Does color make a different in your scores?

[tom creasey]

 I was following a group of flyers and the discussion came up about the color of your plane can determine the scores you get from the judges on your flight. really can't talk to a judge about this cause it could influence them.
  I am a beginner still and I learn from my upper classman to try to find my grove in our sport. I wanted to bring this color thing up to see what ya'll think about this topic. For me I might start to evaluate what colors I use from now on. I feel it is wrong to have a certain color to get higher or lower scores as you are flying your event.
  Do any of you know if a Camo paint scheme has won the Nats?
   For my paint scheme I like the warbirds and I weather them, which my planes aren't shiny and bright with dark colors is effecting my scores?

[tom creasey]

It is said that Red's are the colors to use for high scores

[Tom Niebuhr]

Practice with good coaching makes good scores

[tom creasey]

Practice with good coaching makes good scores

I agree.....but they saying cause it has do with what the human eyes see in color spectrum which makes your maneuvers different in how the judges see them

[Brett Buck]

I was following a group of flyers and the discussion came up about the color of your plane can determine the scores you get from the judges on your flight. really can't talk to a judge about this cause it could influence them.
  I am a beginner still and I learn from my upper classman to try to find my grove in our sport. I wanted to bring this color thing up to see what ya'll think about this topic. For me I might start to evaluate what colors I use from now on. I feel it is wrong to have a certain color to get higher or lower scores as you are flying your event.
  Do any of you know if a Camo paint scheme has won the Nats?
   For my paint scheme I like the warbirds and I weather them, which my planes aren't shiny and bright with dark colors is effecting my scores?

    No offense, but this is the sort of silly discussion that gets people hung up all the time. The quick answer is no. What gets good scores is making the maneuvers look like they do in the rule book.  Of course, if you can see the airplane better it usually allows you to fly better, so it's not irrelevant, but it's not the judges doing it.

     And again, no offense, even if there was any effect like this at all, it would at most affect guys who are already competitive for wins at the NATs, not *beginners*. That means you are maybe 10-15 YEARS of hard work away from it mattering.

    If you get your engine to run, reasonable trim, and don't make silly mistakes like running out of gas or flying level flight at 25 feet (all of which happen all the time), you will win every beginner contest forever. Where forever is defined as 2 weeks, because you will then move to intermediate. Where the same thing applies - don't make any silly mistakes and you will win every contest you enter.

    Learn to build, learn to trim, and learn to fly, paint it whatever color suits you.

      Brett

[tom creasey]

    No offense, but this is the sort of silly discussion that gets people hung up all the time.

     And again, no offense, That means you are maybe 10-15 YEARS of hard work away from it mattering.


    Learn to build, learn to trim, and learn to fly, paint it whatever color suits you.

      Brett

   no offense, I don't think this is silly.....it gives me a direction I may turn to as what I will choose for a Scheme and color. I am asking cause I am a beginner, close to going to intermediate, so it does matter to me now starting out. It is another skill into the progression for me into the stunt flying I need to think about.

     Apparently talking about this subject might be read by a judge and he, himself will be more aware of to really study and look a little close and have in the back of his mind that color could have some play.

 How do you fly when the back ground is dark from tree shadows that it can physically have effect on your relations to the ground of what eye perceives where the plane is located?

  Just wanted to get a census from fellow modelers.

   No offense, I will not be like you.......I will do it 5 years or less.... you don't know who or what I am, as I don't know you

   I am sorry if sometimes I ask silly stuff......sometimes the smartest people ask silly stuff. I was raised that there is know such thing as a silly question.

  I didn't start this thread to cause problems for other modelers.  It was something I read and now I am trying to learn something, I don't think that is silly

    I think at the start of the season that a judge might read this and really try to remember a dark color plane verse's a light color plane flown by the same guy as he judged and see if there is a different how the maneuver looks , even in the intersection.

   I am curious to watch fellow flyers with different color planes this year and judge for myself   

[peabody]

My belief is that an aeroplane that stands out from background is easier to judge....both the brilliant moves and the awful ones stand out equally. A plane that disappears into the background (usually trees) is harder for judges to see, and those that I know point down when there is a question.

Have fun!

[tom creasey]

My belief is that an aeroplane that stands out from background is easier to judge....both the brilliant moves and the awful ones stand out equally. A plane that disappears into the background (usually trees) is harder for judges to see, and those that I know point down when there is a question.

Have fun!

