Just wondering what color the insides of hatches were on German vehicles in general (Sd.Kfz. 234/2 in particular). Interior buff like everything else? Or were they painted the exterior color as they would be open for considerable amounts of time? All help appreciated!
I’d go with dark yellow to be safe. I guess you could stretch it and make the late war Puma have primer red interior hatches… but not the ivory white for sure. THat appears on a handful of early war tanks and was quickly dispensed with.
The interior color for German armor is the Interior Buff also called Elfenbein (Light Ivory, I think), ONLY in open top vehicles, where you can see the interior from the sky, the interior is the same color as the base paint, in most cases panzer gray or dunkelgelb, depending on the period. The interior side of the hatches must be painted the same color as the base paint. if your base paint is panzer gray, you should paint them dark grey, and if your base paint is dunkelgelb, the interior side of the hatches must be dunkelgelb. I know thah a lot of very late German armor (like the Sd. kfz. 234/4 or the Hetzer late version) had the interiors left in the anti-rust Oxide Red base coat, and I think the same goes for the hatches, I think… So for your Sd. Kfz. 234/2, the base coat is obviously dunkelgelb, so the interior side of the hatches must be painted dunkelgelb too, as the turret interior. The interior of the vehicle itself is Elfenbein… Hope this helps. Most regards.
José
Exactly what I needed! And actually what I had assumed the answer would be…although I didn’t know about the oxide red base coat. Is that what’s under the Interior Buff? Was that always the primer color for interior? Thanks again fellas!
Hold on there Jose, as a general statement this is accepted, but there are many photos of early war panzers (even initial and early Tigers) in gray and dunkelgelb with eifelbein inside hatch surfaces. It is not a cut and dry rule.
regards,
Steve
Any thoughts about wheter this is down to the manufactoring factory to decide on their own practice / late deliveries from the German WWII manufacturers trying to catch up / sheer lack of grasping the complexity on our side?