Team Yankee Painting Tips Please

[Muzfish4]

Hi Team,

Following a few games of the beer/milkshake & pretzels 'Tanks: The Modern Age' my two little guys (aged 10 and have started to get interested in 'Team Yankee' and they received the starter set for Xmas. I'm not really familiar with this period at all. Can anyone suggest some painting guides for Soviet and US armour of the early 1980s?

I've had  a look at YouTube and found a few videos, but most seem to rely on airbrushes (which we don't have).  The guidance we're after doesn't have to be super detailed, just enough for younger gamers to use to get a pretty close approximation to what the vehicles they are pushing around could have looked like.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

[SJWi]

For Soviets I simply paint my vehicles in Vallejo “Russian Uniform” , and then paint some dark brown into recessed panels. I then mix a little white into the Russian Green and dry brush over the vehicle. Pretty simple but surprisingly effective. I am building an American force based on the starter set. I have made my M1s as early versions . As I understand it the early M1s and M2 Bradley’s were also painted a solid green colour, not the multi-colour MERDC. Vallejo produce a suitable colour but I can’t recall it.

[Jemima Fawr]

There's a recent discussion here on US Armour colours during the 80s: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=128973.0

As has been said, the vast majority of US M1 Abrams and M2/M3 Bradleys (including all those stationed in Germany) in the 80s were just painted plain Forest Green, which was the darker green element of 'MERDC' the most-used camouflage patterns.  A very small number of Abrams and Bradleys stationed in the USA were painted MERDC.

Pretty much everything else was painted in MERDC - 'Winter Verdant' scheme for those stationed in Germany and 'Summer Verdant' scheme for reinforcement units from the USA.

I noticed a recent news item where Team Yankee were posting the MERDC painting templates on their site.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

For some period info:

No idea how it stands up today.

[Cypher226]

The Tankopedia website has some good alternatives for the Sovs, especially if you want to branch out into other Pact nations - the Czechs, Poles and East Germans all have more or less period suitable schemes (rarely seen in the West but apparently meant to be applied if there was time in a build up to the balloon going up).

[FreakyFenton]

https://www.zinnfigur.com/Blume-P-Raketenartillerie-der-US-Army-in-Deutschland-1954-2008.html#&gid=1&pid=1

https://www.christian-schmidt.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_89_93_10_191_406&products_id=5359

These two issues of military magazines in Germany usually have shots of vehicles in camo as well as with all kinds of interesting stowage bits. They should prove easy to find after a quick google, and some can be ordered as print on demand I think.

They often contain period or current photos and are quite nice reference material.

[SJWi]

Good morning, with reference to my earlier post the Vallejo colour I have used for my Soviets is Russian Uniform (924) and the recommendation I have for the Yanks in all-over green is US Dark Green ( 893). The former was recommended by a friend more knowledgeable than I, the latter I found on a website about US Cold War vehicle colour schemes . I can recommend the Osprey mentioned in an earlier post. It dates from about 1987 and is by Stephen Zaloga who is pretty knowledgeable on these topics.

[Jemima Fawr]

Good morning, with reference to my earlier post the Vallejo colour I have used for my Soviets is Russian Uniform (924) and the recommendation I have for the Yanks in all-over green is US Dark Green ( 893). The former was recommended by a friend more knowledgeable than I, the latter I found on a website about US Cold War vehicle colour schemes . I can recommend the Osprey mentioned in an earlier post. It dates from about 1987 and is by Stephen Zaloga who is pretty knowledgeable on these topics.

Whatever colour you use for the US green, it should be exactly the same green that you're using for MERDC-camouflaged vehicles.  It was exactly the same 'Forest Green' paint.

In Humbrol terms, I use the following (all with black undercoat and dry-brush in 72 Khaki Drill):

Russian vehicles:
75 Bronze Green base coat with 150 Forest Green highlight.