   Would this be something to point out at a pilots meeting at an event if the wind is in a direction of an area where the back ground is dark?

[Brett Buck]

   no offense, I don't think this is silly.....it gives me a direction I may turn to as what I will choose for a Scheme and color. I am asking cause I am a beginner, close to going to intermediate, so it does matter to me now starting out. It is another skill into the progression for me into the stunt flying I need to think about.

   And all I can say, after doing this for 40+ years from beginner to national competition, you DO NOT need to think about this, and time spent thinking about this is time that you could be spending on some more useful pursuit. I am not trying to belittle the idea, but stunt is about craftsmanship and accurate execution of geometric shapes, not what color it is, "what the judges are buying today", not obscure points of spherical geometry, and not what kind of pants you wear, etc. These are all classic distractions that if indulged push you in the wrong directions and at best waste your time and at worst, prevent you from every progressing.

   I would also note that the premise (red airplanes score better) is demonstrably false, as most National Championship airplanes over the last 30 have been predominately white base colors, with a few yellow and one purple.

   Brett

[James Holford]

I believe where they were going with it is that red doesn't stand out between blue skies and green trees and therefore if your corners aren't sharp....you may get a good score on a poor maneuver because you can't clearly see the mistake..... if you can decipher what I just said lol....

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[Trostle]

   Would this be something to point out at a pilots meeting at an event if the wind is in a direction of an area where the back ground is dark?

As a judge with some experience over the years, your question does not make much sense.  I think most judges will know the direction of the wind and most judges will know if there is a dark background.  So what are you suggesting should be explained in a pilot's meeting?

It is up to the pilot to present a pattern for the judges to observe.  The wind will normally dictate the position of the judges and where the pilot will position his maneuvers.  An experienced pilot will position his maneuvers to the best of his/her ability in accordance with the rulebook relative to wind direction and regardless of "background".  You will find that judges, as a whole, try to be very diligent to discern how well the pilot is performing, regardless of "background".  An experienced pilot will also know that his score will suffer if the maneuver is flown in a position where the judge's cannot critically observe the maneuver.  A judge should not give a good score to something he cannot see.  (Shifting wind directions during a judged pattern is another subject and beyond the scope of this thread.)

You also explained that you do not know Brett Buck.  For your information, not only has he been a top qualifier at the Nats for a number of years, he has won the CL Stunt Championship at the Nats (the Walker Cup).  Brett is recognized in our CL stunt community as one of the best stunt judges in the country.

[BillLee]

This is chasing a fast rabbit when you have an elephant sitting in your lap.

[Brett Buck]

As a judge with some experience over the years, your question does not make much sense.  I think most judges will know the direction of the wind and most judges will know if there is a dark background.  So what are you suggesting should be explained in a pilot's meeting?

   I would add, it's immensely easier for the judges to see the airplane, no matter what color, than it is for the pilot. I have lost airplanes in backgrounds many times over the years flying, but never judging, even camo-painted models against dark green.

   It actually *does* make sense to choose colors you can see yourself, but choosing it so you can see it yourself is another matter.

    Brett

[peabody]

West coast colors are best

[John McFayden]

As someone that has judged at least 100 contests at a variety of levels and from local events through to Canadian Team Trials and Canadian Nationals I can say that the color of a model never influenced a flight mark I awarded.

As a pilot I prefer a color that I can see the best with sunglasses on. For me that is red and white. Again as the pilot, dark colors are harder to follow against a dark background and are harder to find after flying against the sun. I also think as a pilot I can see a paint scheme with high contrast better.

The perspective of the model for the pilot is completely different than that for the judge. The sun can cause the pilot to lose sight of the model but the judge never has that problem in my experience.

I would agree with Brett that focusing on building quality, trim, proper power, weather conditions and skill influence scores. The color from a judges perspective does not.

John McFayden

[Howard Rush]

I pick colors so I can see the airplane.  I gave my combat planes a toot of fluorescent orange paint and wore orange sunglasses (Suncloud Rose), having the notion that I could see my planes better than my opponents could. This was especially helpful with cataracts.  When I took up stunt I continued to paint my fuselages orange and wear orange sunglasses.  This was OK unless there was both sun and trees downwind.  I found that a bright LED on the side of the airplane helped in that case, but that was one thing that judges didn't like (back to your original question).  Cataracts are gone now, but I have other vision trouble that having bright-colored airplanes helps.  

A white or fluorescent fuselage will enable you to practice later in the evening.  

