Hi everyone.

I'm don't usually build armor models and especially not ww2 german. But the whole thing of a complete interior kinda of appealed to me. So now when I have received the kit and checked the instructions I got a little confused. Because it says that it should be painted in some green color. But as far as I know this would only be right for a very late war tank, not an early as the kit depicts. So is this a flaw in their instructions or a flaw in my knowledge?

And also if I would like to put some crew on my tank, what are the best options that I should look at?

Well, won't bother you any more for now, but looking forward on getting some input.

Hi Becky, I'm unsure about the interior of this specific model, but I understood that mostly they had a white interior.

For figures, I'm having trouble finding suitable mid-war Heer Panzer crew myself, I want some for my Dragon Pz IIIs. I've seen that DML 6375 Panzer IV Crew 1939-1943 should work.

I believe she is referring to the exterior which calls out RAL6011 Resedagrün.

There were some tanks sent to Africa that supposedly were green in color, but I am not remembering if this kit can represent any of those. Resident Tiger expert David Byrden would have an answer, I'll wager.

White or off white would be correct. Just remember that the interior of the crew hatches would be the same color as the exterior of the tank i.e., Panzer grey or whatever.

Yes, I was referring to the exterior. I guess this is why you shouldn't post when you're tired, you have a tendency to forget important things...

Becky, according to The Modeler's Guide to the Tiger Tank,s.PzAbt 503 had Tiger I's in a dark green in the Spring of '43. This book quotes 'Tigers in Combat I' "a strange mixture of dark yellow and green-olive".

I hope this helps.

The interior wasn't white. It was RAL 1001 Elfenbein (Ivory/Beige) and it had a semi-gloss finish. Revell AG Email Color 32314/Aqua Color 36314 Beige is an excellent match. Elfenbein was applied to all areas of the turret interior with the exception of elevation/traverse mechanisms, coax MG mount, gun balance and other related items, which were painted black. It was applied to all surfaces above the floor panels in the fighting compartment and, by extension, from approximately halfway up from the hull floor in the driver/radio operator compartment. The lower hull (up to the floor panel supports), engine compartment and everything below the turret ring (basket included) was painted RAL 7009, a greenish-grey color which was only used as a primer. Revell 32167/36167 Greenish Grey is a good match. This is correct for Initial/Early Production vehicles. As David Byrden can verify, sometime during the Early Production run, RAL 7009 was replaced by RAL 8012 Rotbraun in those areas.

There isn't any documentary evidence of any Tigers sent to North Africa that were painted green. There were two camouflage schemes used, Tropen 1 and Tropen 2. Tropen 1, introduced in the spring of 1941, consisted of the base color RAL 8000 Gelbbraun and RAL 7008 Graugrun, which covered 1/3 of the surface. These two colors were both low contrast and looked almost identical; so, Tropen 2 was introduced in the spring of 1942. This scheme provided higher contrast between the two colors used, RAL 8020 (a pinkish-orange hue) and RAL 7027 Grau (similar to a variation of RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb). Both of these schemes were applied at the factory on vehicles designated as "Tropen".

After the Germans retreated from North Africa, surplus 8000 was used on vehicles in Europe and Russia. Likewise, surplus 7027 was mixed with white paint to manufacture Dunkelgelb. After April 1943, RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb replaced RAL 7021 Dunkelgrau as the base color for new vehicles. RAL 6003 Olivgrun and RAL 8017 Rotbraun were authorised as camouflage colors to be used on vehicles over Dunkelgelb. These were issued as pastes which were applied in the field until September 1944, when all camouflge was applied at the factory. If RAL 6003 wasn't available, RAL 6007 Flaschengrun (a dark green hue) or RAL 6011 Resdagrun were used as substitutes. These colors have been documented on numerous pieces of equipment from that period. Also, Tiger Is were never painted in overall RAL 6003. Tiger I production ended in August 1944. That only applied to vehicles manufactured after January 1945. Even then, Dunkelgelb was to be used if supplies of Olivgrun weren't available.

