Warbird Information Exchange

Hello-

I took a ride in the Collings Foundation B-17G "909" and am working on the Monogram 1/48 kit with these decals- I was trying to research the tan coloring of the topside of the aircraft and have came up empty.

I know most were the standard Olive Drab over Neutral Grey before the switch to no paint in late 1944.

Can anyone enlighten me as to why this specific B-17 was a tan color? Or was it actually tan during the war? Any help or links to research would be most appreciated.

Thanks

Len Roberto
lrobertojr@aol.com

It was painted Olive Drab originally and after a while this would fade into a tan shade from exposure to the sun. Note the planes that had damage and were repaired with parts from older hanger queens. You can see the differance .

Thanks Jiggers...

The decal sheet instructions (I know they are not always correct) do state an FS number in the 33 range which is a yellowish/ tan shade...wonder where they got that from?

-Len

PS- the current 909 is definitely a shad e of light tan- I should have asked the Collings guys about the color when I was there for the flight...

It would be a variation of the original FS 34087 for Olive Drab. As a model gets smaller you should add white to compensate for the size. Out of the can Olive drab is a dark color, however after several months of standing in th esun and weather it does fade. I tink they are compensating for the time difference by using a lighter FS number.

Hi Len;
How have you been?!!!
I just saw your post while looking around the WRG. When restored by the Collings Foundation, a "faded" shade of Olive Drab was created to more appropriate the aircraft after she had been in combat for a while. They made their own special "mix" to get the color. Kind of like weathering, although they keep the rest of the aircraft all nice and clean! Tom Rielly may know the color combinatiion used, as he originally painted the aircraft.
To this end, you remember at the "Corsairs Over Connecticut" Show, no two Corsairs had the same shade of blue. Those are more the owners choice in color, with "Marine's Dream" and the Collings F4U-5N the most accurate in terms of paint color.
Blue skies and Merry Christmas!
Jerry