I’m building a 1/72 A-10 Warthog, painting it in the Euro I scheme with markings for an a/c that flew in the Gulf War out of England AFB, Louisiana. My references show the A-10 I’m modeling with gloss white gear and gear bays. However the only photos I have of gun bays are those of unidentified aircraft, and they are in black and white. Squadron/Signal’s book says the gun bay is painted a/c grey, and the wheel well is either gloss white or a/c grey. Someone plz tell me what colors I should paint both the gear and gun bays.
The book is correct, the gun bay has always been A/C gray no matter what the aircraft’s outside paint scheme was, or is. The gear during the Euro-I and Euro-II schemes where both gloss white and gray, depending on the year and the base it was located. A-10s out of England AFB LA had both white and gray during the Gulf War so either one would work. If you have a tail number I may be able to pin-down the color for you.
the tail numbers are below:
AF
209
80
thx
I’ll look through my stuff tonight and see what I can find.
Hey DDR;
Well from my experiances with the A-10’s during my time with them all of which wheel well & gun bays where A/C Gray and most gear struts where Gloss White (but a couple of planes from the 23 FW had the old A/C Gray painted struts from when they where wearing EURO scheme but hadn’t been changed yet {those struts are like the Energizer Bunny[keep going & going) and I’ve worked on 23 FW’s (both 74 FS’s & 75 FS’s), 442 FW’s, 926 FW’s planes from 2000 to 2004 and the DICE man does have the best answers and recommendations on the Ole Hawgs
DDR, I looked through a lot of pixcs of EL aircraft during the Gulf War and couldn’t find this tail number. Looking at the pics, England had a mixed-bag when it comes to strut colors so, you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
thx Dice and 72Cuda for the help. I decided to paint the wells gloss white, mainly because that color looks better than a/c grey. One other question; were the missles, ECM pod, and other ordnance painted gloss white overall or some tactical color? If they were painted in a tactical color an FS number or MM or Tamiya equivalent would be appreciated. thx again!
The Desert Storm era is a confusing time as far as aircraft and munitions colors go. This was the time in history when the Air Force was moving from the Euro and Southeast Asia paint schemes to the air superiority gray. Aircraft like the F-16 and F-15s were being delivered in the gray scheme but the older aircraft like the A-10 and some F-4s were still carrying the older schemes.
External stories like the ECM pods, AIM-9 missiles, and bombs like the CBU family were painted in both the gloss white and the gray (some AGM-65s were even painted in a green scheme to match the EURO schemes) because of the AF having both EURO/SEA schemes in the inventory. You see when the AF orders a munitions like the AIM-9 the contract will specify the color the item will be delivered in to match the aircraft‘s paint scheme. Because it’s easer to repaint the item after delivery (if needed) than change the contract it takes a while for the munitions colors to “catch-up” to the AF’s current paint schemes.
If you look at some photos of the A-10 during Operation Iraqi Freedom you can see AGM-65s with white or green bodies but gray seeker heads. We even used some older AGM-65s which were still painted gloss white during OIF.
What does all this mean to you? Pretty much you can pick the color for these items you want them to be and still be correct. Having said all this I will say all AIM-9Ls (the only AIM-9 used by the A-10) were all gray and the ECM pods were, again, a mixed-bag of gray/green/and white, you will have to decide. If you hang CBUs (like the rock-eye) they can be gray/green/white.
Well, now that I’ve totally confused you I will leave you to your model LOL!
once again some very helpful and intriguing info thx Dice. Just one thing you missed; do you have FS # equivalents for the greens and grays? Those would be very helpful if I decide to go for something besides gloss white. thx again!
I’m sorry but I don’t have the FS numbers, I haven’t modeled in over 10 years and just hang-out here to answer questions on the A-10 when I can. I’m sure someone here can help you.
DDR;
here is the FS #'s for the A-10’s
FS 16473 A/C Gray is used in almost all areas on the plane, the avionics bays (side access panels), wheel wells, gun bays, ladder door & bay, and landing gear door interior, wheel rims, struts & actuators (EURO Scheme)
FS 17875 Gloss White is used on interior engine nacelle doors and bay, landing gear wheel rims, struts & actuators (Ghost Scheme)