How to get the proper paint color for this B-17?

Are you asking about the B-17E?  That is a brand new one fresh from the factory.  It is painted in Army Olive Drab.  The color is washed out from the bright sunshine and the type of color film.  The E is brand new as shown by the absence of the serial number on the tail fin which started to appear in early 1942.

Actually I have bought the B-17 G Flying Fortress 1:48 made by Revell.

The cover shows the B-17 with a silver coat.

Would it be inaccurate to paint my B-17 G with Olive Drab?

Thank you,

Scott

The 1/48 Revell B-17G contains 2 decal options, one for El Lobo II which is the natural metal finish bird on the box, and also  decals for Chow Hound which is an olive drab over neutral gray bird. 

When the war broke out, The B-17 had a natural metal finish, but the finish was changed shortly thereafter to olive drab over neutral gray camo until late in the war when the natural metal finish came back.

When painting, though you might want to lighten your olive drab a little bit, with any of these colors- gray, white, tan, yellow.  This lightens the shade of OD a little bit and makes it more realistic as a factory fresh OD finish on a real world plane would not last long.

I have another question about the colour inside the B-17G. It says in the instructions that Zinc Chromate should be used.

What could I use to make the paint zinc chromate? Possible take  XF - 5Tamiya Flat green and add a little yellow to it?

Scott

This other forum had a similar thread:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=127768

interior green will also vary with age/weathering and lot by lot of paint and even plant or manufacturer (many planes were built under licensce by other manufacturers but I'm not certain about the B-17) so there is some room for interpretation. I'm more familiar with fighters, where I've seen pictures of interiors ranging from a very yellow green to the more "standard" pale limey green to a forest green.  

The best thing is to look for book or onlinr references. You can always google "B-17 Interior". I just did and found quite a bit.

[quote user="redraider56"]

When the war broke out, The B-17 had a natural metal finish, but the finish was changed shortly thereafter to olive drab over neutral gray camo until late in the war when the natural metal finish came back.

Actually, the OD was applied in 1941 before the war as a good number of C and D models went back to the depot for rework'.  Check out Dana Bell's Air Force Colors, Volume 1.  

True...I didnt look into when the camo was applied but did know that B-17s at Pearl Harbor had an aluminum finish, and that was what I was goin off of.  Guess I shoulda done a little more research

As for interior colors, you'll find a plethora of shades of interior green and zinc chromate and what not.  There was no 'set' color for the interiors, so just check around and look at some interior shots of the fort to find which one you want to use

You also might want to check out the B-17 group build thread.  Lots of info is there and the people will answer any questions you may have with the plane, colors, and much much more