What color would you use for the cockpit of the P-47D?
I can’t find too many good reference photos and was wondering if MM Interior Green would be about right?
I am not sure if the cockpit was really light green like Zinc Chromate or darker.
Thanks
Mike
Interior green should do nicely, Mike.
Thanks Ed.
I was hoping you would see this. [;)]
Mike
Now, I’ve read where the European Dark Green is supposed to be a better match than the green chromate or the interior green. I’ve just heard that, I don’t know for sure. I’d imagine, however, that any of the three would look great and nobody would ever notice or say anything at all.
P-47 cockpits were not painted in standard Interior Green. The color used was a darker, more bluish green shade. Bert Kinzey’s Detail in Scale book has an explanation & color pics for reference. I have never found an exact match in hobby paints but some use IJNAF Green, which is close if you lighten it some. The closest match I’ve found is Humbrol Deck Green ( Can’t recall the Humbrol reference #) which is what I normally use. I usually buy 2 tins of the Humbrol & transfer it to a mixing jar where I add just a small amount of Azure Blue to lighten it some. It’s a pretty elusive color, but I get a pretty close match to the color pics.
Regards, Rick
Hey Mike,
If I’m not mistaken, interior green would not be the right colour. Its more of a meduim green/ green gray colour. Can’t remember the FS number at the moment.
Flaps up, Mike
Thanks guys, now I am even more confused. [:D]
The only color I have here right now that is even remotely close is Poly Scale Light Green. The hobby shop is closed tonight so I guess I will wait until tomorrow night and go get some MM Acryl that is fairly close and see what I can come up with.
Mike
Mike, you could just use Tamiya Flat Green XF-5, once you give it coat of Future and a wash with some Burnt Umber oil paint, a flat coat and a dry brush with some lighter Zinc Chromate Green for the highlights it will look great and no-one will know the difference (my opinion).
Cheers…Snowy.
Rick,
So are the photos that Maddafinga posted incorrect?
They sure look like interior green or Zinc Chromate in that photo.
Was it repainted a different color?
Mike
Hey Mike,
The colour in those pix do look like Interior green but the few w/ the sun hitting em, look more like a lighter shade of the above.
By the way the pix look, it seems to be a restored bird. I usually do not follow or go by pictures of restored a/c. They have a tendency to be inaccurate in areas. The cockpit for starters. Can u say $$$$$$$$$$$. The more you have the better the restoration is…
I would go along to what Snowy mentioned. And if somebody does not like it well…[;)]
Hope this helps ya a bit.
…hhhhhmmmmmmmm…
may i be rhetorical for a min or two ?..i’m as anal retentive/compulsive as any modeller…maybe even in some cases…more so, in that i pick a reference photo(s) i like and start putting together elements from the modelling world to replicate the photo(s)…silly or not that’s the formula i’m compelled to follow…
i’ve on a occasion had the opportunity to line up probably 1/2 dozen of the interior cockpit colours by various mfgs’…MM, Testor’s Acryl, Poly-S, Gunze, Tamiya, Xtra-colour, Humbrol…etc…& aside from some shade differences here and there i was remiss to pick which one was the “exact” one for a given scale subject…the choices are as varied as are the perspectives…shade, half-light, canopy open/closed…etc…etc.
during the mfg of war planes…were they that consistent in colour shading during it’s application ???
Mike,
This is a subject on which you are never going to get a definitive answer. No matter what color you decide to use, someone is going to say you’re wrong. Erich Hartmann once did an interview with an American magazine (think it was Air Classics, back in the late 70s). During the course of the interview, he was questioned on the colors and markings carried on his Bf109G6. He drew a sketch, which was printed which defined those colors and markings. Which prompted a bunch of letters (largely out of Great Britian and some of them quite nasty) to the effect that Hartmann had absolutley no idea what he was talking about because so and so or such and such had researched the question and that research did not agree with his drawings and statements. Now who are you going to believe? The guy who operated the equipment or some guy who has only seen black and white photos of the subject?
Besides, you know there is at least one P-47 out there that has a zinc chromat green interior - you’ve got color pictures of it. Just pick a color that you like and go with it. (as long as it isn’t pink or purple - lol)
Mike, If you can, take a look at the Bert Kinzey Detail in Scale book on the P-47D. It includes color pics of an unrestored P-47D, which Kinzey describes as Dull Dark Green. It is definitely not Interior Green nor Chromate Green. All of the Republic built P-47D’s were painted in this interior color. Kinzey does note that some P-47D’s were built by Curtiss under license by Republic and some of these were painted with Chromate Green. This has probably led to some of the confusion by various researchers. In any case, Kinzey’s book is a gold mine of information if you want to get real serious about modeling a P-47D. Also, if you look closely at the pics posted by Madda, only the one shot appears to be chromate, which appears to be a lighting/ exposure issue to me. The first three show a much darker color, closer to the pics in Kinzeys book.
Regards, Rick
The very bottom of this article talks about the P-47…he seems to have done his research…I think what Rick says about Dull Dark Green seems dead on…
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/02/stuff_eng_interior_colours_us_part2.htm
Thanks for the info everyone.
So, since I use MM Acryl colors, what would you recommend is the closest from Testors color chart?
http://www.testors.com/brand_category.asp?brandNbr=4
Thanks
Mike
Mike, none of them are a real good match. From what I can tell from the color chart, the medium green FS34102 might be the closest, but like I said in prior posts, I mix mine to match color pics.
Regards, Rick
Thanks Rick.
I happen to have that color as that is the lighter of the two green colors on my A-1H Skyraider.
I guess I can add something to it to come with a sort-of accurate representation of the right color.
Mike
Mike, might want to add a little dark blue to the medium green to get a closer match.
Regards, Rick
Thanks Rick.
Do you happen to know of a website with the photos you mentioned of the P-47D cockpit?
Mike
Those pics I put up were from a restored bird. She’s Tarheel Hal from the Lone Star Flight Museum. I also got lots of good wheelwell pics and several with the cowl off when they were changing the engine. Holler at me if you want some detail shots Mike. As for the exact color, who can say. I bet if you used that green left over from your Spad, nobody would be the wiser. It’s such a small amount of paint and so many things affect the color of it and the color of the real thing.
Also, a man would have to be a real jackass to look at your wonderful completed bird and say “Well, I can see that your cockpit color is not an exact match.” I’d say that anything close you could use would be perfect.