The late Don Shultz told us an interesting tidbit: maroon airplanes disappear when they move.  

[Randy Powell]

Speaking from a psychology point of view, the better the finish presents the to the judges (and the better the judges can see the plane, as Howard said), the better the score, given equal skill of the pattern. Also, it is natural for a human to be more lenient to something they like. Unconsciously, but it's there.

[Larry Fernandez]

West coast colors are best

Rich, you have posted some of the lamest crap I have ever read on this board, but this one is your lamest.
I wish you would give up model airplanes and take up bowling or golf so we would not have to see your snide BS anymore.

If someone were to put together a top ten list of the biggest jack-asses in stunt, you no doubt would top the list.

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt team

[Chris Wilson]

Speaking from a psychology point of view, the better the finish presents the to the judges (and the better the judges can see the plane, as Howard said), the better the score, given equal skill of the pattern. Also, it is natural for a human to be more lenient to something they like. Unconsciously, but it's there.

Agreed, if at any time one has to remind oneself that a condition is irrelevant, then it is relevant.

Just wondering how German color schemes would score just after WWII in England or Japanese schemes in America?

Bias is always there but admirably limited by concious decision.

A parrallel I could use is that of noise, a good friend of mine who uses tuned pipes in F2B was
 chatting to a judge post contest and was told if you model made less of an awful noise then perhaps you might score better.

Admittedly this particular setup did produce a most grating sound at times but it should not have effected his scores, or should it?
If a judge is uncomfortable about something then it will affect their thought process.

[Brett Buck]

Speaking from a psychology point of view, the better the finish presents the to the judges (and the better the judges can see the plane, as Howard said), the better the score, given equal skill of the pattern. Also, it is natural for a human to be more lenient to something they like. Unconsciously, but it's there.

      Again, the idea that you would expend any effort trying to unconsciously influence the judges for anything is absurd until you have removed all other conscious factors. Everyone, and I mean everyone including David, Paul, Billy, anyone,  still makes numerous obvious mistakes on every flight.  Everybody else makes EVEN MORE obvious and numerous mistakes. We are talking about BEG/INT fliers who by definition (and no criticism implied or intended) can't make recognizable square maneuvers, much less perfect. They guys who can fly level at 10 feet on their takeoffs usually win. Even if you grant the premise that it matters (which I don't), how close to perfect to you think you have to be to make it matter, compared to removing even one minor mistake?

  Paint the airplane any color you want (note that red in particular tends to cover poorly and tends to be heavy, probably even worse than yellow) and then do one more practice flight.

     Listen, or don't, matters not a whit to me ultimately.  But I hate to see people wasting their limited modeling time and effort, even 10 minutes of internet jabber, on stuff that doesn't matter to anyone, ever. And unfortunately, this sort of thing is exactly what hangs people up at some level of development.

    I will say it again - what matters to the judges is WHERE THE AIRPLANE GOES IN THE AIR, and IF YOU MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THE DRAWINGS IN THE RULE BOOK, YOU WILL GET A BETTER SCORE. And as a corollary, if you don't get a good score, you can assume that you ARE NOT making the figures like the rule book . In which case the solution is obvious.

     Brett

   

[Randy Powell]

Well, Brett, maybe not you. 

[Chris Wilson]

Wonderfully dismissive Brett, and you seem to be taking this personally and as an attack.

The original post asks about will colors affect my score
, and sure the judge is indirectly relavant here as they are simply an unbiased  reporting mechanism but what about the 1st person perspective of the pilot?

They fret about inadequacies, perform below their best as a result and that directly effects their score. Sounds more than relavent to me.

But as you say, none of this matters and is a waste of time.

[RC Storick]

Does the color make a difference? I say yes, but it's not what you think. Paint the plane any color you want as long as you can see it. If you can see it the judges can see it. Say if your flying amongst trees I personally would not want a leaf colored airplane.

