Lancaster upper decking colour

[Spad]

Hi

I am currently building the Airfix Lancaster B.II and am wondering what colour it should be on the top deck under the rear of the canopy. I notice the instructions would have me paint it black - really!?! I was sure it was either interior green or the local topside colour around that part of the canopy.

 

Anybody able to confirm one way or the other?

 

Thanks

Rick

[Daniel Cox]

Hi Rick,

 

The following images should answer your question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Daniel.

[Mancunian airman]

If you paint the camouflage Green with Humbrol 116 then I would paint the section under the canopy Humbrol 30.

That is my preferred choice and I think the contract is sufficient and doesnt look out of place.

Ian

[woody37]

I've always painted the camouflage colour, I'm guessing the fuselage is sprayed before the canopy is fitted?

[Miggers]

Bob on Woody.

 

You beat me to it Dan,local colour it is Rick.

[Merlin]

Note the relatively hard camo demarc edges, I am forever seeing RAF as soft edges and Luft as hard when modelled but it was the other way round looking at many pics and these Lancs are hard edged certainly for 1/72 and 1/48 scale.

 

Merlin

[sprue]

I note that the interior colour in the nose looks to me grey green. I've not been able to track down if and when Lancaster nose interiors were painted black. Undoubtedly some were and I think Canadian built Lancasters (Mk X) probably were factory finished black. As for UK built examples I wonder if it was a local modification? As for the camouflage patterns there is evidently a wide interpretation judging from the photographs.

Mike

[Miggers]

On 02/11/2016 at 6:34 AM, sprue said:

I note that the interior colour in the nose looks to me grey green. I've not been able to track down if and when Lancaster nose interiors were painted black. Undoubtedly some were and I think Canadian built Lancasters (Mk X) probably were factory finished black. As for UK built examples I wonder if it was a local modification? As for the camouflage patterns there is evidently a wide interpretation judging from the photographs.

Mike

Generally Mike,it's pretty much a given that from the Nav's blackout curtain forward throught the cockpit and into

the bomb aimer's "cubby hole" was black,but,but,there is always the exception to the rule(check out the IWM's "Old Fred" nose section).

[Mancunian airman]

I believe S- Sugars's  (RAFM Hendon) fuselage interior was green as well, perhaps a throw-back from the Manchester production line ??

Edited November 3, 2016 by Mancunian airman

[stever219]

R5868 was laid down as a Manchester but became a Lancaster on the production line IIRC, so some throwback to Manchester practice could be expected.  However the aeroplane was subject to a major overhaul which, among other things included a complete breakdown of the airframe into its main structural elements and resulted in the deletion of the rear fuselage side windows.  Whether this would extend to a complete internal reprint I don't know.  The extensive sub-contracting of production may also (although it shouldn't) have resulted in some differences between suppliers.

[Miggers]

On 03/11/2016 at 9:53 PM, stever219 said:

R5868 was laid down as a Manchester but became a Lancaster on the production line IIRC, so some throwback to Manchester practice could be expected.  However the aeroplane was subject to a major overhaul which, among other things included a complete breakdown of the airframe into its main structural elements and resulted in the deletion of the rear fuselage side windows.  Whether this would extend to a complete internal reprint I don't know.  The extensive sub-contracting of production may also (although it shouldn't) have resulted in some differences between suppliers.

Very possible that aircraft laid down as Manchesters and subsequently finished as Lancasters would have a complete grey-green interior.

Not sure about a full internal re-paint during a major though,possible if parts went back to CRO factories(dependent on any damage)but

generally I'd have thought they'd have been left alone.

[sprue]

According to my references the photographs in the earlier post were taken at Woodford in 1943. By which time all of the Manchester airframes that were completed as Lancasters had been and gone. In other words these are 100% factory manufactured Lancasters. As an aside Woodford at this time was used as an assembly and test area the components coming from other sub contractors namely Metropolitan Vickers among others. Perhaps some sub contractors had differing specifications for paint finishes which might also explain in part why there was such a variation in camouflage pattern and some had totally black interiors while others did not.