RAF B-25 Mitchell color

Albert,

Any way you can post that photo you're talking about? One day I'd like to build an RAF Mitchell and would like to finish it in an RAF scheme instead of the OD. (If I wanna build sumthin' in OD over gray, I'll build a US bird! )

Every time I acquire a new reference for these things I keep hoping to find a good shot of an RAF aircraft that clearly shows the two color upper scheme and have yet to find one.


Fade to Black...

A couple of things I forgot to mention;
I do have a photo of a line up of 226 sqn Mitchells at gilze Rijen and they do appear to be in green/brown camo. I think the photo came out of an old RAF year book.
Masking the canopies is a real pain. use the best tape you can afford, (I used Tamiya) a sharp knife & LOTS of patience!

Every photo I've got of RAF Mitchell II's (B-25C/D) seems to indicate the OD over gray scheme. Some of the RAF Mitchell II's were ex-Dutch Air Force birds, mostly aircraft that had been paid for but not delivered to the Dutch NEIAF before their capitulation.

These were aircraft that had been diverted from USAAC contracts as an emergency measure; the contracted Dutch NA-90's wouldn't be ready in time for the NEIAF to use in the Pacific. So 60 USAAC aircraft were allotted to go to the NEIAF and were definately finished in OD over gray. (As a side note, there was hesitation to divert these aircraft as they were equipped with the Norden bombsight which was still classified at the time.) Some of these Mitchells also went to the RAAF, although some were later "appropriated" by the USAAF.

I've yet to come across any photos of RAF Mitchells which indicate conclusively the application of either of the RAF bomber schemes, day or night. Although I've got a really nice color shot of a Russian B-25 in the RAF night bomber scheme.

Anyhoo, if you decide to use one of the RAF schemes, check this page out. The bomber schemes are at the bottom. They illustrate a Lanc, but the basic scheme would be roughly the same. As to color matching, don't go for an exact match. There's too many variables involved to get an exact match...


Fade to Black...

I have a side view drawing of a 226 sqn Mitchell, MQ-V (serial number not shown, it seems to be overpainted by the stripes) taken from a magazine many years ago.
It seems to be dark earth/dark green with a pale blue underside. The codes are in red with just the MQ in front of the roundel. The V is on the nose with a white V on the fin under the finflash. This one flew from Gilze Rijen (Netherlands) before the end of June 1944.
It has invasion stripes on fuselage & wings.
I built a couple of those Italeri mitchells earlier this year. Put LOTS ot weight in the nose, I even fitted a couple of large nuts behind the cockpit with modelling clay and the models sit just nicely on their wheels. But, with all that weight the noseleg is fragile. If you can, drill though it & superglue a piece of stiff wire into it.
Pete