Colour RLM 45 dark red??? / He 162 nose colour

[Simon Schatz]

Hi Folks!

In the new issue of Flugzeug Classic (August 2006) is part 2 of the He 162 flown by the French after the war. There I read that the wooden Nose of No. 3 was painted in a dark red similar to RLM 45.

I have never heard from that colour. I also couldn't find anything in all my books.

I want to illustrate the He 162 A-2 W.Nr 120231 "White 6". The plane had an unpainted fuselage. Just the nose and fuselage cone were painted. The cone colours are clear, but the nose colour is still a mystery for me.

Maybe someone can help.

Cheers, Simon

[Pilot]

Dark red or red brown. Germans had some export color but this RLM code I have never hear before. I have RGB of one color for export, it is red brown, maybe could be of help:

123 30 35

[Modeldad]

I believe it may have been a rust-red colored wood sealer paint (primer coat for wood)

[Simon Schatz]

Here the colour using "Pilot's" colour guide! The arrow is RLM 23. I also converted the colour into bw-mode and compared it with the He 162 production pictures I found in Merrick's book "Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings Vol 1 page 190".

The question is did they overpaint this wood sealer paint on the He 162 W.Nr 120231 or not?

Cheers, Simon

[D.B. Andrus]

Hello Simon,

According to the color charts in Ken Merrick's Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings(recent publication) RLM 45 is, as the folks above have stated, a red/brown - slightly lighter in value and a bit more red than than FS 30109.

HTH,
D.B. Andrus

[Pilot]

Simon- can this conversion into the black and white be possible to match type of film used?

[Simon Schatz]

Originally Posted by D.B. Andrus

Hello Simon,

According to the color charts in Ken Merrick's Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings(recent publication) RLM 45 is, as the folks above have stated, a red/brown - slightly lighter in value and a bit more red than than FS 30109.

HTH,
D.B. Andrus

I'm sorry but I can't find a colour chart of RLM 45 in this publication! In part one are charts showing FLIEGERLACK 7142 redbrown and FLIEGERLACK 7130 redbrown

7142 was used for propeller blades.

7130 (7131) was the base for wood, but had to be overpainted with FLIEGERLACK 7132 and 7135

Does anybody have an idea of the colour of FLIEGERLACK 7135?

Cheers, Simon

[D.B. Andrus]

Simon

When Mr. Merrick's early charts from the first volume were produced an error was made in the 'Farbtontafel' chart(fold-over with orange Farben-Kiroff-Technik logo on back). Shade RLM 45 was accidentally inserted in the RLM 28 Weinrot space and captioned as 28, you will notice in the 'Sonderdruck aus L.Dv. 521/1' chart that 28 is correctly placed and captioned. This error may have been rectified in subsequent copies of the charts. I apologize for my confusing post.

Best Regards,
D.B. Andrus

[ChrisMAg2]

Originally Posted by Simon Schatz

Hi Folks!

In the new issue of Flugzeug Classic (August 2006) is part 2 of the He 162 flown by the French after the war. There I read that the wooden Nose of No. 3 was painted in a dark red similar to RLM 45.

I have never heard from that colour. I also couldn't find anything in all my books.

I want to illustrate the He 162 A-2 W.Nr 120231 "White 6". The plane had an unpainted fuselage. Just the nose and fuselage cone were painted. The cone colours are clear, but the nose colour is still a mystery for me.

Maybe someone can help.

Cheers, Simon

Hi Simon,
I have no idea, if this might be of help to you, but here are two photos of the damaged nose cone of the He 162 of the Planes of Fame Museum, Chino, CA, USA. I took these photos just 3 weeks ago.

I don't know if you are able to see the colors correctely, but the hue of the wood base is like "Schellackiertes Buchenholz".
FYI, the color of the arrow is faded, and the plane has been atleast partialy repainted.
Other wooden parts of this plane (i.e. undercarriage wheel door, rudder) don't show this wood base/ sealer or it is not obvious...

[ChrisMAg2]

I forgot to include these images: