PBY-5A Wheel well colors?

Try the Detail & Scale Number 66 for the PBY. It has MANY up-close color detail shots of the wheel wells. White struts & wells, or Gray struts & wells will work as well as the colors that you mentioned above.

http://www.pby.com

White was most common. Some wells were even left unpainted since the only time a PBY had its gear down for the most part was when it was being worked on or just plain out of service on land. White isn't exaclty the most effective camouflage on land, unless it's snowing I guess. Hmmm... some PBYs did fly in and out of Alaska.

Most of the shots of -5As in Squadrons PBY in Action show the wheel wells painted in black.

Quagmyre,
Remember that for the most of the last half of the war the US Navy and the RAF operating patrol bombers against subs in the Atlantic and Med that were painted white and grey. They weren't worried about the a/c being seen on the ramp but were trying to make it less visible at a distance when flying over the sea. Same reason that military today paints their aircraft in greys.

It has taken almost this long to show the "brass" that white is an effective color for wheel wells, why? Easier to find a leak and trace the source. Red means hydralic fluid, the most prevelant fluid in a wheel well, but it could have lubrication, coolant, water lines as well. against black or a darl color it would be very hard to find a leaks source.
And a pilot might just write up, "fluid leaking in right well." Not too helpful. Like the pilot that wrote up, "Fluid leaking from aft of aircraft on ground." for me back in 1979. . .it was the relief tube being used!!

Don

Thanks for the help guys. I know these got slapped with paint all the time to fight corrosion. Anybody know the factory fresh colors for a blue-grey cat? Blue wells with black struts? Green wells with black struts?