Interior green or aluminum?

The IPMS Stockholm site is a good one. When all else fails, it is a good fallback reference. Agreed with Bronto in that often times kit instructions do not get the interior colors correct.

I wouldn't use the colors on kit instructions as any kind of reference.  Most manufacturers get the colors wrong.  I'm out of town until Friday, then I'll dig up the pics of 43-12102 for you.

There have been many discussions on interior wwii aircraft colors. This is a very dynamic subject. One article that I have found helpful is by Martin Waligorski who was the editor of IPMSStockholm.org. You may find this informative!

www.ipmsstockholm.org/.../stuff_eng_interior_colours_us.htm

I pulled several kits out of my stash to see what their call outs were:

Revell P-51B Cockpit chromate green

Revell P-51D Cockpit chromate green

AM P-51 Cockpit zinc chromate with olive drab side consoles

Wheel wells and doors zinc chromate

AM P-51C Cockpit interior green with olive drab side consoles

Wheel wells and doors aluminum

Tamiya P-51D Cockpit XF3&5 (chromate green)

Wheel wells chromate green and doors aluminum

If Bronto or anyone has any evidence of aluminum gear bays on P-51B  43-12102, I would sure like to see it. I agree, they probably are aluminum; I would just appreciate a reference!

If you guys look at the link that I posted with the color photos, Dana Bell, who is certainly well versed on the subject of US aircraft colors, interior and exterior, has his input on the subject.

the green/yellow color is just primer.  to avoid rust.  replaced parts sometimes didn't get the treatment.  working with the air force, we always painted or primes all metal to make it last longer

43-12102 is a much photographed aircraft, it had aluminum gear bays.  The Detail and scale series, while great for the photos, suffers from very outdated or just plain wrong information when it comes to what is written in them.

As Stikpusher said, only those who knew the plane knew the color. I do have a reference from" P-51 Mustang in detail and scale Part 2" by Bert Kinzey, that says "Official USAAF specifications called for the interior of the well to be painted Chromate Yellow primer."

I am currently working on P-51B 43-12102 in the process of being converted to D specs. Without any firm reason to deviate from the official specs; I will probably have Chromate Yellow interior well. But, if I decide to paint them aluminum; who will know it is wrong!

Based upon the markings at the time, with the ID stripes and white nose used on P-51s when first introduced into the ETO, I would estimate that photo was taken in early 1944. Sometime in Spring 1944, Fighter groups began to adopt colored noses, such as red for the 4th FG, Red/Yellow for 357th, etc.

Not to cause an arguement, but the shot of the P-51D wing shows the fuel tank bay in yellow ZC.  The painting process for that area is not finished.  it was 1 coat ZC, one coat tinted ZC, then one coat aluminum for the tank bay.  What you see on the B is the zc yellow spar that I mentioned above with a natural metal gear bay.  The rub strip in the last picture is strange because normally that part was not specified to be primer from the subcontractor.  Perhaps it is a replacement strip?  Do you know when / where the photo was taken?

Only the folks who built the planes, and those who worked on them in that area at that time know for sure. And most of them are dead now. The photo of the D wing under construction above clearly show Yellow ZC primer on the upper inner surface. So at least one P-51D had that in the wheel wells. In the name of rapid production, it is logical to say that this would not be a one shot deal, and under wartime mass production requirements, many more were built this way.

All I know is, in the Squadron /signal 'P-51 in Action' book, many odf the B7W photos show a shade of colour in the wheel wells rather than shiny aluminum. Maybe it was something done in field?

Thanks guys you've been a big help. Aluminum it is.

Well photos show some color in there...

http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1328669358/P-51+wheel+well+color+question.

No P-51 ever left the factory with zc yellow gear bays.  Early P-51's had aluminum lacquer bay.  During P-51B/C production the lacquer was no longer applied, and the bays would appear bare metal with a zc yellow wing spar.  By the time of the D production, the spar was also left in bare metal.

Yes, I have seen photos from WWII of the yellow zinc crhomate wells... doors vary, with NMF showing mostly NMF also and OD/NG Ponies showing either NG or Aluminum lacquer on the inner face

Been nice to know that 2 P-51 builds ago.  Interesting that it is often depicted as either chromate yellow or green.

P-51 gear bays are aluminum, as are the inside of the gear bay doors.

I would not trust warbird photos for historical reference at all.The owner may or may not restore their aircraft to original condition and colors. Try looking for actual WWII color photos...