I am wondering what the school of thought is on tools that are attached outside of the vehicle? Should they be painted as if they were already attached when the vehicle was painted or painted a separate color to correspond with the tool?

Typically I have been painting them separate with wood and steel as required because I feel it gives more detail to the model.

I was a US Army M1 tanker so all our tools were kept in the sponson boxes and we normally spray painted them black or left them as is but it seems a lot of other modern army armor vehicles have their tools on the outside of the vehicle so just curious what the school of thought is on them.

I paint them separately and in varied colors. When I was in the Artillery (23+ yrs) most of our tools were attached to the outside of the vehicles and eventally were spray painted either black or black/green for inspections. However, when the tools were new, they could be wood/steel, or fiberglass w/yellow or red handles because the crew lost one and had to buy a replacement from Home Depot or wherever. I think it looks better with a bit of color too.

Probably not the answer you’re looking for— but both ways. In peacetime, there is always time for tool maintenance and accountability, not necessarily true in wartime. There are some famous photos of M4s and M5s being repainted in the field by Engineer and Ordnance units during WWII, without removing any of the BII or OVM. So, I think it depends largely on what time period you’re modeling. In my unit in the 70s we painted everything on the exterior with OD spray cans, including shovels, mattock heads, and tanker’s bars. In some cases, they’d been repainted many times. I suspect the old adage “if it doesn’t move paint it” applies here. Although it might not apply to new or replacement tools when there isn’t time to paint when issued in the field in combat conditions.
VR, Russ

It's a good answer, just wondering what others do. I tend not to follow the rivet counter method and stress over whether I have the right shade of color for something or the correct camouflage pattern. I build for my own pleasure but still try to keep things semi close to the real thing while still adding some extra details.

Ray, when I build, I try to concentrate on the difference in “texture” between certain features. Tools and other equipment will usually be a slightly different shade than armor plate, if they are both the same color. I accomplish this by either adding a little darker or lighter color to the original paint when I paint those items such as shovels, mattocks, pry bars, tow bars, etc. I also give them a bit of wear if I want them to depict a well used tool. This “pops” them out of the background of the vehicle a bit, and makes them look like separate pieces, rather than the same old basic shade.
VR, Russ