I'm in the process of weathering an Italiari Sahariana. The vehicle is covered in jerry cans. I wanted to put fuel stains on the gasoline cans but don't know the difference between a can used for fuel and one used for water. There are two different moldings/construction of jerry cans in the kit, but that may just be because of their locations on the model.

So, how do you tell them apart and would they have different storage areas on the vehicle? (Both sides are covered in cans, there are 2 on each front fender, and 2 inside the vehicle.)

In the early war years jerry cans used for water were marked with a white cross. This can very often be seen on photos of Afrika Korps vehicles. In later war years the Germans produced cans which were almost identical to the ones utilized for gas except they were stamped with "wasser" (water). I do not have an exact date, however if memory serves me I wish to say around 1942. I believe that either armorscale or tiger models makes these.

Furthermore the difference in cans may be due to some being of German or Italian origin. The jerry can was copied by many nations (including the U.S.) with subtle variations.

http://olive-drab.com/od_mvg_jerry_can_markings.php

http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=86860

Thanks. With the white cross on water cans info I was able to go back and look at the photos I have and see some. Tough to pick out on the sand colored cans in B&W photos sometimes. Looks like there was no assigned location for either type. I'll just add the crosses to some of the cans and fuel streaks on some without.