Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Great War => Topic started by: Ultravanillasmurf on 19 November 2023, 07:18:10 AM
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What colours were German armour (tanks and armoured cars) painted?
The classic A7V scheme is three colour (sand, red brown and green) camouflage with or without dividing colours, and the museum LK-2 is shown in two different three colour camouflage (brown, sand and green or grey, sand and white).
Googling shows (amongst the obviously not World War one, or indeed German items) very little. Partly I suspect my google-fu is weak, but also the scarcity of coloured images (due to the period tech) and the images are either drawings, black and white, colourised, reconstructions or models.
They do show armoured cars and tanks (A7Vs and LK) in grey as well as the colours I listed above plus some eye watering versions (such as replacing the sand with bright yellow).
So what colours do you suggest for German armour?
Currently I have an Empress LK-2 (yes, not actually used in WW1) sitting in grey primer on my paint table.
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The A7 Mephistoin the Australian museum in Brisbane is green and cream and has never been repainted
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1-germany-sturmpanzerwagen-a7v-506-mephisto/
(https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1-germany-sturmpanzerwagen-a7v-506-mephisto/)
The Armoured car in Stammheim is a sort of green grey
(https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0a/81/9f/88/world-war-i-vintage-armored.jpg)
Not up to date on the regulations though
Cheers
Matt
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My approach has been darkish grey for non-camouflaged vehicles and guns. And for when I can be bothered one of the two or three colour camouflage schemes - of which there seem to have been loads, especially for guns. Including one using a fairly bright light blue, and another with a near lime green!
I’ve used the green and cream scheme on a captured Mark IV.
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Here is a detailed colour drawing of Mephisto's triple scheme:
(https://www.greatwarspearhead.com/_Media/sturmpanzer_a7v-mephisto_med_hr.jpeg)
I have detailed descriptions of the colour schemes for all A7Vs and for many of the Beutepanzers. You can't go wrong with a straight-out-of-the factory field grey scheme for the LK-2. Otherwise use something like Mephisto; this was the general style when the three-colour schemes were used.
Here are some 6mm Beutepanzer. The Germans captured large numbers of British MkIV heavy tanks after the Battle of Cambrai. These were re-purposed as Beutepanzer where possible. This first photo shows Dora and Lissy, still in the original British colour schemes. Dora has the black crosses only; Lissy has Feldgrau stripes::
(https://www.greatwarspearhead.com/_Media/atd11-and-12_med.png)
Here is Hanni. Yellow-clay and red brown splotches have been used over the British colour scheme:
(https://www.greatwarspearhead.com/_Media/atd13_med.png)
This Beutepanzer has the Feldgrau base colour, with block camoflague patterns:
(https://www.greatwarspearhead.com/_Media/atd14_med.png)
Another Beutepanzer with Feldgrau base colour. The camoflague pattern consists of red-brown, green, and yellow-clay blotches:
(https://www.greatwarspearhead.com/_Media/atd15_med.png)
Finally, four of the ladies strutting their finery together:
(https://www.greatwarspearhead.com/_Media/german-atds_med.png)
Robert
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Mephisto has been repainted at least once, in 1988 and possibly a second time after it was inundated and then restored after the Brisbane floods in 2014.
To the best of my knowledge the scheme used is an accurate rendition and matches photos which I and a family member took in the 1970s. He was granted access to the interior. Alas the copies I had all seem to have disappeared over the years.
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Thanks everyone.
For the LK-2 I will go with the grey.
Now I need to find those I94 crosses I bought for the Empress Puma.
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Thank you all again for your help.
Here is the result.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4G1RT0VEHgDxC9uZTbEGFwyCQwOBJHJ4cMLtxZGQtm9ob9CTOaRaciOgH_bGUfkviVmcc4YTiQ7cZA2Dimws2NpB7kC9zwrzWxTeiJLMHNn0zU2snjf4w0j3JQoXWXd7xfYltcNWWCwA7ZnDCDYzJXE6TBWxHZPgkhKd4r4VpFLWc3kmKR-dWjgL6J1o/s500/lk-2-4.png)
It will be weathered eventually.
I will be using it in A War Transformed, so additional photographs will appear in my Weird War thread:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=142829.0 (https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=142829.0)
I know only two prototypes were built, so vehicle numbers would seem redundant, but for AWT I have brought forward their production as tracked vehicles are more suited to the terrain in Doggerland than wheeled armoured cars.
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Looks good, suitable rivet heavy!
I think for AWT as a tracked armoured car it will be great.
These are quite small aren’t they? They look a bit like the British Whippet, but I think they are much smaller? I got a 3d print of the Ford 3 ton tank - and that is very diddy, like the later Italian CV33s
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Yes, but not as small as an FT.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHe6H4S85Iv_HK5vNMnxL3qIPWZWbZGIkIPQSH8RiwdFhvSVvRWwJGAw--viGj7VzKqaBYbmR1a6sVhWMX89SSM9W9Q35zAOXel7zhQZRZZJ99lykr84DdBMaqVRJ7G0N1hIYqKPfcD5Y4bLzRI7mkY8SyfXJfbHpALFSMgSXgCVQtVY3aTeFr_-OZQ/s500/ft-scale-1.png)
This is an example (Empress again) I painted up as a defender for Operation Sealion so not WW1 accurate.
I will take a comparison photograph at some point.
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The real thing, in Brussels.
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TR2IsGwW3CE/WPCnx3loINI/AAAAAAAACFQ/38QiOqcujuUNtUXdEl1ZKMeEu-UxLItnACLcB/s1600/IMG_6489.JPG)
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Is it just me (to which the answer is usually: "Probably!") or is there some commonality between late WW1/early WW2 French tank camouflage colours and those of the early WW2 Japanese tanks?
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'Probably' because some of the first tanks the Japanese purchased were French?
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I vaguely remember the Vickers Export model at the Tank Museum has a variant - it must have been popular at the time.
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'Probably' because some of the first tanks the Japanese purchased were French?
Yes, that occurred to me, too! They also bought some Whippets from us, which still have the white/red/white flashes in later photographs.
Thanks!