I'm working on the KP LF Mk. IXe Spitfire and need a clarification of the wheel well color. The kit says Interior Green, but several web references stated they were painted the same color as the underside. This would also (probably) apply to the gear struts and the inside of the gear doors. Suggestions, please.

It is my understanding that this is one of those "it depends" answers. first thing to know is what paint scheme you are going with, and if you can speculate the aircraft came from the factory with this paint scheme or was repainted in the field. then i think you feed that into a random number generator, divide by 5, and see whether or not interior green or the underside color falls out. someone else may be able to tell you slightly better than that, but probably not much... in short, either is possible.

The Spitfire is my favourite aircraft and I have yet to find the difinative answer to this question. Basically all are right, plus the gear legs and wheels could also be silver (natural metal?)
For your Mk IXe I would be torn between interior green and Medium sea grey for the wheel wells and interior of the doors but I think silver (NM) would be correct for legs and wheels.

If you do find the difinative answer please get back to us
Mal

Hi there

The RAF Museum Mk VB has silver wheel wells and gear legs (painted, by the looks of it). Of course, the difficulty in using it as a ref is not knowing whether that was the original finish before it was restored - but it might also hold true for an operation Mk IX.

Hope this helps

Rowan

Thanks for the answers. I guess I'll go with the interior green. I wasn't aware of the silver struts. I was going to paint them the underside color, but it seems that silver is the way to go.

the single thing i can say is that if you go with interior green, silver struts are most likely to be the case. if you go with the underside color, then the struts may or may not also be that color or silver.

Thanks, Lance. The walkaround photos I've seen indicate silver struts and wheel hubs and they look painted rather than NMF. I'll go with that and post the picture once it's finished.