I’ve been building armor for the past few years. I am going to build the 1/48 Monogram B-17G before long. I can’t remember which zinc chromate to use. The MM greenish ZC, or the Testors yellowish ZC? Can someone refresh my memory on the use of the two different colors? Any info would be a great help.
I am not sure of the different uses of either color, I just usually follow my reference pictures. But for the interior of the B-17G Green Zinc Chromate was used most often.
I believe you should go to www.hyperscale.com and post a question on their forums. Dana Bell has a ton of information on colors of aircraft and he posts on Hyperscale frequently.
On most B-17s, the bulkheads are Yellow Zinc Chromate and the floors and walls mostly just aluminum.
There was a wide variety of colors used inside B-17s ranging from the yellow zinc chromate to interior green, drab green, bare metal and in one case black with messages in white scrawled on the interior from the assembly crew. This pretty much leaves it wide open to what you like unless you are modeling a specific aircraft that has been well documented. Remember, restoration aircraft are rarely painted correctly.
Thanks to all for the info.[tup]
Hi, Matt:
Dana Bell, mentioned by ryanpm, had an article in FSM in November 1997: “World War II U.S. Interior Aircraft Colors.” According to the article, prewar bombers, including the B-17E, were to be painted in “Bronze Green,” which is not available as a hobby paint, except for a similar Humbrol color, No. 9. In 1940, says the article, the army began substituting “Dull Dark Green” for "Bronze Green. This, he says, was similar to FS 34092, which is Testor’s MM Euro I Green. But then in 1942, the Bureau of Aeronautics recommended replacing “Dull Dark Green” with “Interior Green,” which is Testor’s MM “Interior Green.” According to Bell’s article, though, both the Army and Navy continued to use “Dull Dark Green through the war’s end.” This sounds complicated, but if the manufacturers possessed existing stocks of paint, they would normally use it up before changing anything. So you could probably choose any of thes colors for a B-17G. Myself, I would probably go with Euro I Green (FS 34092, MM # 1764), since the there wouldn’t be much “Bronze Green” left by the time it (the “G”) came out, and implementing the change to “Interior Green” might have taken awhile to catch up to the builders at the factory. Bell’s article shows a color picture of a B-17 (no model specified) where the cockpit and seats are painted “bronze green,” but the bulkhead behind the pilots is “interior green.” It’s probably your choice, and who’s to say you’re wrong? Good luck!
The B-17s came from the assebly plants with interior walls & insulation in them but, once they hit the squadrons in combat all the “excess weight” was removed. Especially the flammable stuff. The squadrons then painted the interior whatever color they had on hand if they even bothered to paint it. I had this same question before I started my B-17G and, had contacted several air museums. Swanny as always, is correct. The interior colors varied & if you’re doing a specific aircraft, search for photos crew.etc as it would be best.
Here are some shots I took of Fuddy Duddy a while back. You can see many shades of green. NOt sure how much is original and how much is restored.
http://photobucket.com/albums/v300/waynebaker/Fuddy%20Duddy/Fuddy%20Duddy%201/
Here are some pics I took of Picadilly Lilly. The plane is in from what I know in original condition. Hope this helps.
You can see more on my photobucket account under the Planes of Fame folder.
I’ve done all 3 of mine in MM “Interior Green” and it seems to fit well.
I’ve had to research this so many times I’ve joined the group that says “no right answer” but one way I’ve found to give me a direction is to look at a particular manufacturer, say Grumman or North American, and look at all the types they made during the war. Patterns will begin to emerge. For example, Republic and North American tended to use the dark green in crews areas, and yellow chromate in areas where the crew did not normally go, such as the rear fuselage of the B-25, with the tail gunner’s station usually painted dark green, so the area between the waist gunners and tail gunner was usually yellow… Republic tended to use a bluish-green, which is what genuine Bronze Green looks like. But the more we debate this, the more it gets like “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin.” Still, the longer you build, and the more you read, scan photos and just generally go basic research, the more instinctive your choices of color become, and they tend to look right in the end.
Here’a a website with information and photos.
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/02/stuff_eng_interior_colours_us_part2.htm
Hope it is helpful.
Wow, excellent information. Looks like I’ve been away from aircraft too long. This Bronze Green and Dark Dull Green is a new one on me. Looks like I’ve got some decisions to make. I ordered a set of decals from Meteor Productions. I’ll see what the difference is between the aircraft represented and go from there. Also great links, thanks to all.[tup] I’ll post pictures when I get into it.
Matt:
try this website for help
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/01/stuff_eng_interior_colours_us.htm
They should answer all your questions