I am planning to build a small diorama featuring a Centurion Mk.III entering the waterproof testing pool at the Barnbow factory. The only reference images I have been able to find are b&w photos. Would the vehicles have been painted in the standard Deep Bronze Green by this stage? Obviously, no unit markings would be present, but I notice in certain photographs, a series of white letters/numbers around the hull and turret ... presumably these would have been factory markings.

Might have been too early for dark broze green.

There's a picture similar to the diorama you describe in Simon Dunstan's book on the Cent. Doesn't say where it is. That Mk3 is clearly in a matt finish. B/W photo, so no idea of exact colour. In the same book are photos of the Mk3 production line, also showing matt finishes on everything, and chalked-on numbers on turrets, bogies and other parts. There's a colour pic of a 1RTR Mk3 in Korea and that seems to be in a matt colour not unlike wartime SCC15 olive drab. The first evidence of gloss Deep Bronze Green seems to be on Mk5s.

PS - have you posted the same thread twice??

Thanks for the speedy response. Yes, the few b&w images I have suggest that the vehicles were in a matt finish.
I posted the query twice (in different categories), to get the attention of people with an interest in Braille Scale and British vehicles.

Paul, it seems that specification 2012 which specified Deep Bronze Green was issued in 1947 or 48, Centurion Mk 3 production being between 1947 and 1956, therefore most Mk 3s would have been delivered into Britsh Army service painted in that colour. Mk 3 was the most numerous version produced with many being for export, so clearly not all tanks would have ended up in DBG. As DBG was a gloss paint it seems possible that the tank in your photo may be in a state prior to the final coating; I have no idea in what state exports would have been delivered in - at least primer seems almost certain, but whether they'd receive the final colour coat in the country of destination I also can't say.
Red oxide primer seems to have been the specified primer, and that, I believe, would be matt.
This page discusses the spec in some detail:
http://www.emlra.org/index.php/articles/painting-and-marking-post-war-british-vehicles-p-1-4

PS in my view, it's not that easy to be certain about matt or gloss finishes in black and white photos, there are so many variables that can affect the appearance. I haven't seen the photo you're referring to however.

Sounds great.return man 3 unblocked I cannot wait to it.

It's extremely unlikely (to the point where I'd actually say it never happened) that a tank would be delivered, in peacetime, to it's final owner in primer, much less undergo any acceptance tests in primer.

Many of the surface areas are just as hard to paint on a real tank after assembly as they are on a model. Most of these small bits, like road wheels and the like are painted prior to assembly per the colour ordered.

Plus there is the fact that primers do not continue to act as primers forever, the special properties that increase paint adhesion fade after time and exposure to oxygen and UV light, and especially not if allowed to get dirty (as in testing or shipping to a far off new owner).

No, you can be very sure that before any peacetime tank rolls off the assembly line, it is fully painted in at least the base colour stated on the initial order.

Paul

Right... Do you have any suggestions on what the colour may be that appears to have a matt finish? From what you said it may be possibly a finish for an overseas customer, I guess, where the specified paint is more or less matt, or perhaps it is just an illusion of the photo? .

I am a little confused about when the changeover to DBG was (1948? 1955?), but if the picture is from before DBG, and matt to boot, then I think it would be SCC15 (olive drab).

Well, my initial query has certainly prompted some very interesting and useful responses. I have since spoken to a friend who has a particular interest in the Centurion. His answer is that prior to the use of Deep Bronze Green, such vehicles would have been painted in Khaki Drab. Given the date of the photograph in question, this would most likely be the colour of the tank. Evidently, Humbrol 159 (mixed with a small amount of brown) is a good scale match for the original ... worth a try. For anyone who is not familiar with the photograph I was referring to, it can be found by Googling 'Waterproof Testing Centurion Mk.3' (search through 'Images').

So, checking that page I linked to above, it says the spec was issued in 48, and bearing in mind that Mk III production started in, I believe, 47, then it indeed seems possible, perhaps even likely, that the matt paint was the pre-DBG finish. There were another 9 years of production however.

Incidentally, in the discussion of primers on that page it says this:
Brown Priming Specification CS1478 a lead based primer for chassis and components, which are stored in the open, or where colour coats are to be applied by another contractor.

Obviously that may well not apply to tanks...

As much as I hate to cast aspersions on a friend's recollections, there was no such British colour during the period as Khaki Drab. The colour being referred to is SCC.15, Olive Drab (frequently referred to as Khaki Drab). A colour created in the UK to mimic American OD later in WW2.

When fresh it looked very much like US OD9. Only when aged rather a lot and starting to fade did it fade somewhat greener than US OD, which tended to fade rather greyer than greener.

And it's entirely likely that a photo of a Cent going into a dunk tank might well be from some of the initial production units in the '47 period. If so, they would be matte SCC.15 OD.

But matte and gloss can also be very hard to tell from a B&W photo, so unless you can see the census number and correlate that to the numbers assigned at the beginning of production, it might be very hard to be definitive about exactly what you're seeing.

I'm sure that was totally helpful...

Paul

Not to mention, if the tank had been through the testing pool and was wet, the paint would appear darker and glossy no matter if it was a matte or gloss finish.