Meteor F.1 landing gear colors

[Seawinder]

I'm at that stage with a Tamiya 1:48 kit. Their instructions call for the landing gear to be Tamiya XF-25 (which they call Light Sea Grey) with aluminum fenders. XF-25 appears to be a slightly lighter version of Ocean Grey and darker than Medium Sea Grey. I'm wondering if that's correct. The (few) photos available in my references seem to show the entire strut assembly in one color, presumably aluminum lacquer. Is it also possible that the struts could have been painted the under surface color, Med. Sea Grey, which looks similar to aluminum in b/w photos? If anyone has any confirming information, I'd be much appreciative.

Cheers,

Pip

[Seawinder]

I posted the same inquiry to HyperScale and elicited a couple of useful responses forthwith. One of them posits Night for the top section of the nose gear; the other suggests that wartime Meteors may have had Medium Sea Grey landing gear. This prompted me to take a closer look at the photo on page 5 of the In Action book of a 616 Squadron F.1 taken in 1944. The Night top part of the nose gear is clearly visible, while the lower section and mudguard appear to be a slightly darker, less metallic shade than the nose wheel hub. From that photo, I'd say that MSG is quite plausible for the strut color. Any thoughts here?

[Troy Smith]

not an Mk.I,   but I'd be surprised if these were different as from nearly the same time.

 

from @Etiennedup  flickr

 

Gloster Meteor III by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

the gear leg in this looks a little different to the wheel hub,  and looks to match the underside

 

Gloster Meteor F.3,  c1945. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

Looks the same here

 

Hopefully others will know more.

 

 

 

[Seawinder]

Beautiful photos, Troy -- thanks for posting them. I think they definitely add weight to the MSG idea.

Cheers,

Pip