Yes it has been asked many times, but as the title says, what, in your best opinions, are the best green(s) for painting cold war Soviet armour? I'm asking this because I have a T-62A and a T-72M1 patiently awaiting paint. I'm looking for something close to their box cover colour (They're Tamiya kits if you're wondering). Another touchy topic I recently became aware of is the use of primer. Is it necessary? Obv. white will result in a lighter shade and black will result in a darker tint, but what difference does it make while painting? I've done models with primer and without and I can only point out little differences. Any suggestions?

Gudday Steve!

My advice would be - yes, prime your models. I use an airbrush-applied undercoat of Gunze-Sangyo (or Tamiya) flat black, allow this to cure, then go back & apply a few light coats of Gunze-Sangyo (or, again, Tamiya) flat white. This gives a kinda "grey-scale" effect which allows me to more easily see all the details with a greater sense of light & shadow (especially on figures), and which is beautifully smooth & a pleasure to paint over. HOWEVER - THIS IS JUST ME. Others will likely have a different take on the issue.


Tommy.

Thanks for the advice. I believe it or not, use....ready for it?.......Tremclad Light Grey Primer. It goes on misty thin, dries quick, and is overall nice.

Oh- HO! Now this one I haven't actually heard of. I tried a lot of spraycan primers, from which I got what were, for me, ambivalent results at best. After continually priming, then stripping, then re-priming, then re-stripping (metal) models, I went & bought my airbrush as I reckoned that the initial expense in $$ was far outweighed by the fact that I was finally rid of the continual annoyance I had from the cans. I have however recommended White Knight cans to painters locally who were looking for a cheap-&-cheerful option which gives a solid "tabletop" result when used carefully. They're still my emergency back-up option. The Tremclad I might track down & test - thanks for the heads-up!


Tommy.

Any home improvment or automotive store carries it. People have called me crazy for this, but I've been using is since my Warhammer and Citadel Minatures days to prime anything I need primed. Its roughly $8.00 a can and you get a big can so it's worth it. I use light grey but they have many colours to chose from (including a flat red and blue lol) So yea, give it a shot and let me know what you think. BTW : Just make sure you don't get one that says Rustoleum, or etching on it as these will actually fill in small details (it's meant for filling in sanding scratches during rust repair on cars) Just regular, Tremclad Primer, it should have a yellow ring around the top of the label.