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Spitfire Question


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I'm working on a group of spitfires and am getting ready to do the main painting..( 6 different spits.. 6 different paint jobs) So far I have already painted the wheel wells the same pale green as the cockpit. I got this impresion from one of the " walk around" profiles. Is this correct? Or, should they be natural meatel?

Also, one of the spits will have flap detail shown... should inner surface detail be this pale green also or, again, natural metal?

Thank you for your help, Henry

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Spitfire wheel wells/gear doors and u/c should be the same colour as the undersurface camo. I have yet to see a War time photo to tell me otherwise. The inner side of flaps are British interior green.

HTH

Brad

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Hiya,

it would appear that most Spitfires had the wheelwells, undercarriage legs and wheel hubs painted the same colour as the undersides. Walkarounds you may have seen would most likely be of restored aircraft which are not necessarily accurate regarding exactly which bits are painted which colour, if you catch my drift. It'a best to try to find a photo of the particular plane you're building, or at least something close.

Regarding the flaps, they were only lowered during takeoff and landing. A pilot could be fined (quite substantially!) for leaving them down as it blocked the airflow from the radiator(s), causing the engine to overheat. Spitfires really don't like running on the ground for very long. I think the fine was applicable to several types of aircraft.

Cheers,

Mark.

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In general terms and excluding specific cases, wheel wells (and U/C legs) were the same as the underside colour. Not sure if this holds true for the very late marks though.

Not sure on the flaps. I never model them down, so I've never really worried over it.

Cheers,

Matt.

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:D Thanks for the quick reply guys!! I kinda thought that the green was probably not correct since in all the photos I have I cannot discern a shade difference.. Then I saw that walk-around.. oh well

I didn't know that about the fine!! I've never seen a parked spit with the flaps down....Hmmm....would make an interesting little diorama..LOL :thumbsup:

Thanks again, Henry

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i have seen few (very very few mind you) shots that seem to imply that the gear arms were either natural metal or silver lacquer painted, but, as has been said by several previous posters, the overwhelming majority were the same as the underside of the plane.

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Spits were never parked with the flaps down...or taxied with them...pilot got fined if he did.

As these guys have said..wells, and stuff are the same color as the underside..

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As far as I have been able to ascertain, the wheel wells were the same colour as the underside (as were the u/c legs, and the inside of the gear doors.

Inside of the flaps was aircraft grey/green. The flaps would only be deployed during maintainance, and never when taxiing. The flaps were also only used for landing, not for take off (except on Seafires, when a wedge was jammed in the flaps to give 14 degree (I think) of flap, to shorten take off).

Phil

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