Hello everyone,
I've been painting my models lately and have noticed that tamiyas red brown doesn't seem right. For example here is my model of the jagdpanther
http://s1138.photobucket.com/albums/n534/stan1115/?action=view¤t=P1000573.jpg
http://s1138.photobucket.com/albums/n534/stan1115/?action=view¤t=P1000584.jpg
The colour doesn't seem right to me. Is it just me or did german tanks really have that colour?
Here is a jagdpanther in a museum.
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=jagdpanther+museum&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=9IjnsNMuZDKlJM:&imgrefurl=http://skarachsworld.co.uk/2011/06/13/bovington-tank-museum-october-2010-%25E2%2580%2593-jagdpanther/&docid=NpKYedi-1Lej4M&w=3072&h=2304&ei=MZtxTuzIH-_umAXpnOXzCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=411&vpy=345&dur=15&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=114&ty=102&page=2&tbnh=162&tbnw=206&start=47&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:25,s:47&biw=1920&bih=911
The colour is more red.
Would vallejo be more accurate? or any other brands?
Thanks
Callum.

Callum,

Others will know about the Tamiya paint, but can I offer some warnings about matching to museum tanks? First off, that JP is at Bovington, and has been in that scheme since at least the early 1990s. It may be based on some fact or other, but equally it may be just somebody's idea of what fresh "red brown" could look like. (The Germans obviously stopped making the real stuff in early '45...) Also, they could (and would) substitute readily-available paints during restoration as long as they were "good enough". Museums aren't exactly known for their attention to paint accuracy! Find some pics of the Bovington "Porsche" King Tiger if you want to see truly outrageous museum painting!

Second, you're looking at a photo rather than the real thing, so there are variables in terms of lighting and even the film (if old enough) or the bias of the digital camera. There are ways and means to calibrate things to reduce or eliminate these influences, but most on-line photos are not adjusted - they are amateur point-n-shoot products.

Hope this helps.

Tom

Hello,
Thanks for the relpy. Yes that did help. But here is the photo that i should've posted up. Its the box thing off the back of a jagdpanther, a guy dug it up.

http://www.network54.com/Realm/braunark2/P5_BIN_color_wGeier_01.jpg

Now when i think about it, the paint is similar when i spray thin lines on for example my elefant tank (field applied). But when i spray lines like on my jagdpanther, it doesn't seem accurate (Not red enough). Could just be me.

Callum.

Hi Callum,

Sorry but the link doesn't open on my computer - can you re-post it?

Tom

Ok, i uploaded the photo onto photo bucket.
Here it is.

http://s1138.photobucket.com/albums/n534/stan1115/?action=view¤t=untitled.jpg

Callum.

I see what you mean. Without full knowledge of the history of that bin I can only assume it is original paint. (And we all know the danger of assumptions!) It looks as though the red-brown and olive are sprayed on very thin, with the yellow base kinda showing through, so that will alter the colour a bit. But the base may have been redder than Tamiya.

Of course, we also are assuming that all red-brown was exactly the same! I suspect if we went back in time we might find that it varied a bit from batch to batch (just like most other paints), and that some were redder or browner than others. If you want to match the pic with Tamiya you'll have to do some mixing.

I'm surprised the German armour experts haven't chimed in yet...

Tom

I don't know if you prefer enamels or acrylics, but just at a first glance, Testors Rust (enamel) should do the trick quite nicely. If you ever have a question about which brand's paints correspond to which color, bookmark this link. I've used it on many occasions to buy the right color, and about 97% of the time, you're very satisfied with the result...the remaining 3% of the time, you get something very close that you can make do with.

For WWII German armor, you have a little manuevering room. None of the current tanks have their original paint. Color photos from WWII are sketchy at best. Find a color you feel comfortable with and realize that weathering will alter the color. In deed, I've never heard of anyone pulling a color swatch out of their pocket and saying, "this is the exact color used". Go to your local hardware store and peruse the paint swatches. Find one you like and have them mix you a sample quart. Now you have spent just a few dollars on enough paint to last you a year. Also remember that the Germans likely used whatever color was close enough to paint camo in the field. This rings true with even Today's military. OD is OD is OD.

Thanks for the comments.
This was an interesting thread, and really i should have thought about the red brown varying in colour as each batch was sent out to the field. I'll play around with tamiyas red brown, mixing seeing what i can achieve. I'm also giving vallejo's paint a try aswell, just to see how it goes.
Thanks again.
Callum.

I completely agree with Tom about the picture's quality. Also, museum pieces cannot be a good basis for colors as sometimes they are a bit exaggerated if not completely off. I have been using Tamiya paints all my hobbying life and the red brown looks alright to me. I can also say that the picture of your jag seems a bit overexposed so that the intensity of the color is not well shown. If you will compoare the pictures, the museum jag's color is more dense than your model. I think the museum jag's brown is more red than brown.

Hello,
Yea true. If i compare the photos to the model, the photos red brown colour is more brownish. But when i looked at the jagdpanther, the colour just didn't seem right. But as said, the 2kg blocks of red brown paint sent out to the crews varied in red - brown.
Callum.