I’m taking an extended break from building ground targets and have built up a few German aircraft (1/72 He 111, 1/72 Ju 88, 1/48 Fw 190) and now I’m into the painting stage and I gotta ask-
What is the RAL primer color and where on a finished aircraft with extended landing gear would it be visible? All of the instruction sheets call out RAL 66 for the interiors with spots of RAL 02 visible elsewhere; internet research has shown me some Fw 190’s with opened hatches that show a markedly greenish primer that does not look like RAL 02 or 66… I’m not going for dead-on accuracy on these 3, just close enough for government work will suffice for now as these are skill-builders for the serious 1/32 projects.
My inclination is to go with the RLM02 primer. Under what conditions were the photographs taken and when were they taken? If they were taken during the war there may have been some color shift due to storage and if they were taken sometime later there may have been a non RLM primer applied.
The primer used in WWII was RLM02, a greenish grey. It was used extensively in early Luftwaffe cockpits, wheel bays, landing gear & inside surfaces of wheel bay covers. It was also used as a basic camo color on early Bf109E’s & as a mottle color on several aircraft thruoughout the war.
Thanks guys, that tells me pretty much exactly what I needed to know. All these shades and tones of grey and green can be a little daunting for a noob.