G’day Fellas;
Has anyone here done any research into those medium green P-47D’s flown by the 78th FG? I’ve heard that they were medium green over sky, but other people say MG over nuetral grey. I’m going to build the Academy kit with the decals for WZ*S (or “Eileen”). I have to build it out of the box with kit decals, and want to get the colour scheme accurate.
Thanks in advance.
I have also seen claims that most of the Medium Green 43 painted P-51s and P-47s had NMF lower surfaces. Which doesn’t help much does it?
For what it’s worth, my references show Green 42 over Nuetral Grey, but there seems to be a debate over the actual colors used by the 78th.
Regards, Rick
I can’t tell because they’re black and white photos, but I think this is your bird.
Oops, I screwed up. I really meant Medium Green 43 - sorry about that.
The undersurfaces were definitely not Neutral Gray. If it was a stock RAF color that was used, then it was more than likely ‘Sky Grey’ or possibly ‘Medium Sea Grey’. But many photos show the color as being very light and it’s possible that it could have been a mixed color.
The confusion in cases like this invariably arises from the many different interpretations which can be made of a single color. This is sometimes compounded by the possibility of more than one color or variations of one color being used. The color used on the undersurfaces of 78th FG Jugs has been described as ‘sky gray’, ‘light gray’, ‘green gray’, ‘blue gray’, ‘duck egg blue’ and ‘pale blue’… among others.
Although this photo shows 82nd FS aircraft, the contrast of the upper and lower colors is the same as in many photos of 84th FS ships, including those of ‘Eileen’.
Image source/credit: Eagles of Duxford - The 78th Fighter Group in World War II by Garry Fry (USAAF Photo)
The most telling clue, however, is the drop tank on the port wing of MX-S. Drop tanks were often times painted Neutral Gray. Although it’s impossible to tell exactly what color the example shown in the photo is painted, it’s reasonable to assume that it’s NG. Matter of fact, it’s quite probable.
Also, the undersurface color shown in many photos, including those of ‘Eileen’, just plain looks way too light to be NG. Therefore, Neutral Gray can be ruled out.
Whatever was used, it’s certainly a very light color. If I were building ‘Eileen’ (and I plan to someday!) I’d go with a lightened version of ‘Sky Grey’ or ‘Medium Sea Grey’. But that’s just me…
Fade to Black…
Thanks for the info guys;
Steve Is sky grey anything like the british colour called Sky? The colour on the undersides of those P-47’s in your pic are very light. Almost as bright as the white fuselage code letters. I think I’ll go with a lightened version of Sky grey. Thanks.
Sky Grey was different from Sky, which was a pale blue-green. We have both accurately matched and available in our Colourcoats enamels (we have Green 42, and Neutral Gray as well). No minimum order on paints, and we ship worldwide. Have a look at the more than 400 historically accurate colors on our website.
Cheers,
John Snyder
The Token Yank
White Ensign Models
http://WhiteEnsignModels.com
A couple of references I have seen indicate two British colors used - dark green uppers and sky type s unders. I have seen one color photo of a 78th bubbletop with the green uppers, and while I don’t have it in front of me I seem tor recall that the underside was very much sky type s-ish. Several years ago I did a Hasegawa 72nd bubbletop in 78th markings with dark green and sky type s and it looked pretty cool I thought.
JIm
I have Super Scale Decal sheet 72-811 that features Eileen. It shows RAF dark green over Sky. If you would like a scanned copy emailed to you let me know… though because it doesn’t have any FS numbers or anything it may not be a huge help.
Well this is the second time that the White Ensign guy has hijacked a thread to make a sale. Moderators, Administrators are you there???
Dude, …real subtle.[(-D]