This image is courtesy of Rob Evans who scanned it from a German book called "The History of Spaceflight". This is the first color photo I have seen of the MRBD rocket and capsule. It confirms the orange band and dark lettering.
From NASA history "This New Ocean", p. 329. Note dark lettering, and be aware some black and white film shows orange as a very light gray. For awhile, I thought this was light gray or silver overall. Has anyone seen a color photo of this capsule?
USAF photo PL-61-71552, dated 3/24/61, courtesy Roger Moore. Note this image shows the lower part of the capsule to be a dark color, but the UNITED STATES lettering is even darker. This led me to assume the lower section is painted orange. The recovery section is the same dark color, and it matches the shade of the escape motor, which is almost always orange.
(This page created 2/21/99, modified 8/16/01)