what color green for the cockpit of an F4U-4

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hey gang,

Like the title says, I’m looking for the correct shade of green for the F4U-4. I have interior green that was used on other a/c, but I believe the F4Us, like some other aircraft, had a more greenish interior.

If anyone knows the correct color in acrylic, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Fred

Edit: I checked out the box last night, it’s actually a -4 variant, not the 5 I originally posted, if that makes a difference.

2

I hope someone corrects me if I’m wrong but I think the -5 Corsairs had black interiors. Or perhaps it was the -5N. Can anyone else shed some light on this?

Thanks!

Eric

3

I’m not sure if this will help but, I know that between the Testors and MM lines they offer three different shades that are for interior use. In the smaller Testors bottles they have a color called zinc chromate (it is more yellow than the other two). The others, I believe, are the interior green that you mention and another chromate green (which, as the name states, is a green shade).

You might also check out this, this and this.

4

My uncle (briefly) owned a surplus F4U-4 back when I was but a wee one. From what I remember, the interior green was fairly low chroma and rather dark, but definitely not an olive color. It was also distinctly different from the very yellowish zinc chromate primer visible where the interior green was worn away. Color shots in various publications such as Detail and Scale show the green as close to what I remember.

I have duplicated this, to my own satisfaction at least, by adding a small amount of flat black to Model Master’s Interior Green (which is far too pure a green, at least to my eye).

Phil

5

You can make Interior or ZC Green by mixing flat black and yellow. Adding more yellow will get you the lighter chromatic yellow shade.

6

According to the Official Monogram Color Guide, in '44 a bulletin was issued stating that cockpits would be painted instrument black above the bottom edge of the instrument panel, and interior green below. In 1951, a new spec called for semigloss black, instead of instrument black. In 1954, the color was changed to dark gull gray, to be painted over previous colors.