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B-26 interior color Question


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I'm getting ready to start a Hasagawa B-26 (finally). It's been a while since I've done a WW2 subject.

My question concerns the interior colors. I figure interior green is the choice for the cockpit etc. my interest us in the use of zinc chromate. Does that color come into play for the gear bays and bomb bay? It would add some tonal difference and interest..

Also what color would be used for the inside of the engine nacelles?

Thanks in advance.

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Martin apparently got permission to build Marauders without primer. B-26s were actually largely unpainted inside, with some dark green fabric padding on the sides of the cockpit and radio room, and black non-skid flooring. Instrument panels, center console and seat frames were black. On a camouflaged aircraft, the bomb bay and wheel wells were neutral gray, same as the underside. On bare metal aircraft they were unpainted. One thing is certain, they were not painted Interior Green (AKA Tinted Zinc Chromate.) Photos of the unrestored B-26 "Flak Bait" confirm this.

Do not use the USAF Museum B-26G as an example. It has been inaccurately painted Interior Green inside from nose to tail. The plane was restored years ago, before much thought was given to color or markings accuracy.

SN

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Martin apparently got permission to build Marauders without primer. B-26s were actually largely unpainted inside, with some dark green fabric padding on the sides of the cockpit and radio room, and black non-skid flooring. Instrument panels, center console and seat frames were black. On a camouflaged aircraft, the bomb bay and wheel wells were neutral gray, same as the underside. On bare metal aircraft they were unpainted. One thing is certain, they were not painted Interior Green (AKA Tinted Zinc Chromate.) Photos of the unrestored B-26 "Flak Bait" confirm this.

Interesting stuff. Seems to parallel how B-17's were internally finished.

Not too long ago, everyone seemed to assume that B-17's were painted IG from nose to tail.

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Yep, and again don't get confused by modern photos. Recent photos of Flak Bait show the padding as a red-brown color, but that's due to decades of fading (the padding in the B-17D The Swoose looked the same, befre the interior was stripped for restoration. As Jennings says, the padding was dark green when new.

Sn

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Marauder interior colors

Dana Bell

May 26 2005, 4:24 PM (Login DanaBellColors)

HyperScale Forums 160.111.254.11

Hi Rob,

Marauder interiors are totally unique in the AAF, all for reasons I don't yet fully understand. Martin had a release to skip most interior primers, something to do with anodizing and a primerless exterior camouflage lacquer. There's certainly more research to be done...

Here's something I posted on RMS in 1998:

"I got curatorial permission to look into "Flak Bait" today - the question of cockpit colors was too interesting not to try for a definitive answer, at least for one surviving airframe. Unfortunately, it's not that easy.

"The National Air and Space Museum has the forward fuselage on display – the rest of the aircraft is in storage until it will be assembled at the Dulles Center in about five years. What is now downtown is mostly an unpainted interior with fabric sound-proofing padding. The padding is very faded, with no proof of the original color. Most of it is now brown or magenta – an indication that it may have once been Olive Drab. But the metal snaps that hold the padding in place were painted green - perhaps Dull Dark Green, perhaps Medium Green, but definitely NOT Bronze Green, OD, or Interior Green.

"In the cockpit, everything above the lower canopy edge is flat black paint, as are the floor, the armor plating, and the seats. The control columns and instrument panels are Instrument Black (which is a semi-gloss finish, not a "crinkle" finish as sometimes published). Seat cushions are yellow. Cockpit sides are the fabric mentioned above. The bulkhead aft of the seats is unpainted aluminum, without padding. The bulkhead forward of the co-pilot's seat actually is metallic blue - probably blue tinted Lionoil which hadn't been removed in production. (I wish I could prove that this was where the Japanese learned to make Aotake!)

"In the radio room, the forward bulkhead is unpainted/unpadded, but the fuselage is the same faded padding all around. The desk tops are varnished wood, and the flooring is black.

"The bombardier's position is well-padded, with black flooring.

"The nose wheel well is lacquered aluminum, with a few fixtures in Zinc Chromate (yellow).

"I guess everyone can still choose their own cockpit color, but my opinion is that Dull Dark Green is the most likely color for the cockpit padding. I hope this helps!"

Anyway, as your Dad remembers OD, that certainly was a possibility, though it would have been very unusual.

Good luck with the model!

Cheers,

Dana

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The Pima Air Museum is restoring one of the short-wing B-26s out of Canada, and I got to poke around in it before they even started doing any work. As has already been noted, the interior (including wheel wells!) are unpainted. Interestingly, there were a number of small panels in the bomb bay that HAD been painted; some were mediumish green and others seemed to have been anodized a medium blue. Many of the fixtures -- crank, structural members, etc. -- were green. I have photographs of the bomb bay and wheel wells somewhere on one of the 26 terabytes attached to my work computer at home.

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