72modeler

Orion, Amos Nicholson passed away in 2012- I was not able to find his book, which may have been a monograph, listed anywhere that I could think of. See the links below for some information on the B-24D's he painted as well as other famous Tidal Wave Liberators. The last link is to a collection of WW2 aircraft nose art; scroll down to find the name of the aircraft desired, click on it to see a photo of the aircraft and its history. You can select each of the Seven Dwarfs as well as any of the other named B-24's that flew the first Ploesti mission. I hope this helps. Mike https://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=1613&st=1110 https://images.historyinfullcolor.com/military/h5BB07692#h5bb07692 http://www.usaaf-noseart.co.uk/the_planes.php?filter=default#.XVhd-WdYZdg

@canberra kid John, I thought you were the Canberra Kid, not the Harrier Honcho! I guess I got the seat type wrong, but it's amazing how supposedly trustworthy sites have incorrect information, as the two print references I had both listed the Stencil S II as the EJ seat. I have saved this thread as a reference for doing a correct AV-8A. I'm sure Dennis appreciates your taking the time and effort to gather and post this information, as do I. Mike

Done! Thanks for catching my mistake! Mike

Demon. The only flaw in that theory to me seems to be the fact that there are photos of non-Silverplate Project B-29's that also have chromate or neutral grey nose gear strut assemblies; plus I can't figure out what painting the nose gear assembly zinc chromate on the Silverplate Superforts would possibly have to do with loading the weapons from the pit to the bomb bay, as I guess the airplanes were pushed back by a tug over the pit for loading the weapon, It is an interesting puzzle that we will probably never be able to solve- but that's what puts the fun in scale modeling! Mike

Dennis, I think you can get away with using a GR1 kit to do a Marine AV-8A. AV-8A's had a Stencil SII instead of a MB Mk 9 bang seat; there was also a long dorsal antenna, and the cockpit layout was different due to U.S. radio equipment and other items being substituted for the British units. Many Marine Harriers were also upgraded to AV-8C standard with an uprated engine and the deletion of the PFO camera in the nose, and I think also the installation of formation or 'tape' lights. If you can find an Esci or Italeri AV-8A or GR1, they are very nice and have much finer scribing and panel line detail than the new-tool Airfix Harrier. Mike

All of the references I have and photos show either yellowish zinc chromate or interior green, with the green being FS34151. I think originally the wheel bays and flap wells were in the yellow chromate primer, with the green primer being used later or after maintenance/overhaul. Korean War F-80's seem to have the yellow primer. Interior surfaces of the gear doors and speed brakes appear to be natural metal or painted aluminum. See the link below for some neat F-80 photos and histories that you might find of interest. Mike http://aircraft-in-focus.com/lockheed-f-80/

Certainly not an expert, but I think just the first few F6F-5's left the factory with rear quarter windows and the tri-scheme colors- the remainder were overall glosssy sea blue without the small windows behind the canopy. I'm sure one of our resident authorities will be along to confirm or correct; have no idea which FAA Hellcat Mk II serials that would be, though. Mike

A fellow Texan! Welcome to BM! In the link I posted below, if you look at the period color and b&w photos of Enola Gay and Bockscar, you can clearly see the chromate primer applied to the nose gear assembly and the wheel hubs. No over spray visible, and in the b&w photo of Col. Tibbets standing in front of Enola, there doesn't appear to be any over spray on the wheel hub. perhaps a tire change at some point resulted in a coat of primer being hastily applied to the nose wheels? Bottom line, as you said, the people who know have passed on or will be forever unknown. I don't have a B-29 in the queue, and even if I did, it would be "Thumper," but I remember when I visited the Silverhill MD storage/restoration facility back in the day, I walked all around the Enola Gay, as she was at that time under restoration, but I recall being surprised at the chromate nose gear assembly- though at the time I was thinking it was primered and awaiting its aluminum paint- don't remember the finish on the main gear. I shot ten 36-exposure rolls of color slides of all the aircraft I could get to in the several buildings that made up the storage facility, but all of the film mysteriously disappeared while with the film processor, so everything I photographed was lost! (I'm thinking some idiot at the film lab was a modeler/enthusiast/thief!) It was a weird feeling standing next to the fuselage, which was completely restored, and putting my hands on the airplane that dropped the first nuclear weapon. I guess we all model airplanes as they appeared at a given point in time, so a lot of variation is possible over an aircraft's lifetime. As the unofficial BM motto states, "Never trust a profile without a photo!" Now, on to more pressing matters- anybody know the FS equivalent for the paint applied to the putt-putt APU in the back of a B-29? (Yes, I know I am one sick puppy!) Mike https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/silverplate/

