I am building a Soviet JS-2 with a winter camoflauge scheme.

My question is about the external fuel tanks. Would it be inaccurate to paint one or more of the tanks in a standard olive drab color to add a little variation or were external fuel tanks pretty much stay on the same tank for the duration.

They could be dismounted easily, and a replacement for a damaged or perforated fuel can might well be plain 4BO Protective Green. Remember, they weren't armored, so stray bullets and shrapnel could punch holes in them, even if the tank's armor was undamaged, and the crew wouldn't want diesel fuel leaking all over everything.

Hi SB

I looked for some useful pics for you but unfortunately I didn't find it.
Anyway looking these photos...





You can notice that the external fuel reservoirs seem glossier than the rest of the tank.That likely means those fuel tanks were brand new and probably were mounted to substitute the original ones.
So in my humble opinion it could be possible see a green external fuel tank mounted on a Js2 overpainted in white

Probably you've already found it, but anyway i hope those link can help you

http://www.battlefield.ru/en/tank-development/28-heavy-tanks/32-js1-js2.html

http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/galleries.htm

http://www.o5m6.de/RussianArmour.html

http://armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/WWII/IS2/

Cheers

I would like to add to this conversation, if I may?
1. External fuel tanks would be dropped off when the tank had to go in a combat or if it was in close proximity to an enemy. There was a special mechanism allowing to do that from the inside of a vehicle. Plus, diesel fuel was mixed with kerosene during a winter, and, as Gerald said you would not want that stuff spilled on your vehicle.

2. That is why very often you can see those fuel tanks were replaced by logs.

3. But as far as painting fuel tanks in white or not, you can go both ways, and I think it will make the model more interesting. Like on this IS: on one side - both tanks painted with white, but on the other - one still in 4BO (probably was replaced later on).

Alex, yes and no. The quick release mechanism for the external fuel tanks was introduced on the IS-3 and was retro-fitted to many IS-2s when they were updated to IS-2M standard in the 1950s. Wartime IS-2s required the crew or maintenance personnel to manually remove the tanks.

Neil

That is why I couldn't find anything about that release device in IS manual...
Thanks, Neil

Thanks a lot Alex, as usual you have a lot of interesting pics

cheers