) and then "blued". Ware points would be "Flat" and some black"ish" color with possibly some gray"ish" "steel color coming through.

Feed belts were leather during WWI.
Cartridges are brass(referring to the color, not the metal... although in this case they are one in the same). Bullets would have a "light copper"ish" " color to them (not to say they were jacketed in copper, just not sure of the metal used to jacket).

Oh yea... "LIGHTLY" blacken around the muzzel, and the area on the fuselage of the muzzle. This seems to be an area "way overdone" with paint by modelers.

Hope this helps,

Mustang51

HiMaxFlyer

My Feedback: (1)

I'd like to thank everyone who replied. The information has been helpful.

Barry

M Gill

You can paint the gun with "gun metal" as suggested, to really detail it, you can then lightly dry brush some "steel" (testors) over the surfaces and apply (with a detail brush) some "steel" in a heavier coat on the sections of the gun that would rub against other metal parts.

Mace Gill
The Aeroplane Works

TomCrump

I appreciate the info, too. Found it just when I needed it!

John Cole

My Feedback: (4)

Here`s a quick idea and effective: after the gun is painted a 'steel-black' color, rub it down with a tissue that`s been heavily scribbled on with soft pencil lead. #000 steel wool adds some interesting highlights too. Hope this helps.

John

pjwright

Take a look at Arizona Model Aircrafters' guns n' ammo for further detail opportunities, Barry:
http://www.arizonamodels.com/guns_ammo.html
pj