WWII IJAAF AIRCRAFT INTERIOR COLORS

What was visible under the cabin of a Japanese machine

The internal surfaces of the aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force followed different conventions from the skin of the fuselage. Cockpits, landing gear bays and the spaces under the engine cowling were given finishes whose main job was to protect light alloys from corrosion in a damp tropical climate. That is precisely why the interior shades of Japanese types differ so strikingly from European and American conventions. A modeler appreciates it on machines whose cockpit stays clearly visible once finished.

Four shades and where they belong

The package holds a blue-gray tone listed under army number 3, an olive brown shade number 7 and a yellow-green number 29. The fourth item is aotake, a translucent blue-green lacquer applied directly onto bare duralumin. It was not a covering paint: the metal under it stayed visible and the surface took on a characteristic metallic sheen that is immediately recognizable in period photographs of interiors. The three covering tones cover instrument panels, canopy frames and the inner walls of the fuselage.

Applying the translucent layer

Aotake behaves differently from the other three shades. For it to look right it has to lie on a glossy metallic base, ideally on a well polished silver layer. It is applied in several very thin passes, because each further one strengthens the depth and takes away the translucency. It is recommended to try the thickness of the layer on an offcut of sprue before the part itself comes to it. The covering tones, by contrast, are applied in the ordinary way, with a brush and with an airbrush, and dry to a matte surface.