Should flyer color scheme match army?

[Kilofix]

Most photos I've seen have flyers with color schemes that match their armor and infantry. But should it really?

 

Do regiments repaint Imperial Navy equipment to match?

 

Just wondering. Thanks for the info.

[Argun]

I think the main reason, especially for we Guard types, is that we want our fliers to fit in with our armies, instead of having all sorts of tanks/infantry/aircraft in differing colors. It also helps to tie in the aircraft with your army, and to show that they are truly yours.

Fluffwise, I doubt that is the case, as fliers/tanks/infantry are usually from different regiments/worlds so paint schemes vary wildly. 

[Komrk]

I would think that from an in universe standpoint the Imperial Navy would have standard paint jobs for the world types they are fighting on like how US bombers in north africa had light blue bottoms and tan tops while the Luftwaffe had dark grey tops with light grey bottoms in Europe. But for in game you could paint them however you like.

[RazorDaemon]

Part of having it match is as Argun said, but also has to do with some official events require a certain amount of matching colors across the entire army, though how stringent that is varies.

 

Komrk also makes a good point, also those RL examples the uniforms often matched the aircraft and tanks as well, at least to a degree.

 

I have seen where the vehicles in an army, the typical examples being IG and Tau in my own experience, still use the same color palette as the troops but instead paint it as a camouflage pattern, and then as with RL armor and aircraft just have squad and/or regiment markings and numbers to identify them. Did you have something specific in mind?

[WarriorFish]

The fluff supports both :) Imperial Navy craft are often repainted when they're attached to a Regiment but this isn't always the case. Or it could be they simply didn't have time before it all kicked off, so you can do what you like.

 

The reason why most are painted the same is as Argun said; many people like their army to look cohesive, plus it's easier to paint your own scheme rather than find out how to do a Navy paint job.

[Kilofix]

Slight digression but I was actually painting an Armored Batallion allied detachment to my regular IG. It would consist of just one Command LR Beast Hunter, one Commissariat LR BH, one Armored Vets and a Vulture.

 

So I was thinking of painting the AB in a different scheme (maybe grey camo) than my regular IG (which is regular Cadian infantry and Green / Tan vehicle camo).

 

Then I was thinking if the Vulture should be different too?

 

Or should I just go back to plan A and paint everything Cadian?

[WarriorFish]

I'd go for a unified scheme personally. Aside from being simpler it's generally what people expect to see anyway, otherwise you might have to explain it all the time You can separate and make units distinct in subtler ways, for example markings or extra bits to denote something special or different. It's what I do with my Veterans and it works very well :)

[Kilofix]

Ok cool, thanks for the opinions.

 

All green and tan camo it is.

 

I'll probably just paint a stripe on the front hull to indicate the AB Command and Commissariat.

[WarriorFish]

Maybe their own Regimental number and markings? Kier uses WHFB shields which is a great way of adding some character with little effort for example, so there's plenty of things you could do

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8235/8417910409_9955eae4ef.jpg

[Brother Paen]

You could paint your unique unit in their own color scheme and do flyers in another scheme as well... then simply unify the force by using a "Task Force" marking of some sort. You could use a certain shape or animal or color across the entire force.  This gives you the opportunity to play with different camo patterns and still tie the army together.

[Kierdale]

As others have said, it can look nice to have the same or a similar scheme/colours on both your flyers and ground forces.

 

One suggestion is to look at real world airplane schemes and pick something that you like the look of, and use it (perhaps adjusting the colours to match those of the ground forces).

I intend to do something like this for my own flyers: my ground forces are green/brown camo and I'm keen to do my flyers in a scheme reminiscent of WWII RAF. A Lancaster for example...top being brown/green and underside a light sky blue.

 

Other interesting schemes:

The splinter camo used by the Swedish as heck on their Viggens back a couple (more?) decades ago...

Many Luftwaffe camo schemes would be good to steal. The bright yellow noses some 109's had would be quite striking...

 

 

 

And I think that's the first time my models have ever been used as a photographic reference. Thanks, WarriorFish.

It also reminds me I have to go back and redo the weathering and vision slits on that and my other older armour... :D

[WarriorFish]

That's a great idea as WWII colour schemes are quite iconic I reckon, plus it's never a bad idea to reference what real world forces have done. Whatever you end up doing don't forget to post up some pictures for us to see :D