Hi all,
Just what color is “Russian Green?” And what about diffrent eras? Humbrol have #114 Russian Green, I did a T-62 in it many years ago and it looked pretty good against research photos, but Russian photos of the era tend to be grainy and difficult to assess…
What shades would experienced armor builders recommend for Russian WWII armor, and for modern types, eg. T-72, BMP-2, BMD, etc? I work mostly in enamels, but acrylics are good too.
I have a BMP underway, and a very pale yellow-beige is recommended, presumably an Afghanistan desert cammo scheme, Humbrol 71 Satin Oak was the suggested color, but this seems very pale. I’ve seen T-72s finished in a desert tan shade but not yet found reference images of such a scheme in service – any advice would be greatly appreciated. Does anyone know if there are any online sources for this kind of data, in the English language?
Best wishes,
TB379
Ahhh the Holy Grail of paint questions…second only to the “correct” shade of OD green for US armor. [(-D] The problem with Russian Armor Green, at least for WW2 subjects, is that it varied from factory to factory and wasn’t a standard green. Pre-war/Early war tanks (1940-41) seem to have been more of an olive green/olive drab color vs. a “tractor green” which is what is more commonly associated with “Russian Armor” green. For the earlier type of green, I’ve experimented with combining Model Master Green Drab and Olive Drab and that seems to be close enough. For the later green, I combine Model Master Russian Armor Green and Panzer Schwarzgrau as I feel the straight Russian Armor Green is to “minty” green in the finish by itself, but that’s just my own personal taste.
Can’t comment on post-war/Cold War/modern colors in a meaningful way since that’s outside my normal scope.
Hi wbill76,
Thanks for the tips – I know what you mean about the strait shade feeling a bit minty. I’ll try the combinations you suggest, they sound pretty good!
Ah, but what about more contemporary colors, and those tan schemes… Maybe they’re export colors used by Arab countries, but I can’t be sure. Russian armor is fascinating but researching it is a headache, and one tends to be suspicious of the schemes suggested by model companies, even Zvezda in Russia, though one would think they were in the best position to obtain this sort of information. I Google-searched on the term “BMP” but nine tenths of what I found related to image files!
Best wishes, and thanks,
TB379
Basic rule of thumb on a Soviet/Russian armor green. It’s gonna vary. I recently served a tour in the Balkans where I saw quite a bit of this equipment close up. Some was in an olive green similar to forest green but with a distinct olive tone, some was in a grayish green, similar to the old Humbrol 114. And other items were an olive drab shade, darker and greener than 34087, but not as dark as 34086. For the BMP you are building Polly Scale makes a good “Soviet Sand” color that is just a touch darker than the oak reccommended. In photos I have seen, this goes with the most of the shades of green mentioned depending on the item and place. As far as teh T-72’s go, I once researched it years back and came up with the source of Iraqi T-72’s being of Polish build and delivered in a “cardboard brown” color, which would weather and fade in the climate. Of course they would later be repainted in a color used by the Iraqis as needed. Captured vehicles I have seen in various post musuems were often repainted in US sand unfortunately. Good luck and I hope this helps
Hi Stikpusher,
Many thanks, that’s just the kind of info I needed. So, I guess the rule is ‘mix the best shade you can because there’s no hard and fast rule.’ That’s something along the lines of the variety possible in Wermacht schemes, what with the tonal variation due to degree of thinning of the old paste-type paints – inasmuch as that it gives the modeller plenty of legitimate elbow-room!
Interesting, ‘cardboard brown’ as the ME delivery scheme from the Polish factory… I saw a T-72 in the reader gallery pages at Zvezda’s site in a color I’d certainly have described as ‘cardboard.’ One good thing about monocolor schemes, they give you a clear shot at subtle tonal variation and weathering tricks, for anything from European mud to the sands of Afghanistan.
Best wishes, and thanks again,
TB379