Color question, Soviet armor

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Hi,

Back to hobby after 18 years:)

I am building my first armor: T-34-85. I was told that Olive Green color will be suitable for this tank. I’ve got Testor Panzer Olive Green 1943 paint. But I don’t want T-34 to look like a Nazi-wagen. Does anyone know what I can mix it up with to get more Soviet color?

I think Soviet is a bit greener, but me being color blind doesn’t help.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

2

There is good info on here if you do a search on “russian green”. I’m not trying to give you the old “use the search button”, honeslty, I just don’t recall the specifics.

IIRC, there was no standard color like the US had with OD. That said, it was a dark green, not a bright green. A couple mfrs make “russian armor green,” Model Master Acryl for one, I just picked some up.

Good luck

Bill

3

Russian WWII armor green is so fraught with speculation that you can feasibly use just about any green color and no one’s going to be any wiser that your choice is “wrong”.

I would just stay away from bright greens, or, obviously “Panzer Green”. Try Tamiya’s
“Khaki Drab”–it’s a suitably dark, gloomy green shade. Or just about any “Dark Green”.

4

Soviet WW2 tanks are “officailly” painted ina color called 4BO green. It is a medium to dark olive green. From what can be found online, that color is near the FS colors of forest green 34127 or medium green 34102. When aged and faded it can be near interior green 34151 in tone and hue. Or several companies (Testors, Polly Scale, Xtra color) make various shades of Russian armor/tank green that will work also.

5

Thanks guys!

Doog, is “Dunkelgrun RLM 82 1/2” - “Dark Green”? :slight_smile: I want to try to mix it with Panzer Olive green to darken it…

If mixing something up will not work I’ll just get “russian armor green”.

6

Use the Russian Armor Green–if you stated that you don’t want t “Nazi-wagen”, in my opinion there would be no better way to get that look than by using a derivative if Panzer Olive Green, which has quite a distinctive hue to it. [:)]

Use the Russian Armor Green.

7

Thread Highjack!

Is there an ‘official’ color for Soviet armor circa 1960’s-70’s? For instance, my BMP-1, would the color be different that a t-34/85? What year (appx) did they make the switch?

Thanks!

8

I’ve heard that, over time, 4BO would fade to a darker green than its original hue. This is contrary to what you might think but its what I was told at a seminar during this year’s AMPS International show in Havre de Grace, MD. Apparently, the lighter pigments in the mix fade with time and exposure, leaving the darker green. Don’t know if any one else had heard of this but the argument was fairly convincing, with photos and what not.

In short, the green color of a soviet tank in world war II could probably vary greatly from tank to tank, as others have already said. So as long as you don’t use some outlandish shade of green, like lime or something, I don’t think any one can (or should) argue with you.

Just my two cents…

Jon

9

Yap…

I’ll probably buy the proper color, I still have some problems with dark undercoat:

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so I will not be able to do anything today anyway.

Thanks for averting me from Panzer color, I don’t see the difference, but my wife says there is[:)]

10

Cold war Soviet tank green was an olive green shade, the pieces I have seen can be similar to Forest Green, but with a definite more olive hue. No telling when the switch was made, but a SWAG says during the late 50s or early 60s. In the late 80s, with the adoption of multicolor camoflage schemes, they switched to a lighter grayish green similar to SAC bomber green.