I can not for the life of me get a good green color on German AFV’s from WW2. I;m talking about the green color with the red-yellow-green pattern of camo. I tried Model Master Dark Green and it’s way too dark and a little too much brown in it for my tastes. I tried Tamiya XF61 dark green and the model almost looked black after a few coats.
I found this guys model on www.missing-lynx.com and this is the color I want. Any tips on how to get this color?
Another model by the same guy…
Have you tried to Email the builder? Can you get his address off the site?
Just lighten up your dark green with some yellow , many of the ML modelers use humbrol paints for their projects .
There is a bit of a pi$%in match over the accuracy of these " lighter colors "
I tend to agree with it .
All of the literature I have read on this has not suggested that lighter colors were ever used .
But anyways to get this effect .
Lighten it up a bit with yellow and mist with a very light green /buff filter .
A filter is a strong wash , instead of a 10/90 thinner / paint mix ,…go harder with 30/70 ratio .
Just airbrush this over the whole tank , it will dust it up a bit
Thanks guys. You don’t think this light pea green was used? I have not found any reference pics to suggest it either, but alot of the modelers seem to like the color as do I. It reminds me of the color of this dirty old truck my grandpa used to have 
I can’t reach the guy because ML doesn’t have theri e-mail addresses with their project, so that’s kind of a bummer.
Go to the MOdelMaster rack and check out the German colors for WWII. There’s a nice oilivegrun that looks nice in a 3 color scheme.
Soapbox time:
Instead of using other models as “reference,” find some original photographs and compare the shade differences and work form there. In the research model, using a model as a reference would the equivalent of reading someone’s retelling of a diary. You want to get as close to the original item as possible, if you’re looking to replicate a prototype. Using a photograph of a model assumes the modeler had an accurate reference and that he replicated this precisely and that the film/digital medium captered it accurately and that the processor/book printer and/or monitor are all flawless in their representations of the model. This leaves you at least 4 or 5 iterations of color from the original. Now if the modeler himself used a model, you’ve doubled your distance fromthe original.
This reliance on models as reference material has led modelers to use excessive weathering, fading, mud and paint chipping all in the name of “Realism.”
I doubt it was used , but it does look nice , I like the lighter colors , they bring out details much better .
What would be interesting to do is build one of the panthers on display as a war memorial in some town years after the war. The colors would be faded, rust streaks would be prevelent. All kinds of weathering possabilities would be possible.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the green color varied from a light green to a dark green, depending on the thinner used by the guys who put the pait onto the vehicle, and by how they put it on. So is it posible that that shade could have been acheived? Please correct me if I am mistaken, as I very well could be wrong.
Get a bottle of Pollyscale or modelmaster (cant remember which one makes it) the color is listed as Panzer Olive Green
Good luck
I also tried Tamiya Dark Green and thought it to be too dark. I now use Tamiya flat green (XF-5 I believe), which IMO looks a lot better than the dark green, despite the Tamiya instructions recommending to use dark green.
I might give the XF5 a go, and I’ll check out the panzer olive grun, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. I might have to get it online.
I could have swore I read where the greens varied from very dark to a pea green.
The tank in Saving Private Ryan seemed to be a very light pes green like the pics of the tank I posted.
Depending on the age of the paint just about any “shade” is possible. During my time in the Cavalry I can tell you that many of the older tracks looked totally different from sun bleaching, scrubbing at the wash rack and foot traffic about the surfaces. Also I beleive the paint was thinned by the crews during WW2 so depending on the thickness of the paint being applied in combination with different undercoats could indeed present some wide variations in color. Just my $0.02
From Sqaudron Panzer Colors Page 61:
"It should be noted here that because of the methods of application, and the concentrated nature of the paste paints, the colors were so varied that standard references were impossible. The olive green paste in the can was nearly black-when scrubbed full strength onto a vehicle finish, it would often appear as a very dark green. On the other hand, thinned with mud or water and applied as thin coating, it could appear alsmost a “pea green” shade. When porperly thinned and sprayed on so it completely covered the base coat, it was a medium dark olive green, "