Italian fighter cockpit colour?

[Wm Blecky]

I haven't had much luck locating info on the cockpit interior colour of W.W.II Italian fighters.  Can anyone enlighten me? and also recommended paint brand options (preferably enamel).

 

TIA.

[72modeler]

Away from the archives right now, and the only Eytie fighter I have built is a heavily reworked Airfix Fiat G-50bis in Finnish markings, but I'll see what I can find in my references; hopefully one of our resident authorities will see your post and  help you. I only use enamels and pretty much handmix most of my Axis colors, so I'll see what I have made up or have an FS equivalent for...that being said, keep in mind FS equivalents are ballpark guides in many instances. (OK, Nick- time to come out of the bunker!)

Mike

 

P.S. For those who asked, and thanks for caring, no flooding or damage here in San Antonio from Harvey; besides, all of my kits, references, decals, and paints are on the 2nd floor- I ain't no dummy!)

[Jure Miljevic]

Hello

Verde anticorrosione (anti-corosion green), I believe. To me it looks like light gray-green colour. My ancient Klausguide from 1988 states its FS is 34491. Not much, but I hope it helps. Cheers

Jure

Edited September 2, 2017 by Jure Miljevic
FS number corrected

[Smithy]

Some handy info halfway down the page on this link:

 

http://www.stormomagazine.com/RegiaAeronauticaColorsinWWII_3a.htm

[spitfire]

More from Stormo, Humbrol mixes from Mike Starmer.

http://stormomagazine.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=831

And more

Cheers

 

Dennis

[72modeler]

Maybe the following will help. In Aero detail #15 on the MC200/MC202/MC205, they list verde mimetico as FS34258, and verde anticorrosione as FS 34558. In the old Floquil master paint reference binder, which lists all of the paint lines offered by them over the years, they show verde mimetico as FS34504 and also FS34554. I have also read references that list the interior color as FS34227, which is also Israeli light green. Looking at the photos I have, which are restored aircraft, the interiors, wheel bays, and inner fairing doors all look to be a light grey-green color that ranges from a very pale grey-green to a light green with a slight blue cast. RLM 02 also appears to fall within the above range of colors, and I have  its FS equivalent as FS34226 and also 36165. I wish I could be of more help, but these should give you a range or at least a starting point. It has always amazed me how close the colors sometimes are from the various nations, as RLM02, British interior, Italian interior, and some IJA/IJN interior colors are very close in appearance...I guess form does follow function!

Mike

Edited September 3, 2017 by 72modeler
corrected spelling

[Wm Blecky]

Most helpful - thank you all!

[Giorgio N]

The Stormo webpage has a lot of information but the matter of cockpits is more complicated than that page says. It's not true that everything was mostly painted in Verde Anticorrosione.

This colour was , as the name in Italian language implies, a primer designed to prevent corrosion on aluminum alloy surfaces. For this reason alone the idea that every aircraft used it is wrong as the cockpits of several types saw the use of other materials depending on the construction. The page linked above mentions the S.79 and this is a good example as the internal structure of this type also saw wood and canvas that didn't suffer from corrosion...

Timeframe is important here: before the introduction of the Tavola 10 (Table 10, the list of colours issued in 1941) every company used their favourite colour as there was no standard requested from the Air Force. The colours mostly seen were greens and light greys. Fiat for example used grey and so did IMAM. Siai also used light grey on several types. Other companies used greens or grey greens and each company used their own colour (correctly mentioned in the Stormo page linked)

After the introduction of the Tavola 10 in theory all aircrafts were supposed to have Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1 in the cockpits (and there is evidence that this colour or a very close one was used before the official introduction date on several types) but not all companies were equally quick in following the instructions so it was possible to see greens and grey greens after this date.

When the situation in Italy became difficult, a number of companies seem to have simplified the production by omitting the grey coat in the cockpit and leaving whatever primer was applied visible. This situation continued after the Armistice and the excavation of ANR aircrafts has shown the use of several different colours.

Speaking of primers, there is a list of primers officially approved by the Italian equivalent of the Air Ministry for use on aircrafts. Among these are both green and grey primers, so the use of primer alone doesn't necessarily mean a green. It is known that a yellowish primer was also used but there's a lot of discussion on this, some believe it was yellow in the tin and turned greener after the application, others think it was not used. Some of the confusion on this comes from the restored G.55 in the Vigna di Valle museum, an aircraft that was built post war so could have seen the use of american influenced painting procedures.

 

Now I know that all this can sound very confusing, so what's the best course of action ? First of all it's important to pin down the manufacturer of the aircraft you want to model and the time of construction. With this it's then possible to decide the colour or at worst make a good educated guess.

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by Giorgio N

[Giorgio N]

On 3/9/2017 at 5:20 PM, 72modeler said:

Maybe the following will help. In Aero detail #15 on the MC200/MC202/MC205, they list verde mimetico as FS34258, and verde anticorrosione as FS 34558. In the old Floquil master paint reference binder, which lists all of the paint lines offered by them over the years, they show verde mimetico as FS34504 and also FS34554. I have also read references that list the interior color as FS34227, which is also Israeli light green. Looking at the photos I have, which are restored aircraft, the interiors, wheel bays, and inner fairing doors all look to be a light grey-green color that ranges from a very pale grey-green to a light green with a slight blue cast. RLM 02 also appears to fall within the above range of colors, and I have  its FS equivalent as FS34226 and also 36165. I wish I could be of more help, but these should give you a range or at least a starting point. It has always amazed me how close the colors sometimes are from the various nations, as RLM02, British interior, Italian interior, and some IJA/IJN interior colors are very close in appearance...I guess form does follow function!

Mike

 

Mike, first of all I'm glad to hear you were not affected by Harvey !

On the wheel wells of the Macchis, the Tavola 10 requested these areas to be painted in the same Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1 of the undersurfaces. It is known that Macchi painters had used this approach before the relevant authorities issued this set of specifications, so Macchi built Mc.200 and 202 always had the wheel bays in the undersurfaces colour.

Both the 200 and the 202 were also built by Breda though, and they may have followed different specifications, at least before the Tavola 10 was introduced. It's likely that the restored MC.202s were painted without knowledge of these facts, otherwise their wheel bays would have been painted grey

The 205 is a different story, as most were built after the Armistice and it's likely that Macchi didn't bother covering the primer, as seen in other late war fighters.

Speaking of the differences between Macchi and Breda built machines, these also differed in the cockpit as Macchi used to paint the canopy frames in black, while Breda painted them in the cockpit colour.

[Michael51]

In the LIFECOLOR range there is a paint nominated as "Italian Interior Green" / UA 116 / FS 34558

 

Michael

[Roman Schilhart]

I just built a Macchi 205 and a Fiat G.55, for which I used Gunze/Mr.Hobby H312 Green.

 

[colonelpablo]

the inside color of Regia Aeronautica was light gray, as used on undersurfaces. Some exceptions were Reggiane fighters painted with a light green on the emerald side (a cloche found is painted in this color) 

[Wm Blecky]

Thank you!