[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Some good news. While reported earlier that Flying Legends believed there was no original paint on their aircraft, Russ Snadden joined the discussion off-site and vehemently insisted that there was. Work was halted on the started paint removal on the undersides of the wings and, sure, enough, by use of a scalpel, it was determined that there were 4 layers of camouflage paint and a reddish-brown primer. The bottom camouflage color matched the "1/72 Scale Light Blue 76" on page 7 of the 1980 Monogram guide. The following is exactly what Bob Hammer reported to me:

"I scraped off the flaking outer coat which we know is not original. The
2nd layer was a dirty white almost beige. The 3rd layer was a light
green. The 4th layer, I believe, is original. I matched this with the
color chips in Merrick's 1980 Guide, as shown in the attached photos.
The 1/32 scale light blue 76 was very close. the 1/72 scale light blue
76 was exactly the same shade. (The photo does not show this very well
but Nick, Maureen, and I feel its this shade.) The 5th layer is the
reddish brown primer."

With this fortunate reversal of fortune, it should be possible to ascertain the original camouflage colors and markings on this aircraft.

Christian, I alerted Maureen, the project's office manager, to the URL for the restoration photos of their aircraft. I also agree with your assessment of the dataplate information.

Michael, we would be interested in seeing any pre-restoration color photos of the AWM Me 163 for the guidance that they can provide.

Regards,
Richard