US Vehicles (MERDC pattern which was applied with varying degrees of success to a standard template for each type of vehicle):
MERDC Forest Green - 116 US Dark Green (also used as the plain colour for M1 Abrams and M2/M3 Bradley)
MERDC Field Drab - 29 Dark Earth
MERDC Sand - 72 Khaki Drill and 34 White in 1:1 mix
MERDC Black - 33 Black



British vehicles:
Green bits (2/3rds of vehicle) - 75 Bronze Green base coat with 159 Khaki Drab highlight.
Black bits (1/3rd of vehicle) - 33 Black with 67 Tank Grey highlight.


Danish vehicles:
Green bits (half of vehicle) - 75 Bronze Green base coat with 80 Grass Green highlight.
Black bits (half of vehicle, including all four corners) - 33 Black with 67 Tank Grey highlight.


West German vehicles:
75 Bronze Green base coat with 155 Olive Drab highlight.


Dutch vehicles:
75 Bronze Green basecoat with 155 Olive Drab highlight (same as Germans).


Canadian vehicles:
Leopards - same as West Germans
All others (standard camouflage pattern):
Base green - 120 Light Green
Green camouflage bands - 159 Khaki Drab
Black camouflage bands - 33 Black with 67 Tank Grey highlight

[BeneathALeadMountain]

Muzfish4 I think J Fawr has pretty much covered everything but as a late addition I’ve just seen the Flames of War painting guide ‘Colours of War’ that covers WW2 and 3 is on sale in the bargain section of Northstar miniatures. I don’t know how good it is (hopefully someone here will chime in and it’ll be positive I have the previous two WW2 ones and one of them is excellent) but I’d be tempted by this as it can be open in front of you or the kids as you paint and even the WW2 sections should have relevance from a techniques point of view. I wish I had kids just so I had captive opponents, the dog will happily get involved but has little tactical nuance or focus (The parrot just likes to rampage through trees thinking he’s a T-Rex and has a tendency to steal and hoard dice).

Good luck in your indoctrination, their future spouses will not thank you but the community does 

BALM

[Muzfish4]

Thanks, team.

All advice very much appreciated.

I'll get the little dudes to read that's been suggested and they can go from there.  I'll post photos of their completed vehicles once they finish them.

So far they both like painting and gaming but their interest in WWIII was a real surprise as it's not something we ever discussed. Still, great to have some thing we all enjoy and can all do together.  As I keep telling their mother - who bemoans the expense - there are so many worse things they could be into.

[Jemima Fawr]

Here are those Team Yankee MERDC camo templates.  Very useful!

https://www.team-yankee.com/Default.aspx?tabid=878&art_id=5110

[BeneathALeadMountain]

It always surprises me when parents aren’t pleased with their children becoming gamers - a past time that involves developing patience, artistic skills, focus, reading, maths, reasoning, problem solving, often an interest in history and research, sportsmanship and observing social contracts. I think it’s mainly because they’re not interested in it and like most people see no value in something they don’t care about (and potentially see as childish). I was lucky, my parents had no interest but were more than happy for me to spend hours patiently painting or quietly playing (so much so I had an 8x4ft table in my room - something I now really miss). It’s certainly no more expensive than many hobbies and can be done quite cheaply.

Looking forward to seeing your progress,
BALM

[SJWi]

Muzfish, "bemoans the expense".....  That might be true if they are lured fully into the web of Games Workshop, but historical gaming is relatively cheap....and educational! I can think of far more expensive hobbies.  I always compare my annual expenditure to a season ticket at a major football/soccer club in the UK, or membership of a golf club. That normally settles the argument! 

[Ultravanillasmurf]

My only (sort of) MERDC camo scheme vehicle to hand.

Humbrol Dark Green, Sand and Chocolate Brown.
Thirty odd year old 20mm model of an M1A2 Giraffe.

[Muzfish4]

Thanks, all. The Little Fish have been painting and 'finished' the miniatures below:









They then decided, within 24 hours of finishing, that they don't like to colour scheme so have gone back to black undercoat and will be painting based on the above advice.

I agree there are a lot more expensive (and worse) things kids could be getting into than gaming. Mrs Fish was pleasantly surprised to see them enhancing their reading comprehension by reading (and understanding) the Team Yankee rulebook so she may come around.  For my part, I am delighted they're doing something analog and something we can all do together.