HI - What is the primer colour for Soviet WW2 armour?

Thanks..................Iain

i am sure i read some where that it was orange, double double check that though as i have just started modelling! Done lots of research on the T-34 before starting though and i am sure it was orange.

ORANGE - now that's a colour I had not expected.

Any other takers on what the primer colour was on WW2 Soviet armoured vehicles?

Hi forget the orange the true colour is Red Oxide or as others know it as red Lead , Reddy /brown , that varies as much as any other wartime produce . cheers ian

Thanks Ian. I guess then that duplicating the German oxide colour is OK. I only want to pirme with the oxide colour so I can reflect the undercoat during weathering.....Iain

heres a small but useless bit of info, Russian tanks that were not primed were sprayed with vinegar to stop them rusting. can anyone confirm this, i found this titbit while looking up russian primer colors on the net. i thought vinegar was an acid ?

Yes vinigar is mildly acidic - perhaps it was to place a very mild etching on the metal - but this sounds doubtful

Hi - back to my primer question.

I've looked through quite a few references, however, cannot find any images of Russian tanks that have had their green base colour worn off to reveal the red primer underneath.

Is it unrealistic to have a KV series weathered to shoe the red primer beneath the green?

Thank you....Iain

There was a discussion on this very topic some time ago.
The short answer to the primer question is: it's not completely certain.

The official designation of the paint used on Soviet armor was 4BO and it is usually described as "protective green". This has lead me to "assume" (bad practice I know!) that 4BO was paint and primer combined. I've seen some confirmation of this in a few translated Russian articles that discuss Soviet camouflage practices in the GPW.
But, someone here, was it Dmitry?, posted a photograph of a recovered T-34 that suggested there was a red-brown primer used under the normal green paint. Others opined that what we were seeing was only rust but after carefully looking at the images I'm not convinced of that either.

I guess the core of this is that ya pays your money and ya takes your chances. If you like the idea of red primer showing through the green paint go ahead and do it. You may be correct. Until someone translates that one little sentence in the growing library of T-34 literature, (you know, the one that says 'T-34's were (or "were not" as the case may be) primed before painting with 4BO, AND cites the source) or we find some even more convincing photos of wartime tanks that show primer, we just will not be absolutely certain.

Mark

Thanks Mark.

When you think about it, it's odd that no one really knows - as surely there are still lots of T-34's etc in museums, etc that still have their original colours (allbeit repainted with a modern coat).

It seems some things will always be slightly "fuzzy" and open to a certain amount of interpretation. Iain

It's not that odd. Vehicles that have been restored are not conclusive. Vehicles that are being restored are more relevant, but rare and hard to gain that sort of access to.

People there are aware of the question and as curious to answer it as anyone. There are lots of other questions, too. Answers will come whan they do.

Cheers
Scott Fraser