[Mark Scarborough]

I was part of this discussion on another place, with a face and a thumbs up,,
ONe person contended that making the plane red made it harder to see accuratly and by that he felt you would score better because benefit of the doubt or something, never really got full grasp of his point.
There is some truth that maroon is harder to track than other colors,
then another poster of some acclaim commented that he painted his airplanes to be as visible as possble, contending that dark planes by capable pilots versus bright planes by the same pilots tend not to score as well, my take, because bright planes are easier to track and judge ,,

I love bright colors so it matters not to me, but even bright colors like my Green pearl beast  could get lost at dusk wth trees behind it, and it was NOT even close to leaf green, it just disapeared, however so did every other airplane flown on that particular night,,

I have to agree with Brett here, ( and I did not see hm taking it personal at all, just reporting the facts as he sees them) if you can get in one quality pracitve flight in the time you spend thinking about this, you are probably better off flying, or building.
However that said, some of us do enjoy the mental gymnastics of this sort of thing when we cannot be building or flying, just please, dont let it dictate your enjoyment or advancment, build straight, practice ( quality practice, dont just fly) practice more, and paint the plane the way you want. When you need another half a point, then think about color ok?

[Chris Wilson]

So what happens if say, a dazzle camouflage color scheme is used?
(And camo was the original topic.)
For the uninitiated a Dazzle scheme is intended to hide size, shape and direction of an object, or simply its 'intention.'
Just think zebras changing direction when being chased by a predator.

In this case if its harder to determine direction changes due to a chosen color scheme isnt it reasonable to conclude that its harder to accurately score?

[Mike Keville]

Rich, you have posted some of the lamest crap I have ever read on this board, but this one is your lamest.
I wish you would give up model airplanes and take up bowling or golf so we would not have to see your snide BS anymore.

If someone were to put together a top ten list of the biggest jack-asses in stunt, you no doubt would top the list.

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt team

=====================================================

          

[Tom Niebuhr]

As I said above "Practice with good coaching makes good scores"

It is the short answer for sure.

Make the airplane a color that you can see against all backgrounds. That is why John D'Ottavio preferred orange.

When we were young we thought nothing about Brown, Black, Dark Blue etc, but these are hard to see, particularly when facing trees and you have to go from a bright sky or sun, then to a tree background low.

Red, yellow, orange need a white base under them since they are transparent. This equals weight.

Chris mentioned camo paint jobs. Keith Trostle won the Nats with a Focke Wolf German paint job which has a lot of green in it. This again shows that the color has nothing to do with good scores.

So I repeat my statement that is supported by all the top fliers.  ""Practice with good coaching makes good scores""

 

[Chris Wilson]

Again, going to extremes here but does this  'dazzling' camo scheme make a difference?

Because if it does (and it should) then colour and its arrangement must be considered when recognising an object.

Robert made a good point back there, the judges must 'see' the model and if the colour and its scheme detract from recognition, and scores are based on that, then logically the scores will be detracted also.

The difference is that the 'dazzle' scheme is designed to be recognised (unlike normal camo which obscures) and detracts from directional intention.


  

[Brett Buck]

Wonderfully dismissive Brett, and you seem to be taking this personally and as an attack.

The original post asks about will colors affect my score
, and sure the judge is indirectly relavant here as they are simply an unbiased  reporting mechanism but what about the 1st person perspective of the pilot?

They fret about inadequacies, perform below their best as a result and that directly effects their score. Sounds more than relavent to me.

    The question asked was does it matter what color your airplane is. My opinion is that the answer is no, it is irrelevant, and that you should avoid this  and the many other similar traps that people fall into again and again. No one is compelled to pay any attention - maybe I am wrong. Probably not, I have been doing this forever and have seen these traps and have fallen into a few myself, but got out when I paid attention to people with more experience.

   I would think people who are unsure of themselves need clear information about what matters and what does not, and the worst thing anyone could do is encourage them in their insecurities. Stunt is as simple as it gets, and I hope people can get that.

     What do you want? I have flown in large contests for decades and judged around 10,000 flights from all skill levels, they asked for an opinion and I gave one, and now you are arguing about it. Should I tell you that it's really important, even though it isn't?

     The most successful stunt plane of all time was painted pink and faded flourescent yellow, so I think that's what you should all do. Happy? I am sure it was a coincidence that it was also in perfect trim and had nearly infallible engine runs.

      Brett

[Randy Cuberly]

As an expert level flier and experienced judge I can tell you with conviction that the color or even size or shape of the airplane has little or no effect on scores.  The size shape and placement of the maneuvers is what counts.

Any who don't believe that need to go watch Joe Gilbert fly a pattern with his Ringmaster that is not particularly pretty, outstanding in color, or even easy to fly!

He scored at the recent VSC in Classic in the high 560's to 570's with patterns that were simply very well flown with an unimpressive airplane that became very impressive because of the way HE flew it!

