RAF Ventura - bomb bay colour

[Tony Whittingham]

Hello All,

I’m building a RAF Ventura, but I’m not sure of the colour of the bomb bay and door interior. Is it sky, or interior green, or zinc chromate?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

regards,

TW

[72modeler]

Hot doggies- two  alerts in the same week! That's a good question, and I have NO idea what the correct answer might be, but will stick my wrinkled old neck out until somebody who really knows comes along. The bomb bay not being a crew space, I would hazard a guess that the bomb bay and the inner surface of the doors are in untinted zinc chromate primer- since you're asking about a Ventura bound for the RAF, the inside surface of the bomb bay doors might have been finished in the undersurface color, sky, or the chromate primer. Another one for either @Dana Bell or @Tailspin Turtle, methinks. The linked photo collection below won't really help you with the answer to your query, but boy, howdy, them thar's some nice Ventura photos I have never seen before! I hope you and others enjoy looking at  them.

Mike

 

http://ww2bombers.e-monsite.com/pages/lockheed-pv-1-ventura.html

[LDSModeller]

5 hours ago, Tony Whittingham said:

Hello All,

I’m building a RAF Ventura, but I’m not sure of the colour of the bomb bay and door interior. Is it sky, or interior green, or zinc chromate?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Tony,

 

These photos of the Preserved RNZAF Ventura/RB 34 at MOTAT

may help with the Interior, and it's NOT Interior Green or

Zinc Chromate.

MOTAT RNZAF Ventura/RB34

 

The RNZAF received these Lend Lease WWII

 

Bomb Bay could be Zinc Chromate/Green tinted ZC or Lower colour

(Sorry don't have conclusive photos)

 

Regards

 

Alan

[593jones]

20 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Hot doggies- two  alerts in the same week! That's a good question, and I have NO idea what the correct answer might be, but will stick my wrinkled old neck out until somebody who really knows comes along. The bomb bay not being a crew space, I would hazard a guess that the bomb bay and the inner surface of the doors are in untinted zinc chromate primer- since you're asking about a Ventura bound for the RAF, the inside surface of the bomb bay doors might have been finished in the undersurface color, sky, or the chromate primer. Another one for either @Dana Bell or @Tailspin Turtle, methinks. The linked photo collection below won't really help you with the answer to your query, but boy, howdy, them thar's some nice Ventura photos I have never seen before! I hope you and others enjoy looking at  them.

Mike

 

http://ww2bombers.e-monsite.com/pages/lockheed-pv-1-ventura.html

Nice photos, I was really interested in picture no. 5, showing a worker applying nose art in the factory,  Very surprising, I always assumed that nose art was applied after the aircraft had entered service, and was chosen by the crew.

[Dave Swindell]

33 minutes ago, 593jones said:

Very surprising, I always assumed that nose art was applied after the aircraft had entered service

Not very surprising when you look at what the art is and where the aircraft were built.

The Ventura was built at Lockheed's Vega Burbank plant, the next suburb to Burbank is Hollywood, and the art is all popular cartoon characters of the day. Lockheed were employing cell artists from the movie industry as finish painters, a lot of Venturas left the plant with a cartoon somehere on the fuselage. There's at least 20 photo's in that linked article with a Hollywood cartoon visible.

[593jones]

5 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

Not very surprising when you look at what the art is and where the aircraft were built.

The Ventura was built at Lockheed's Vega Burbank plant, the next suburb to Burbank is Hollywood, and the art is all popular cartoon characters of the day. Lockheed were employing cell artists from the movie industry as finish painters, a lot of Venturas left the plant with a cartoon somehere on the fuselage. There's at least 20 photo's in that linked article with a Hollywood cartoon visible.

Thanks, you learn something new every day on here.

[Tony Whittingham]

Thanks, gents!

 I think I’m going to use the under surface colour in the bomb bay. A section of the Lockheed Vega painting instructions requires this.

 

regards,

TW