I’m primarily an aircraft guy and have tons of resources for painting aircraft but am a bit of a fish out of water when it comes to AFV’s. I’m planning on building a few vehicles to compliment my aircraft and wondered if there was a good single resource.
Thanks in advance !
There’s almost an unlimited number of references out there, however I think the three “Panzer Colors” books from Squadron Press are a great place to start. It’s really hard to pin down a single best source of info as there wasn’t a lot of standardization in this area.[2c]
A good overall guide is Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions 1939-45 by Amber Books, ISBN: 1-904687-46-6. This chronologically covers the camouflage, markings and brief unit histories of the Wehrmacht’s 28 full-strength panzer divisions. The color illustrations are somewhat small in size, but are well done. I’m waiting to see if they will produce a book on SS armor as well. A bit pricey at $35, but worth the money. Hardcover.
I have to comment about Spamicus’ recommendation based upon your need, Old Dog. While they’re a great collection of pictures, the scholarship is dated and even some has been shown to be spurious. As a basic primer for German markings and camouflage, the photos (without the captions) are a good study. However, lots of the text and captions have been shown to be questionable.
That being said, just looking at different camo patterns of many many pics (which the three Squadron Panzer Colors books do deliver) can be useful for you.
Off the top of my head, I don’t know what’s a good single source for you. Anyone?
Funny, I thought I just did?
Although I have not compared the two editions, there is a second revised edition to Panzer Colors which hopefully addresses the problems of the first set of 3 books. There used to be a 8 page errata sheet available online that corrects most (hopefully) of the errors of the first editions, however, the last time I checked, this was no longer available.
You did Kykeon. I was typing my reply as you were typing yours. LOL
Great advice!
Hey Old Dog, a good way to proceed might be to first decide what vehicles you’re planning to build, then look up any of the “OSPREY MILITARY-NEW VANGAURD” series. They have books dedicated to each individual type tank, and have a lot of color profiles and great advice. They’re not expensive–about $15.00 a pop. Or, hit us back here when you decide and we’ll give you ground rules as to period, colors used, or specific references for markings!
Squadron Signal books also signal out specific vehicles as well as one on Panzerjagers for example. They are even cheaper than Osprey books and provide better color plates IMO.
I have been researching this subject as well. Although I am not a scholar on the subject, my limited research has proven that on a large scale, the German’s were not all that “in to” camo paint scheme’s. Although there are many examples to prove other wise, they seemed to rely on a base cote and the use af actual tree limbs and branches. (For the most part)! It seems that the camo patterns were left up to the discrestion of the tank commander at the time. Some of which were actually UGLY, My 6 year old could do better! But this mentality does not go with the modeling idea that we must show our talent, and how well we can camo paint our models; so, we as a rule, use the books mentioned above that highlight the minority, rather than the majority of the armour used at that time. That being said, use your eyes, and the books mentioned and you should do well. If you want to look like an average Gerry, don’t do a whole lot. If you want to look like a spec unit…go for that then…
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RC
OK, thanks guys, I’ll check them out !
Cease, I gotta disagree with your appraisal of camo schemes, especially in light of your admission of doing “limited research”! I have a fairly huge research library and can tellyou that camo painting was really quite ubiquitous, with even the factory itself applying a standardized scheme on many vehicles. It is true that many were indeed monochromatic, but don’t forget that what looks to be a simple base coAt is often a thick coat of dust obscuring the pattern. All kinds of problems with light and shadow, poor paper quality, fading over time, can all reduce the visibility of a scheme, esp. if it’s applied with highly diluted paint. I have to say that camo painting was probably not as common in the “panzer grey” range, but in the “Dark yellow” days, it was more common than not, especially in later years when the “jabos” ruled the skies. Pick up a copy of “Tigers in Combat”(Schneider)–it has listings of every Tiger company along with how their tanks were camo’d.