Simply put...How pretty, or what color the airplane is can affect your score but definitely only in the appearance judging...Of course that's not unimportant and is likely the only thing that kept Joe from scoring in the high 580's or more!

The idea that the color of an airplane will influence your flight scores with the judges is, to put it bluntly, LUDICROUS!!!

If the flier can not see the airplane my only question is why would he use it?

Randy Cuberly

[RC Storick]

     The most successful stunt plane of all time was painted pink and faded flourescent yellow, so I think that's what you should all do. Happy? I am sure it was a coincidence that it was also in perfect trim and had nearly infallible engine runs.

      Brett

It was bright enough that everyone could keep an eye on it. Think about it. It also helps that Paul is superman

[afml]

One of our club members used a profile 46 size airplane, (His own design) to WIN Beginners and Intermediate the following year at the Nats. His airplane had NO color. Clear over balsa and clear iron-on covering on the wings. Only color was his black AMA # on the wing. His focus was size, shape, & consistency. "Color can wait till I get good....The time spent on a dazzling paint job could be better spent on practice and becoming a better flyer." His quote.
Then there is an older post of a Guy who flew an orange Sig Twister through the stunt ranks to Expert, winning many times with the same plane.
You have received some good advice in the previous posts. Use it to your advantage. Paint your plane as you wish, just be sure YOU can see it in various conditions and backgrounds. Locate a good coach and PRACTICE. Hope to see you soon moving through the stunt ranks.
Good luck & "Tight Lines!"
Wes

[john e. holliday]

As most have stated, paint the plane the color you like, but concentrate on building straight and light.  Then get a coach and go practice.   The only time I had a score down graded after taking a big lead in first round flight was when there was a change of judges in second round.  I was immediately moved from first to fourth place with a pattern everybody thought as well as myself was better than first round.   When I questioned the judges after the contest I was told by one judge that he didn't like the out line of my plane.    So I won't fly in front of that person again.

[Dan Berry]

It is said that Red's are the colors to use for high scores

Well, notwithstanding the obvious......

It seems very probable that a lot of guys who fly this stuff to a high level like to decorate their planes with red.
Which obviously doesn't mean that the judges have a bias toward the red planes. I don't know Red so I don't really know if Red's planes get the high scores being claimed for him.

[Dan Berry]

Then there is an older post of a Guy who flew an orange Sig Twister through the stunt ranks to Expert, winning many times with the same plane.

That sounds like my brother.

[Mark Scarborough]

Well, notwithstanding the obvious......

It seems very probable that a lot of guys who fly this stuff to a high level like to decorate their planes with red.
Which obviously doesn't mean that the judges have a bias toward the red planes. I don't know Red so I don't really know if Red's planes get the high scores being claimed for him.

most of the "REDs" that I know, or remember were "hers",, maybe that is why you dont know Red?

[frank williams]

In years past there was discussion as to whether the particular dazzling paint scheme on PW's Impact made it look like it turned better.  The bright fluorescent red front end and the fluorescent yellow rear of the plane were thought by some to help the look of the tightness of the corners.  Just saying.  .... me, I like blue .....

[Dan Berry]

most of the "REDs" that I know, or remember were "hers",, maybe that is why you dont know Red?

Shewt. I'm married to a redhead. Now. She wasn't when we got married...............

[Derek Barry]

 

     The most successful stunt plane of all time was painted pink and faded flourescent yellow, so I think that's what you should all do. Happy? I am sure it was a coincidence that it was also in perfect trim and had nearly infallible engine runs.

      Brett

Still to this day, the most incredible patterns I have ever seen flown. It's the level of perfection that I have been striving for most of my life. I feel like I get close every once in a while but I just can't make myself paint a hot pink airplane....again.

Derek

[Derek Barry]

I won't go into all the details but this discussion started about my new plane. Yes, there is some red on it... I do not have any thought, other than my own preferences, when I design my paint schemes. For example, the matrix didn't look all that special in the air. It was designed to be admired in the 180 building.

[Mark Scarborough]

I won't go into all the details but this discussion started about my new plane. Yes, there is some red on it... I do not have any thought, other than my own preferences, when I design my paint schemes. For example, the matrix didn't look all that special in the air. It was designed to be admired in the 180 building.

THats one of the issues I labor over actually, I try really hard to think about what it looks like in the air, and then add some visual interest for when people approach it up close,, NONE of which really affects scoring and all, more about personal satisfaction.

[Mark Scarborough]

Shewt. I'm married to a redhead. Now. She wasn't when we got married...............

