Whether to weather or just get dirty....

[Burning Beard]

My father was a CBI pilot (B29's) in WWII. He said they routinely cleaned the planes for the obvious reasons, to locate damage, however they also cleaned them to reduce drag and weight caused by exhaust. The magic compound they used was aircraft fuel.

Beard

[Kevin WS]

Charlie - thanks!

I do agree as well with what you are saying.

Perhaps the moral of the tale is that modeller's should be happy - they can model how they want with their paint box!

[Spar]

I agree with Kevin.

It's all about "the eye of the beholder", and it is the right of the model builder to show a model in a state of being new, used, worn, or scrapped as they like.

[Don Boose]

Beard's comment reminded me (and Charlie and other may be able to confirm or refute) that I have read in wartime (WWII) novels and personal accounts, that in the Commonwealth armies, petrol was used as a cleaning agent and that before inspections, vehicles would be swabbed all over with the stuff.

Don