STORMO! Forums

This recent thread has some fascinating details of paint application for Macchi C.202's with the "continental" (i.e., overall upper VOS over GAC), and subsequent early desert schemes:

https://stormomagazine.com/phpbb2/viewt ... =33&t=1592

Which brings up a related question. For Macchi-built C.200's and early C.202's with the so-called "poached egg" three-color scheme in older "Mimetico" series colors, in what order were the upper-surface paints applied?

These are traditionally interpreted as first being painted overall dark green (please forgive my generic color terminology ), with tan, then smaller brown, spots applied over the green.

It's hard to find clear photos, but it often appears that the tan spots have very narrow "arms" or sharp "points," which would require careful use of quite a small-pattern spray gun. Might these be explained by a wider spray pattern of dark green, applied in a sweeping motion around brown spots, over a tan base?

Just some background on this scheme: The CMPR C8 ("poached egg") camouflage scheme appeared only on C.200s and C.202s. Up to Tavola 10 there wasn't a specific tropical color such as Nocciola Chiaro 4 - intended for use on desert aircraft uppersurfaces. Early C.202s left the Macchi factories in a Continental scheme (all green). For North Africa, splotches of sand were applied over green e.g., small batch of C.202s as D1. The CMPR lists the colors associated with their camo chips, with the base color at the top of each list. In this case C8, the base color is Verde Mimetico. There are other CMPR camo chips of this type applied to other planes where the base color was a giallo mimetico (yellow) such as the C10-C11 schemes (CANT Z.1007, P.108B). When you examine photos of the C8, working from a giallo mimetico base would have been too complicated not to mention expensive (and a waste of paint and time) and it doesn't explain the marrone mimetico splotches applied over the yellow splotches. I think a combination of templates and free hand were used to apply the splotches. A skilled painter would have had no trouble applying these splotches and keep in mind the tools painters used were pretty extensive (see the image below ref. Camouflage and Markings of the ANR, D'Amico & Valentini).