My ex was a redhead ,,, not when we married but certainly when we divorced so,, yeah,, draw your own conclusions

[Jim Kraft]

The more relevant thing for us over 75 crowd is whether we can get through the over head 8 without vertigo, and through the clover before our back gives out. After that color is the game changer. LOL

[Derek Barry]

THats one of the issues I labor over actually, I try really hard to think about what it looks like in the air, and then add some visual interest for when people approach it up close,, NONE of which really affects scoring and all, more about personal satisfaction.

Well, you do a great job at it. I love looking at your planes.

Derek

[Warren Walker]

Tom,
I can tell you how to absolutely get higher scores because of the colors you pick!
Be sure to lay them down over the most well prepared air frame you are capable of.
Then you may pick up a few more appearance points.

W.W.
 

[Chris Wilson]

If the flier can not see the airplane my only question is why would he use it?

Randy Cuberly

Hi Randy,
            you miss the point with a Dazzle camo scheme - everyone can see it  ......... that is part of the reason for using it. The other point is that it hides intentions to outside observers.

Now the pilot knows the models intentions since they are in control, they can 'see' the model with no issues - same with the captains of those WWI Allied ships, they knew course and heading but any distanced onlooker readily confused it.

So if you accept that there now is a scale of colours and schemes, ranging from the absurd 'Dazzle' to Paul Walkers 'Hey look at me' Mexican Pinyata look  and anything in between that effect perception, is it not reasonable to believe that lack of perception equates to lack of score?

Silhouette plays a part with perception too, try and judge a square corner done perfectly by a combat wing (or say a Fierce Arrow) as compared to the arrow like length of a F2B model.
Similarly colour patterns like speed lines or artefacts drawn parallel to the direction of travel help define direction.
Some colours make an object appear smaller than it really is, some do the opposite - hence the love of florescent paints, they reflect more of a single wavelength and get 'noticed.'
Speed also determines perception, do an otherwise perfect pattern at 2 second lap times and then look soulfully at the judges for a good score!

The other part of the equation is consciously most accept that judges do the best they can but unconsciously, well ...... without looking for an argument here, some people sometimes suspect otherwise, and they begin to wonder - hence this thread.

Thanks.

[Pat Johnston]

I may as well weigh in on this subject.  My first big Bearcat was painted the Blue Angels color scheme.  Nice enough finish, but primarily blue.  My partner, Jim Welch also did a sister Bearcat with the "Beetle Bomb" yellow scheme.  Almost as nice a finish.  When the appearance judging was over, Jim got a deserved 17 points and my Blue Angels Bearcat got 14 points.  What a shock!  Wondered whose cornflakes I pee'd in?  My second Bearcat was painted with the eagles head on the front in the Red, White and Blue pattern I have used to adnauseum in some people's opinion.  Not only did the apperance points jump to 18-19 points, but the flying scores were significantly better.  I always felt like the judges gave me and extra 20 points better than my flying deserved.  At least that was my conclusion.
BTW, my friend Jack Picher and I discussed Blue planes and his observation was that his plane at the Nats was in the 6th row with a lot other blue planes.  His assertion was that bright planes just score better.  That is my opinion, too.  I'll probably never have another mostly blue plane.
Pat Johnston
Color Opinions
Skunk Works
Skunk Works

[Alan Resinger]

As a long time competitor ànd someone who has won a few Concours awards, I figured that I might be qualified to reply.   First off I think that colors can affect scores.  Especially for appearance points, for flying points, not so much.  Granted, if your model is orange and one of the judges really likes orange, his scores might be  biased higher. Then again if a judge hates orange you might be out of luck.  What is more important is choosing  colors  that when put together are appealing.   I once had an artist ask me if I had ever studied art, as I had a real gift for being able to use color combinations that blended together in a unique way that was very pleasing.  No training, just blind dumb luck.  Any way since 2013 I won the Concours at the Northwest Regional 3 ftimes (2013, 2014 & 2015), Prairie Fire and Golden State in 2016.  The awards were with 4 different models with 4 different paint schemes.  Snowbird Crossfire ( red,  white,  blue and black) , the polar bear Crossfire  ( grey,  dark blue,white lettering and a polar bear standing on an ice floe mural on the tail)  the maple leaf Crossfire  ( grey, dark blue, white lettering and various colored maple leaves scattered randomly on the model), and lastly the Divergent (white, gun metal silver, black  and burnt orange). So color can and should be whatever you like but remember that others are going to be looking at it also and some of them will be judging you.   Try and think about coming up with a scheme and colors that appeal to a wide variety of tastes. I  also try to keep to the 5  color max rule.  Too many different colors can have a detrimental affect on what we are trying to accomplish
I've judged a lot over the years and could care less about what  color a model is or what shape profile it has.  I just want to see how it and the pilot fly the pattern.   I believe that is what all judges should try to do and not be influenced by anything else.
 









