Which color(s) were more prevelant on the 251/1-grey or yellow? Also, I read somewhere that very often crews applied camo in the field with brushes. Is this right, and if so, what were some of the patterns? Thanx.

Art

I believe it depends on the period. At the beginning of the war, grey was the standard colour on German armoured vehicles. But then in the 1942-1943 area, someone decided to make desert yellow the standard, to which crews often painted on green and brown.









Hope this is of some use to you.

PS: Just found that on 1943-02-18, the order was given for all vehicles to be painted 'dunkelgeld,' or dark yellow to those of you who don't speak German.

Just to set the record straight, and to any who are not aware. Yes, the order to change to dunkelgelb was in Feb.43, but:


Equipment & panzers used in Sept. 1939 ( Campaign in Poland) to July 1940 ( Campaign in France and the Low Countries ) was painted in a two-tone camouflage pattern ratio of 2/3 dark grey & 1/3 dark brown.

The general Army order to paint the Panzers and other equipment in the single color " dark grey (Dunkelgrau ) " was not signed until 31 July 1940 - well after the Campaign in France had ended.


Getting back to Art's question, usually Art, the color's and pattern's used would best suit the surroundings of the terrain in which the vehicle was fielded. This decision was usually left to the vehicle or platoon leader ( zugfurher ). ...... And yes, crews used brushes, mop-heads, old rags, and could also have been sprayed in the field if a compressor was on hand, and when time permitted.

- ralph

The Ausf 'Cs' will (depending on the time frame) be either Grey or Sand.

The Ausf 'D' (the last version) will be Sand.

However, as Dave pointed ot there were an extraordinary number of two-tone & three-tone camo schemes along with whitewashed vehicles.

As we're still waiting for the first Ausf 'A' and 'B' to hit the market, what version are you building?

I would suggest a good, inexpensive guide to the 251, this is superb (and includes paint chips!)

Modelling the SdKfz 251... ...Jim

As usual, you guys came through with just what I needed.
Jim: It's Tamiya's 251/1-no version indicated that I can find.
Thanx again everyone, especially fot the pics.

Art

Art, it's the Ausf 'C' (Mark III). I wish you the best of luck wth this, you are going to need it...Jim

I am halfway through this kit myself, just need to finish the painting/weathering. Watch out for the doors on the back, they can be made to open but its a real pain to do. Also the front wheels can turn and steer, but again it is hard to implement. I also found that the tracks are just a little too short, and pulled the driver wheel to a slight angle. I'll post some pics on here soon, good luck with your build Art!

Jim/Dave:
I was toying with the idea of building the Hanomag as a wreck. Thanx for making up my mind.

Art

I built that model a while back and I did sand off the rivits and scratched built a lot more interier than came with the kit.. but the final word is when I run out of room in my display cabinet... this thing will be the first display to be retired....