Coming in November

By Paul Lucas

 The publication of this fifth ‘Colour Conundrum Compendium’ in November 2025 marks not only ten years since the first of these ‘Colour Conundrum’ articles appeared in the December 2015 issue of Scale Aircraft Modelling, but also thirty Years since I first began to research the topic of the Camouflage and Markings of British military aircraft from primary source materials for myself. 

As with the previous four Colour Conundrum Compendiums, the articles reprinted here have not been reproduced in the sequence that they were originally published, but have been loosely grouped together in three sections to a common theme and arranged in chronological order within that section. The first section is the most diffuse in that it deals with general principles rather than specific subject areas. The ‘Detail Markings’ chapter spans the period from 1916 to 1970 and the markings described within it are applicable to a wide range of types and applied in conjunction with a wide range of colour schemes. This section also includes the first chapter of new and previously unpublished material to be presented here, a consolidated RAF Vocabulary of Stores Section 33B listing for the Second World War period 1936 – 1945, the product of some 30 years research.

The second section deals for the most part with the Second World War period and contains sub-sections that deal with the RAF and Fleet Air Arm, the latter including the second chapter of new material. The third section deals with the Post War era and includes a significant update upon the topic of Arctic Camouflage made possible by release into the public domain of previously classified documents in the years since the original article was published.  

It is almost certain that the interpretations offered here will undergo some degree of revision as further information comes to light because any single visit to any archive has the potential to unearth new information that calls into question what we currently think we know. In the meantime, it is hoped that the material offered here will continue to be found challenging, informative, and of interest to aircraft enthusiasts and modellers alike.

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