Border Models 1/32 Lancaster

[stona]

Re: Black and white images.

The first two are of the navigator and wireless operator's stations. I think most of us would interpret the overall interior colour as interior green.





So what colour is the cockpit framing and other light areas (not equipment or instrument panels) in this image of a flight engineer on his 'dicky seat'.



It's difficult to see that as black, in my opinion.

As for genuine colour images, what do you make of the interior colour that can be glimpsed in this image?



Like I said, it's a minefield

[prichrd1]

So what colour is the cockpit framing and other light areas

Could that be the exterior green colour??
Can o worms and dunkelgelb spring to mind !!!! :smiling:

And don't forget the pull curtain located behind the pilot's station !!

Paul.
:smiling:

[stillp]

That area under the glass at the rear of the cockpit would have been finished in the Dark Green camouflage colour, and something has happened to that.

So would the Dark Green have been applied before the cockpit was glazed, or was the glazing removed for painting that part, or was it just brush painted under the canopy?
Pete

[stona]

So would the Dark Green have been applied before the cockpit was glazed, or was the glazing removed for painting that part, or was it just brush painted under the canopy?
Pete

What do you reckon?



And




Incidentally, if an interior area was painted black/Night it would have been the interior of this, the forward section. A Lancaster fuselage was assembled from three sections.

[stillp]

Can't really see the camo painted ones clearly enough, but the ones nearer the camera clearly have the canopy fitted but don't yet have the dark green. What would that light colour be - primer, silver dope? I can't imagine they'd spray inside the canopy without overspray getting on everything, but cellulose dope doesn't brush very well. Did they use dope, or an oil-based paint?
Pete

[stona]

Masking?



The British used cellulose lacquers, but paint chemistry is not my field so, again, it's not something on which I can offer a useful opinion.

Edit:
I agree that those sections look primed. I don't know what primer was used, but Supermarine used a grey primer and this might have been something similar. This is what the structure looked like unprimed, and it is clearly very different.

[stillp]

Masking?

I suppose so, but presumably they'd need to mask the whole inside of the canopy, The seats, IP and interior could perhaps be mostly covered with drop cloths.

There are loads of pictures on the web at https://www.gettyimages.ca/photos/la...rf%2Crm&page=2 some of which seem to show a lighter colour inside the canopy than adjacent to it, as well as some that seem to show the same colour!
Pete

[Tim Marlow]

When you are looking at these pictures chaps remember it is extremely easy to lighten or darken colours on a monochrome film by using red, green, orange or blue filters. See here to see what I mean….

https://hoyafilterusa.com/pages/how-black-white-filters-work

Filters may well have been used on these shots to improve contrast, or bring out certain details, especially because of the slow iso films available at the time. What you are seeing as lighter or darker colours might have been manipulated by the photographer.

Superb set of shots though. Really interesting to look at.

[stona]

I'm not sure what to make of this.



Was that area painted earlier in the process?

I have to say that in the images I have where the area under the canopy is visible it appears in the camouflage colour. 'Freddie' seems to be an exception.

[stillp]

See also here: https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/ne...?adppopup=true
where it appears that the area under the canopy is lighter.

Also this one - claimed to be a colour photo from 1941: https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/ne...?adppopup=true

Pete

[prichrd1]

This video may be useful -

You Tube

It does show rearward underneath the canopy - whether this has been repainted/touched up I cant say.

There are three videos in the series so far, the other two covering gun turrets.

Paul.
:smiling:

[Mark1]

Hmmm:thinking: think i'd just cover it with a doily!

[Bigfoot57]

I am following Nigel’s build on the net and will definitely use his ideas for mine it looks like the consensus of opinion is the nose and cockpit back as far as the navigator radio ops was painted black from the radio ops backwards was interior grey green
The turrets that’s another minefield some have black interiors some have green and some I have looked at look like bare metal / aluminium
There is also confusion over the radiators again green or silver and the wheel struts I’ve seen some pictures showing the bracing pair painted red
As for interior details I think you pays your money and takes your choice unless it’s a factory fresh so to speak it looks like the interiors were modified as and when circumstances dictated the handrails for instance I have seen 4 main colours Yellow ,White ,Green & Black but again in some photos if you look at the handrail a lighter colour can sometimes be seen wearing through the darker exterior
I don’t know if many of you were aware but back in 2010 Hachette Partworks released a 1/32 Scale Lancaster based on S for Sugar in a 125 parts it used the frame and rib method of construction then plastic stringers were added into the ribs to give the correct contours to the wings and fuselage
It had solid metal engines made up of about 10 separate parts plus the exhaust ports this was then skinned with very thin aluminium which you had to replicate the rivets using a pinwheel in so doing this gave the panels that canning effect that the new Border Models has but this was 12 years ago
Their colour scheme was black nose and cockpit then light green for the rear interior yellow for the handrails it was sadly lacking in interior details along the walls and had no radio equipment whatsoever but at the time it was unheard of for such a large kit of a Lancaster Bomber
I have attached a few photos to illustrate the design of this kit the extra wires hanging out all over the place was going to be my interpretation of adding additional detail

Regards

Colin

[Bigfoot57]

So at present Nigel has stopped posting the Border Model Lancaster builds as in his words he’s been burned out by the research needed to get an accurate /acceptable interior colour scheme I know how he feels but you can only do so much before you have to say sod it it’s going to have this scheme and that’s it
I’ve just got finish my HMS Hood build been on that since November last year only 2 stages to go but stage 139 I’ve been on for 3 weeks now and still haven’t finished that so it may be some time before the Lancaster is started as I do 1 model at a time apart from the Titanic Partworks from Hachette which is a completely different sort of model in that you have build it in monthly instalments rather than the whole thing in one go as with the lancaster

Regards

Colin

[colin m]

This is going to be quite a build Colin. But with so many variations and unknowns as regards paint colours, you can't really be wrong - my lazy view, admittedly.