Curtiss O-52 interior colors

[WIXerGreg]

I'm working on a 1/72 Pavla kit of the Curtiss O-52 Owl over on us-aircraft.com. The instructions say that the interior should be interior green, but there's some speculation among members whether it should be green or bare aluminum. The one at the NMUSAF is interior green and so is the one at Pima, but I don't know if this is correct. I've found a couple period photos on the net but it's hard to tell interior color from them. Anybody have any ideas?

Here's the new modeling board at us-aircraft.

http://usaircraft.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=26

Thanks for any help!

Greg

[Steve Nelson]

If they followed the same painting convention as P-40s, it was probably Curtiss's version of Interior Green. Then again, being a prewar design it could have just as easily been bare metal or aluminum lacquer. Sorry I can't be of more help. I've got a pic of the Pima bird when it was a stripped down fuselage in the shop..I'm at work now, but I'll check it when I get home. Don't know if it'll provide any answers though.

SN

[Steve Nelson]

OK, I'm home now. Here are a couple of shots of the Pima O-52 during restoration. Since she had been stripped to her bare bones, I would assume the all the colors visible are original. It looks like at least part of the cockpit was primed with zinc chromate. The blue areas I believe are a translucent anticorrosion "shop coat" used by Curtiss that was usually either stripped off or painted over (visible in the pic of early P-40s on the production line.) The whole cockpit was likely painted interior green, and the wheel wells probably the underside neutral gray.

Cheers!

Steve

[WIXerGreg]

Thank you very much Steve! Great pictures!

[JBrawner]

i was just at pima a few weeks ago and have some of it finished... dont know if they are accurate but i can post them if you'd like?

[WIXerGreg]

Sure! I'd be interested in seeing any pictures you'd like to post!

Greg

[Nathan]

thanks Greg!

[JBrawner]

alrighty here ya go sir, enjoy! i just put everything i had of it, hope you dont mind.

[WIXerGreg]

Do I mind?? No way, these are great! Thank you for taking the time to post them.

Greg

[WIXerGreg]

Hi everybody!
Please make photo with o-52 gear. I want to find out how it works.

Hope this helps.

[WIXerGreg]

This is pretty much the rest of what I have.

[Steve Nelson]

I'll be visiting the museum later this summer..I doubt I'll be able to get any pictures better than Greg's, but I'll see what I can do.

SN

[Steve Nelson]

The wife and I stopped into the USAF Museum last weekend on the way home from our vacation in Florida. I took a few minutes to shoot some detail photos of the O-52. Of course, since it's displayed ten feet off the floor it's hard to get good shots. I used my usual technique of putting the camera on an extended monopod and using the timer. I have to say, I love my new Canon DSLR!

SN

[Steve Nelson]

A few more..

SN