Aero Vintage Books

I asked this question on WIX, but want to get a second opinion. I am building the Visible b-17 and want to get it right. Am I right in saying that the nose, cockpit, and radio room should be green, and the bombay, and waist and tail should be natural metal. is the interior of the verticl stab painted green? Thanks ahead of time.

but bronze green.

The inside of our vertical tail is not painted - natural metal.
Ditto for the horizontal stabilizers.

I got a swatch from the guys out at Dover AFB, but I am having getting a color machine to get a color code for you.

Mustang Driver,

The interior color for those airplanes is Chromate Green.

There is also another color used on some pieces but I don't think it was used on B-17 interiors but was used on other airplanes in various areas like wheel wells and landing gear pieces--the color is called Zinc Chromate, which is a kind of a "bronze green". It seems that it is the Chromate Green that is predominate.

Go to the library and check out some B-17 reference books--there are many. One book, "B-17 FLYING FORTRESS IN DETAIL AND SCALE", shows late model B-17G waist section in natural metal (Boeing image number 1624). Also, Boeing image number 36835 shows a late B-17G waist section as natural metal. Many times the forward compartment is covered with material/insulation and is green colored.

I have several books that show B-17 interiors, but it seems that some late production B17Gs have no paint in the waist section or tail section. But it seems that the B-17E/B-17F and early B-17G have the interior painted Chromate Green. The interior of our C-47 is painted Chromate Green.

The Monogram/Revell visible B-17G instruction sheet should tell you what colors that the airplane is painted. Mine do (I bought this kit in 1979 when it first came out). I have built over two dozen of these kits since 1975 and I have three of them flying around my house right now.

My Monogram instruction sheet for the same kit indicates the following:

Floor: Zinc Chromate
Bulkheads: Chromate Green (except the bulkhead facing the waist section which is painted "aluminum" per the instructions with Chromate Green framing).
Instructions indicate in more than one panel:
"Basic bulkhead color is Chromate Green."
also:
"Entire [fuselage] interior is Aluminum."

Your best bet is to follow the painting instructions that come with the kit. Monogram/Revell is known for getting it right most of the time. Also, you can't go wrong looking at as many reference books as possible. I don't know where you live, but any good size library has many aviation books and probably have at least one on B-17 Airplanes.

A small sample of the B-17 reference books that show the interior:

B-17 FLYING FORTRESS IN DETAIL AND SCALE

PILOT'S MANUAL FOR B-17 FLYING FORTRESS

THE B-17 FLYING FORTRESS STORY

B-17 FLYING FORTRESS AT WAR

FLYING FORTRESS

GUNNER--An Illustrated History of WWII Aircraft Turrets and Gun Positions

The cover of the book GUNNER shows a B-17G waist interior painted Chromate Green. The same book shows the AF Museum B-17G Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby with an entire Chromate Green interior. This is the book you should look at--Many detailed color photos of the AF Museum's B-17G.

Chromate Green paint for scale aircraft interiors is available at any good hobby shop.

Good Luck with your B-17 model

C-47 John
Builder of over two dozen 1/48 Scale Monogram/Revell B-17 kits.