Hey guys.

So I've just started doing something a bit different from what I am used to doing (Soviet armor) and branched into German WWII subjects. I was hoping that some more knowledgeable in german armor could help me out. I've got some dragon kits pz.Kpfw .38 T, Panther Ausf. D, Panzer IV Ausf. J and a Trumpeter Hetzer Starr. The 38T has an interior that I want to put together but there's no mention of what colors to use. The Panther and Panzer IV will have the turret hatches open so I want to paint the turret interior. On the Trumpy Hetzer Starr I put together the kit provided engine, but there's no mention of colors yet again.

Well, at least the Marder II will be easier. Thanks for any help. While still not my strong point, German armor does have a beauty to it.

Com;

Hi!

OK - there are some useful generalities about German WWII armor...

The insides of closed hulls (crew spaces) and closed turrets were painted a sort of off-white or light ivory color called "elfinbein" - this went on the walls and ceiling. This same color went over most conduiting, most permanent fixtures - gear racks, ammo racks, kit-holders, step-plates, radio-racks, fan-covers, gun-mounts, gun-breeches and barrels exposed inside the turret.

Floor plates were usually some dark green or in mid- and later war, left in the "red-oxide" primer.

Heavy-metal drive gear- trannies, brake and steering gear - were often painted satin-black or a dark green at the originating factory, and installed wearing their original paint. Radios were also factory-painted (field-gray, dark green, or sometimes satin black or other colors), and kept those colors when installed into their racks.

Vision-block frames and mounts may have been satin black in many cases, as appears in some interior pics. Optical stuff- sights, etc.- were either satin black or various dark greens.

Later war tanks and StuG had more primer exposed. I think there was a period in late 1943 or early 1944 where most of the interiors were painted in red-oxide, but apparently this lasted only a short time as the crew complained a LOT.

Early-war hatches were the interior elfinbein on the inner surfaces - thru Poland and France. Folks learned to paint the insides of hatches the outside body color (not camo) pretty early on. So your 1941 and later panzers had dunkelgelb or dunkelgrau hatch interior, as appropriate for the vehicle.

Engine spaces seem to have been more commonly primer red, but Panzer I (pre and early-war) may have been partially elfinbein, or so some pics seem to show. Likely also earlier panzer 38(t) - though these may also have been enameled black. Probably the inner faces of engine access hatches were also primer red? Engines, fuel tanks, radiators, fan-housings and accessories were probably painted like their commercial counterparts.

In general, and more strictly-so in later-war vehicles, all interiors routinely seen from above and outside - such as in those SdKfz 250 and 251, and insides of open-top turrets and open-top SPG - were painted the exterior base color.

There are lots of nice discussions in various threads here and on other sites about this topic - much interest and, of course, many debates and opinions! I'm just offering my general understanding gleaned from many books and, yes, a certain amount of browsing in those discussions!

Hope this helps as you start your quest- look up some threads, look for any "panzer" interior shots you can find, look at all the many good and interesting builds out there, and, of course, ENJOY!

Bob

Just to complete Bob's reply, here are some reference pics that my help :

Hetzer engine :

http://www.thuringenmilitaria.com/pictu ... engine.jpg
http://www.thuringenmilitaria.com/pictures/hetzer1.jpg
http://www.thuringenmilitaria.com/pictures/hetzer2.jpg

38(t) engine :
http://www.plusmodel.cz/gallery/133/index_en.php

You'll find some interior pics of a restored Panther here :

http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/axis.htm

Panzer IV-related stuff :

http://lh5.ggpht.com/-AYHU5MdsSgo/R5VrxlBhbFI/AAAAAAAAARk/YWn5epFqBxo/PB200396.JPG

http://static.hlj.com/images/mda/mdabk-09_1.jpg

http://panzerivuniverse.phelpscomputerservices.com/Album0000047.htm

http://planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6358

HTH

Frenchy