I know this one has been a source of debate among modellers for years, but I wondered if any of you have strong opinions on it. My nine-year old asked me - without any prompting I might add - if we were going to finish the Revell Spitfire V which her sister got two Christmases ago and lost interest in. So we've restarted this project. When I was doing models like this 20 or 30 years ago, the model magazines seemed to suggest that all British WW2 aircraft should have the wheel wells and cockpits painted "Matt Cockpit Green" (Airfix M20 = Humbrol 78). But kit instructions rarely suggest this; this one seems to suggest merely carrying on the colour of the underside of the wing. I've been caught out before by thinking I knew better than the kit manufacturer. And however much time I spend in museums, this is something I always forget to check on the real thing. What should I do, if I am to maintain the image of infallibility in the eyes of my daughter for as long as possible?
Some more shots with the wheel well: http://www.aviationphoto.co.uk/Supermarine Spitfire MkVc JG891 G-LFVC Duxford 2007.jpg http://www.aviationphoto.co.uk/Pictures/Spitfire dispersal Shoreham 2006 2.jpg http://www.aviationphoto.co.uk/Pict...N201 G-BSKP landing Shoreham Airshow 2005.jpg
The problem with this question is that I am colour blind :noidea: which makes such questions a bit difficult to answer. But logic fictates that grey, or whatever the rest of the underside is painted in, would be chosen because it was easier to continue the scheme. Apart from the first few hundred feet max, the wheels would be visible as black semi-circles anyway, so camoflage is immaterial
The colour is also referred to in modelling circles, and perhaps in real life, as zinc chromate or interior green. I'll try to dig out some interior cockpit shots in colour.
Here's a couple of pics: TFC's Beaufighter cockpit in restored state (any excuse to get a Beau pic in!) and their Mk 22 Spit prior to resto commencing.
This maybe a start: Do we have a giraffe in the Science Museum or a Spitfire in the Natural History Museum? :noidea:
Thanks everyone. Looks like there is evidence for Matt Cockpit green in the wheel wells. At least, I can't go too far wrong if I use it. Annie: I think the kit in this article is rather larger than the one we are making! Ours has to sit on a window sill among the barbie dolls, and toilet-roll-centre robots made at school! But why did they hit on pale green for cockpit interiors? Did they really do it because they thought it was restful and therapeutic for the crew? I doubt it, given the total lack of ergonomic planning in most cockpits of the day (fuel cut-offs in a Blenheim behind the pilot's left elbow for example)?
Good question, AR. A good neutral colour perhaps that wasn't too bright (non-reflective) and distracting or so dark it hid details?
though this doesn't talk about the well or cockpit specifically it is still an interesting read. From Spitfire: The History by Morgan & Shacklady
I was flicking through it but the index isn't brilliant. And almost all the photos are B&W. So the best I could do is the appendix
I read somewhere ... but I forget where now ...... that they used that particular paint because it was the the only paint at that time that didn't corrode !! :noidea:
Actually, that's a bloody good point, Annie. Reference my zinc chromate comment above. Chromate is often used as a primer to help other paint stick but is also used to slow down corrosion. Well done!
