Skinners - where do you find your references?

[ATAG_Flare]

Hi there skinners,

I'm currently making historical skins for the RAF planes in the Italian Wings Battle of Britain event. My main goal with these skins is to get more correct marking letters than the default CloD markings. I am using Major Setback's template photoshop files and fonts.

Now, my question is, where do you guys find reference images and photos? I've just been trying my best in Google images but it's hard to find what I need and the few books I have here at uni don't have many photos, sadly I forgot to bring my copies of a few volumes of the excellent Battle of Britain combat archive.

Currently I am looking for references for 64 Sqn, 41 Sqn, 56 Sqn, and 501 Sqn in July 1940 (so without the roundels on the bottom of the wings).

[KeefyBoy]

Hi there skinners,

I'm currently making historical skins for the RAF planes in the Italian Wings Battle of Britain event. My main goal with these skins is to get more correct marking letters than the default CloD markings. I am using Major Setback's template photoshop files and fonts.

Now, my question is, where do you guys find reference images and photos? I've just been trying my best in Google images but it's hard to find what I need and the few books I have here at uni don't have many photos, sadly I forgot to bring my copies of a few volumes of the excellent Battle of Britain combat archive.

Currently I am looking for references for 64 Sqn, 41 Sqn, 56 Sqn, and 501 Sqn in July 1940 (so without the roundels on the bottom of the wings).

Hi Buddy
I personally use the net because its free and the images are going to be the same as in any book or visit Air Museums take photos.

501 1940
http://www.bing.com/images/search?vi...RST&ajaxhist=0
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pr...XFDhCP1bVXKxyM
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/48/92...7cab5a65c9.jpg


56 Sq 1940
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e5/8e/ed/e...f9289d56bd.jpg
https://ww2today.com/wp-content/uplo...ff-595x455.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pr...UTYiIgMUj1iJWy

41 Sqn
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pr...GjaeA7PMEQ3PdQ
https://www.bravobravoaviation.com/2...uadron-raf.jpg

64 Sqn
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cb/60...20dcda9460.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/52...7c88ea021b.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b6/4c...4c446a339d.jpg


Mark Styling is also a great source for colour plates https://www.markstyling.com/

Hope this helps
Regards
Keith

[major_setback]

Osprey books. The Wings Palette website. Photos found on the Internet, but mostly from books with aircraft profiles, drawings, photos. I have probably a thousand books.
Decals for model aircraft can be a good source too, or a lead to further investigation.

This website is good too
https://www.asisbiz.com/avi.html

[BOO]

As above but I also tended to lean back on my old modelling days for trying to colour scale. Im not a great believer in colour swatches given the effects of weather and sun (in addition to the actual manufacturing and application variations) and that of scaling and use them as a guide rather than an absolute. Long since stopped investing is those expensive refence books in favour of Google and a F it attitude.

[ATAG_Highseas]

I get my refernces mostly when I'm asleep. Or off my face on narcotics.

and then I distill my mind (aka brain) thoughts through the medium of the most basic paint package I can put mouse to.

It keeps the clarity of work unadulterated and the visual purity to a level that is otherwise undilluted.

Neeow.jpg

[ATAG_Flare]

Thanks guys. Mark Styling's website is pretty nice.

Sadly the only Osprey book I've got here is on the Tirpitz raids.

The Wing Leader books are some of the best I've ever seen but I only have 2 and they're back home not here with me at uni. Sadly they're quite expensive to ship from the UK and they don't offer ebook sales.

I managed to find this pdf: On Target Special - Battle of Britain camoflauge and markings 1940 - it's got countless profiles of LW, RAF, french, belgian, and italian planes. It's really fantastic, probably not super accurate colours due to it being a scan of a book but great for the markings.

[Fred901]

https://www.markstyling.com/spitfiresmkl_ll_1.htm

https://www.markstyling.com/hurricanemk1s_1.htm

[IIJG27Rich]

If you're kind of lazy there is loads of stuff here

https://www.asisbiz.com/il2.html

[IIJG27Rich]

One more thing I would add, good profiles are nice but as far as insignias go never put 100% faith in then. Always use real historical photographs. Profiles are good for the colour but lots of times you see things on backwards like JG insignias. That's when you need the photographs