I was wondering about the tools on tanks. The wood handles to be specific. On American tanks, would the handles be “bare” wood. Or would they be painted OD or whatever color of the veihicle is.I’ve never been in the military. But all the surplus stores I’ve been to, I’ve noticed that Uncle Sam likes to paint everything OD.
Also, do you think the axis used bare wood handles?
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Some modern tools come painted entirely in the forest green color that the rest of the vehicle comes in (base color of the NATO scheme). Sometimes the tools arrive in an “off the shelf” condition and look just as they would if you bought them at t local hardware store. Replacement tools are locally purchased at the store.
Some crews may repaint them with commercially available black or OD green spray paint, others may leave them in the off the shelf condition. Sometimes units have SOPs directing the crew to repaint them, usually crews will paint them in preparation for some type of layout inspection.
[#ditto] ditto to everything Rob said…
and take into consideration the amount of usage the tool may have received. Wrenches are usually thrown around and wouldnt hold paint for long. Painted wood can flake or wear off with use also.
Thank you, for the info, guys. I’ve been wondering for a while.
Hey Matt,
On this last Panther build I substituted the handles on the tools (and the jacking block) with real wood (shaved and shaped matchsticks). It seemed to work pretty well and was a fairly easy chore.
I also drybrushed the shovel, etc. with SNJ aluminum powder, whic I think gives a realistic effect to the metal parts.
Hope these techniques might help you…
Regards,
Steve