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Me 262 intake colour


torqueofthedevil

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Good afternoon, 

 

Please could I ask for help identifying the colours inside an Me 262's intakes. I have got one of the big HobbyBoss kits so I'm keen to get it right! 

 

I have tried to figure it out for myself, but I can't be certain what I'm seeing. I have consulted the books I own, and looked for online references as well, but I'm finding it hard to tell - colour photos from the war/just afterwards which show the inside of the intake are rare, and I'm wary of assuming that museum restorers in recent decades have checked carefully what the Germans did. I prefer to put my faith in the depth of knowledge of BM members! 

 

From various B+W photos, the inside of the intake appears fairly dark, with the starter motor housing much paler - but is it primer, or camouflage paint wrapped round from the outside, or different shades of bare metal? And did it vary between aircraft which had camouflage on the outside of the intake vs those which had replacement (unpainted) intakes? The aircraft I'm going to do had one of each so I may need to treat the two intakes differently. 

 

Many thanks for any help. I have searched the forum in case anyone has asked this previously, but it appears not. 

 

 

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The insides of jet intakes need to be smooth for airflow reasons, and exterior camouflage paint probably isn't quite smooth enough. Some 262s were photographed with unpainted intake shrouds in service, and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum - which I happen to trust as they did a ground-up full disassembly and restoration of the aircraft and both its engines - has its Schwalbe's intake ducts in what appears to be dull bare aluminum.

 

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/messerschmitt-me-262-a-1a-schwalbe-swallow/nasm_A19600328000

Edited by Rolls-Royce
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