Jordi, Yep- good points all; sure makes something simple like painting a gear strut, wheel bay, or inner gear door surfaces "the" correct color an exercise in frustration- is this a great hobby or what? Mike

I think what I had read was her nose gear assembly was originally chromate yellow, so that's how it was painted after being restored; then subsequently before she went on display at Dulles, information came to light that the strut should have been aluminum, so it was re-painted, but this turned out to be incorrect, but it was too late to rectify the mistake. ( IIRC, Dana Bell commented on this in a published article.) I'm pretty sure the Martin-built Silverplate B-29's had landing gear assemblies provided by other contractors, and were possibly delivered in primer- according to written production references I have seen, A.O. Smith manufactured the landing gear assemblies for B-29's. They also manufactured propellers for many USAAF aircraft, including P-47's and P-61's. There are several well-known color photos of Enola Gay taken on Tinian that clearly show the nose gear assembly and wheel hubs in chromate yellow. Mike

I have seen color photos in which the nose gear struts on B-29's were aluminum, chromate yellow, or neutral grey...don't ask me why! The inner surfaces of the nose and main gear doors appear to be bare metal or aluminum paint. I think I recall Enola Gay had her nose strut apinted chromate yellow during her restoration, but it was re-painted at some point in aluminum before she was placed on display. Mike

Duncan, When did early E's like 50-579 you posted the photo of have the angled windscreen replaced with the flat paneled version? Mike

Duncan, As always you are the Sabre savant! I knew the -30 could carry two 1,000lb bombs, at least that's what my pitiful F-86 reference library references had, but it never hurts to hear it from somebody else. I have seen photos of 8th FBG Sabres with the old. high-drag WW2 era 1,000 pounders as well as the more streamlined versions. The late Col. Woodrow Wilmot, 8th C.O,. had photos and a big wooden scale model of his Sabre, the oft-photographed 'Miss Teena' at his home with two 1,000lb bombs on the inner pylons- I will be doing that Sabre in 1/48 someday, as I have the markings and want to pay tribute to the man, who not only was a great fighter pilot, he taught me to water ski! I got to sit in the cockpit of her at Itazuke AB when I was in the 2nd grade with his helmet on...gotta locate that color slide one of these days! I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say how much we all appreciate your sharing your incredible references with the rest of us minor leaguers! Mike

Stuart, I will sit at the back with the rest of the rowdies and watch this one with great interest! Can't have too many fighter-bomber Sabres! Are you sure you won't reconsider? You do know that the -30 Sabre could carry a 1,000lb bomb on each inner pylon, right? Asymmetical loadouts are pretty neat, though! Mike http://www.flyingfiendsinkoreanwar.com/Home page.htm

That's what I was thinking, too, Jon. I went through all of my Bearcat references, of which I have a ton, and I couldn't find anything like the color profile posted. Not to say that the scheme didn't exist, but it is such an unusual one, that of it were actual, I would think it would have surfaced in a reference work or decal sheet. I'm thinking decoy or one of those wonky pseudo-camouflage schemes that seem to appear on abandoned U.S. or SVNAF aircraft displayed in Communist museums, outdoor displays. or war memorials. Mike