 

[tom creasey]

 I am so glad that the conversations turned to be a more respectable....I feel it wasn't a silly thing to ask....yes I am a beginner and will be coming up the ranks. I have always had "hand me down planes" for the last 2 seasons. This past winter, with help from Sparky, I have two planes I built this winter and have maintained the high quality of build.....I have covered all the 5 attributes of a good flying plane, which I learned from Bob Hunt. With that said....I am now in the stage of finishing with color. This thread has taught me alot by reading the responses.
  
  I am striving to get the best points I can.....and if color comes into play.....I will re-think my planes schemes

   I have a P-40 and Stuka.....I have already purchased color and they are black, dark green, greys.....I will have to stay with what I got. I will try to use some type of bright colors on the tails and nose art on the front to help out.

   I have future planes ready to build as I progress up the ladder.....one is Randy Smith's Vector 40 and Envoy 6 by Allen Brickhaus. I will building from scratch off their plans. I will be using the color schemes from the info I recieved from this thread. I thank the people that gave good advise for me.....I have to plan way a head to be able to purchase as the budgets allow.....I start a build once everything has been purchased from start to finish.....at least now I have some ideas on colors I need to use and adjust the budget for paint....once again thank you.

   Now.....I don't care if you are the World Champion or beginner......I treat everyone with respect and I don't let people intimidate me because of their stature in the sport we do.....I don't treat people like that and I will not be treated like that. Yes I need to practice, yes I need good coaching, yes I need to trim, yes I need to work on flying.....I know these things.....when I ask a question I shouldn't be looked or talked down on because I am not an upper class or level like your some are.   I look up to you guys for guidance so I can become an upper classman and to better myself. So all this silly and doesn't matter @#$%....does matter and is not silly to me.

If I start to act like that and tell beginners not to talk till they show me that they deserve to be here and I am part of group that has their clicks....please shoot me in the head with a gun.....we should all be lucky that we even have new people coming .....if we didn't then our C/L stunt would be nothing no more. I am done bitching and hope I made a point.

  I REALLY  APPRECIATE for the guys to help me understand that there is more than, just color that looks cool.....to me it as important as choosing contest Balsa.

 I am thankful and blessed that C/L has found me once again in a point of my life of using skills I have acquired from my absence of Stunt flying.....some say I am addicted.....LOL....have to say YEP on that......



  I  

[Randy Cuberly]

   no offense, I don't think this is silly.....it gives me a direction I may turn to as what I will choose for a Scheme and color. I am asking cause I am a beginner, close to going to intermediate, so it does matter to me now starting out. It is another skill into the progression for me into the stunt flying I need to think about.

     Apparently talking about this subject might be read by a judge and he, himself will be more aware of to really study and look a little close and have in the back of his mind that color could have some play.

 How do you fly when the back ground is dark from tree shadows that it can physically have effect on your relations to the ground of what eye perceives where the plane is located?

  Just wanted to get a census from fellow modelers.

   No offense, I will not be like you.......I will do it 5 years or less.... you don't know who or what I am, as I don't know you

   I am sorry if sometimes I ask silly stuff......sometimes the smartest people ask silly stuff. I was raised that there is know such thing as a silly question.

  I didn't start this thread to cause problems for other modelers.  It was something I read and now I am trying to learn something, I don't think that is silly

    I think at the start of the season that a judge might read this and really try to remember a dark color plane verse's a light color plane flown by the same guy as he judged and see if there is a different how the maneuver looks , even in the intersection.

   I am curious to watch fellow flyers with different color planes this year and judge for myself   

Tom,
You sound like a serious flier so I'll let you in on a little secret!  In this post you're talking to a National Champion Stunt flier and an engineer that just happens to be one of the smartest guys around.  Oh yeah He's also a very nice Gentleman and is only trying to help you past the usual "hurdles" that we often see with beginners and intermediate fliers.  Ignore him at your own peril!

Randy Cuberly