Well, in yesterday’s thread someone mentioned the B-40, so here 'ya go…
Boeing photo
You can see more images here: YB-40, B-17 Gunship
Fade to Black…
Nice pic. Appears the rudder was painted Yellow. Would make a very cool model. Regards, Rick
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. A very nice picture. I believe that there was an aftermarket kit to make a B-17 into the YB-40. Should be OOP, now.
Oh, did I get the chance to say Thank you?
Kurt
That’s one B-17 I don’t have yet in my collection. Thanks for the pic and the links, they’ll be very helpful in a conversion project.
Heavy Metal… that’s for sure… that thing looks like it could sure fling some lead.
Great pics blackwolf. Tiger33
If I were guessing, I’d say the rudder is faded OD. The doped fabric reflects light differently from painted metal. Why? I don’t know, but it seems I’ve seen a color photo of this bird and it’s all OD over NG.
Tom
Yeah, I think you did… [:p]
The rudder definitely was not yellow. Compare the serial number, which is known to be yellow, with the rudder. There is a complete difference in value (ie: tone or shade) between the two areas. And while like-painted fabric and metal surfaces do, indeed, reflect light differently, that is not the only explanation for the difference in the appearance of what should be the same color on various components of a single aircraft.
The control surfaces of OD/NG B-17s were often times, if not always, painted before their attachment to the aircraft, as was the larger, central portion of the vertical fin. The same can be said of other components on the B-17, including turrets, and this usually, although not always, resulted in some of these areas looking a bit different than the rest of the aircraft.
This B-17E, although still in a natural metal finish, has its control surfaces painted OD.
Image source/credit: Boeing
This photo of a lineup of B-17s awaiting final painting shows that at least two of these aircraft have not only the central portion of the fin painted, but the smaller portion of the fin and the fillet as well. Whether this was done prior to final assembly or whether the final painting process has begun, I cannot tell. But the majority of the aircraft in this lineup show that, in each case, the central fin has been painted prior to final assembly. The outer portions of the wings also appear to have been painted, although I do not know if this was done before final assembly. I think I’ve seen factory photos of outer wing panels which have been painted before assembly, but I’m just not sure. Anyhoo, one aircraft in the photo appears to be fully painted.
Image source/credit: Boeing
Now, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the OD used somewhere in the depths of the factory to paint the various components before final assembly is not going to be the same exact shade as that used outside for the final paint application. Also, as alluded to earlier, fabric and metal painted in the same basic color will often times look quite different… which is natural, given the dissimilarities of the two materials. And they certainly do weather differently.
Another factor to consider is the fact that paint applied to components indoors and left to dry indoors will usually have a different look to it than the same exact paint that is applied outdoors and left to dry outdoors, as was done during final painting on these aircraft. And, as already mentioned, the paint used at both junctures was, in all probability, not from the same ‘batch’ and therefore it’s likely that one was not the same exact shade as the other to begin with.
When one considers all of this, it’s easy to see why some aircraft had something of a ‘patchwork’ appearance, even while fresh from the factory.
All of this applied to aircraft construction in general at the time. Pre-painting of components before final assembly saved time and is well illustrated in this photo of a B-25 being masked for final painting. The canopy framing was painted before the clear portions were installed and before attachment to the nose of the aircraft. Also note the props…
Image source/credit: FSA/OWI (Library of Congress Website)
Hokey dokey, I’ve rambled on long enough… [:p]
Fade to Black…