hello again gentlemen!

I am going to be heading into town to buy my first AFV model, Tamiya's new PzKpfw. II or the Dragon PzKpfw. II. In any case, I am going to model an early war panzer, and continue my way through the war.

I have been looking for weeks now for accurate color photos of german tanks from the war. I've only found a few and none of them are authentic.

I seem to have an idea atleast of the painting colors...Early WWII the tanks were in a light grey/brown mix. In North Africa they were given a beige sandy color, and late in the war they were given darker painting and a "camo" pattern.

I am really trying to get this model accurate as possible. I appreciate all your help!

Early war tanks were not in a "light" scheme of any kind. German tanks only appear light in some period photos because they were dusty. They were painted in a very dark gray, and until late 1940, they were supposed to be painted with a disruptive scheme of dark brown covering 1/3rd of the tank. Tonally, the two colors were nearly identical, so the brown was abandoned, and overall Dark Gray (Dunkelgrau) was substituted until February, 1943, when Dark Yellow (Dunkelgelb) was substituted as a base color, and Olive Green (Olivgrun) and Red Brown (Rotbraun) paints were issued as pastes to be thinned and applied as the user units saw fit.
North African vehicles were supposed to be painted in two tone schemes, but the colors were changed halfway through the campaign, so four colors in all were authorized.
Camouflage regulations were changed in continental Europe in September and December, 1944, as well.
For a full listing of German camouflage paints and hobby paint equivalents, go to:
http://www.miniatures.de/int/colour-ral-farben.html

Gerald,

Thanks for that link!

http://www.miniatures.de/int/colour-ral-farben.html

Mike

thank you very much for your help

i've located this site with color photos



http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=32930

Well, i picked up a panzer IV ausf. F2 from dragon models. I plan on painting it Tamiya XF-63 German Grey mixed with XF-66 Light grey or XF-24 dark grey, as the german grey looks a bit too dark to me. any thoughts???

btw, the kit supplied decals for france, 1942 pz. abt. 1 "LAH"

The original paint was indeed quite dark, but even a little road dust would lighten it dramatically. You can either start with the original color and lighten it progressively with washes, airbrushed glazes, drybrushing or your choice of dry pigments, or you can just start with a base color closer to where you'll end up (the old Francois Verlinden strategy). The only time exact shade really matters is if you're depicting a factory fresh or parade ground vehicle. Even then, you may want to consider "scale effect," which causes very dark colors to appear lighter when seen from farther away.

thanks for reminding me about the "scale effect." The problem for me is that i am used to doing cars and WWII planes in a manner that made them look pristine. Weathering has never set into my head until the armor bug bit me.

I am going to use a method from the October issue from Fine Scale Magazine on the track weathering. The Tiger I tank was given a red brown primer and then finished up with pastels and the authors home made mud. It ended in a very convincing effect that i wish to duplicate.

Hey Justin,
Let's try this again !!
You may find this site of some help.

http://www.matadormodels.co.uk/tank_museum/xcamo_ww2germany.htm

Cheers

jjumbo

Actually, Tamiya XF-63 German Grey is dead on when compared to RAL 7021 Panzergrau samples provided by Tom Jentz. As mentioned, you can lighten it up for effect, but the color is accurate out of the bottle.

While looking for some accuracy on German armor paint schemes I came across this site. Hope it helps.

http://www.panzerworld.com/german-armor-camouflage