Airfix "German reconaissance set"

[Fifer54]

Apologies for maybe asking a stupid question!

I'm primarily an aircaft modeller, but have been tempted by Airfix's "German reconaissance set" for a GB elsewhere.

The colour callouts Airfix give for the 2 finishing options offered are Humbrol 63 Sand for the Afrika Korps option, or

Humbrol 30 Dark Green, for a Russian Front option.

Now the Sand seems plausible, but Dark Green? I'm no expert (!) but I understood Wehrmacht vehicles to be dark

grey (like Humbrol 67 Tank Grey) or do Airfix know something I don't? Dark Green just doesn't seem a proper option

to me.

Are there records (or better still, photos) of Dark Green Wehrmacht vehicles, or should I just use Panzer Grey?

[Graham Boak]

Dark Green was used, but not commonly. Panzer Grey is correct for the early war years, with a grey/yellow colour (Panzer Gelb?) for the later years. Dark Green would sometimes be used as a disruptive colour. I'm not sure how good H63 Sand is for the Afrika Korps colour, either. The exact colours are available from other producers - I use WEM Colourcoats but they are temporarily unavailable.

I could dig out better references, but how fussy are you?

[Fifer54]

Thanks, Graham, your reply is very helpful: I've seen Humbrol 93 Desert Yellow and 94 Brown Yellow recommended for Afrika Korps schemes in

the past. Perhaps either of those would be better, both being rather "browner" than Sand.

I just didn't want to make a complete fool of myself, painting the vehicles Dark Green, when I already had doubts about its appropriateness.

Panzer Grey it is then!

[JackG]

For the European theater (this includes Russia), vehicles left the factory in panzer grey. This changed to dark yellow in February 1943. Very late war, with disruption at factories and shortages ... not going in that rabbit hole. Back to the dark yellow finish, units in the field were provided with red brown and olive green paint to apply extra camou as necessary. This was in the form of a paste, so depending on what the troops used to thin, and how thin they mixed this paste, will give some variation on these extra colours. Though I suppose it's possible the whole vehicle could be painted with the olive green paste, it wouldn't be the norm.

For Africa, the first vehicles and equipment were shipped in panzer grey finishes. Official desert colours were establish in March 1941. The following year, again late March, a second set of new desert colours were created.

Good breakdown here of the RAL colours, with Humbrol equivalents where possible:

http://www.miniatures.de/colour-ral-farben.html

regards,

Jack

[Fifer54]

Thanks for that info and link, Jack. Interesting stuff on there . .