Hi, Anna! Try MINIART, MASTER BOX and some of the independent resin figure manufacturers- you should be able to find quite a few different individual figures and figure sets depicting WWII German, US, British/Allied, Russian, Japanese and French AFV Crew members, plus modern and now WWI subjects. Mid-war Germans are probably the easiest and most prolific of all. I'm a US fan, personally...

CALLSIGN:M4A1Sherman......Nah....really?

Hi, Becky! You might try TESTORS Model Master II Enamel #2104 Panzer Interior Buff. Personally, I think the color is a tiny bit too dark. I usually add a bit of TESTORS Semi-Gloss White. I think you'll find that most tank interiors are painted in Semi-Gloss, or glossy colors, because they are easier to keep clean- dirt tends to stick to "flat" colors, as you probably are aware when you do your housework... I personally add a few drops of Olive Drab to my Semi-Gloss White, just enough to make the paint an "Off-White" color... See Headhunter506 for the most complete lowdown on Tiger I interiors...

Yes, REALLY!!! I have different "call-signs" that I use on other sites, most of which are indecipherable, except if you're a New York Central or New York Ontario & Western Steam Era fan. I use different Model A Ford combinations, as well...

"I don't".





We know the colours that Tigers had when they left the factory, but if the troops repainted them in the field, they almost never made any record of the colours that they used.

This kit is designed to build a few specific Tigers, it has special parts and decals for them. These Tigers (all except one of them) were Dunkelgrau when they left the factory in 1942. But while they were painted dark grey, their numbers began with a "2" and none of the kit decals apply to that period.

Then, in the spring of 1943, these Tigers got repainted and numbered in the "3xx" series. This is what the kit's decals represent. But what colours were used? We have no record of that. We don't even know for sure what colours the battalion were issued with. But it's possible that the troops rustled up some paint from somewhere else, in any case.

We can be sure that Rye Field's colour selections are not based on good research. Rye Field don't perform research to that level.

These special Tigers were not all painted the same; the contrast is higher on some of them. So it must have been an ad-hoc job.



David

I think I will start looking into other marking options, since the once in the kit seams very uncertain. But I thank you for your help anyway!

Oh, and one more question, hope you don't mind... Would this figure be ok for a Tiger tank during the battle of Kursk: Alpine 35188

I should point out that there are many Tigers for which we don't know the real colours. Rye Field didn't fail badly here, they simply chose a difficult subject.

I should also point out that, if you move away from the small group of Tigers that Rye Field covered in this kit, the special turret bin designated by the kit instructions will no longer be correct. Fortunately the kit contains the standard bin too.

David

The figure itself should be fine, but the cam pattern used in the photo would not be correct for Kursk I'm pretty sure.

That particular pattern, Erbsenmuster (pea pattern) is correct for 1944. Camouflaged coveralls



were used, starting in 1943 (custom tailored in the field) by the crews because the black uniforms failed to provide any camouflage advantage when the men were outside their vehicles. Additionally, it was soon learned that the presence of soldiers in black uniforms alerted the enemy that an armored unit was in the area. The above example is made from Plane Tree (Platanenmuster), also known as Oak Leaf Pattern material, which was produced from 1936-44. W-SS panzer crew tunics were only manufactured in black, as far as I know; so, your options for that figure are limited to one choice.

Hi Miss Anna, for tanker figures you should look at the ones from Tahk. They are pricey but have incredible detail. If price is a factor, then you could use some of their replacement heads and transplant them onto Dragon or other plastic figures of your choice. Best regards.....Dale

The Battle of Kursk took place in summer. Your figure, although a very nice one, is wearing leather gloves and a turtleneck sweater - maybe a little stuffy for summer in the Ukraine!

He might be getting over a late case of the flu. You know how those summer colds tend to linger.

Yeah, could be damp and chilly in those "iron coffins".

Sorry for my lack of knowledge...