Condor Legion FlaK18

[scrivs]

I am about to embark on painting a Empress FlaK36 with Condor Legion crew, however a couple of question have come up that Google has been unable to clarify:

Were the LuftWaffe crews in the standard 'LuftWaffe Uniform' ? I planned to use Vallejo 816 LuftWaffe Uniform.

What colours were the guns? Google draws a complete blank and I suspect Vallejo 995 German Grey. However, this one seems to have a banded pattern, maybe even three colours:



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Artillery-Legion-Condor-Lucas-Molina/dp/0764332317

[scrivs]

And then I find this:



http://www.network54.com/Forum/110741/thread/1243995323/1244131496/8,8+cm+FlaK+18+(Gruppe+F.88+of+Legion+Condor,+Gandesa,+spring+1938)

I was not expecting that range of colours.

[Dan]

I would have thought a base colour of grey with bands of earth brown and mid green.

[Durutti]

Buntfarbenanstrich is the scheme you may like to consider, German pre-war camp pattern using three colours, there is a decent Faceache page for the scheme, with lots of pics
https://www.facebook.com/Buntfarbenanstrich

The colours quoted are
Nr. 17 Erdgelb-matt (“matt earth yellow”)
Nr. 28 Grün-matt (“matt green”)
Nr. 18 Braun-matt (“matt brown”)

The paint colours are not the same as the later three colour scheme adopted in 1943, the flak gun pic posted is in the later scheme, so the colours are incorrect.

In  July 1937 the Germans switched to the new Dunkelbraun Nr.45 and Dunkelgrau color scheme, but many vehicles retained the early pattern until well into 1938, when all vehicles were orered to be painted in the grey brown scheme.


Here's a few samples.




Uniforms, in an effort to disguise the make up of the force, and make them look less "German" the troops were kitted out in a Khaki uniform, based on a more Spanish look, they also kitted themselves out in local items too.




<a href="http://s732.photobucket.com/user/higgsnfw/media/Spanish%20Civil%20War/mainegauche06_zps6ee9746f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img



if you want to consider a different tow for the 88mm, they did use the Henschel truck in Spain.
I'm going to modify the Perry Miniatures Afrika Korp crew for my 88mm.
Hope it helps mate, look forwards to seeing the finished model 

[Arlequín]

Durutti has it. The Kondor Legion's and other German vehicles etc., supplied to the Nationalists, were in their then-current Wehrmacht camouflage, itself going through a process of change (which in their final phases were austerity measures intended to cut down on the cost/amount of paint being used!).

Each successive change was initially only applied to 'factory painted' new vehicles, with units retro-painting their current stock as both availability of paint and 're-painting' schedules allowed. Some German army vehicles (trucks etc.) were still in the old 'three colour' scheme in 1939, despite the original 'official' change from sand/green/brown being in '36 (or '37, or something like that).

Most of the stuff making its way to Spain was equipment being replaced in the German army, so was essentially surplus and still in the older 3 colour camouflage style. If and when they got re-painted in Spain (not often I guess, as captured Republican T-26 tanks mostly stayed in their original Russian paint scheme) it would be in whatever colours the Spanish had available, which were not so different in any case.

A few authors 'assume' that the Panzer I got its nickname 'negrillo' because of its grey paint scheme (despite negrillo specifically referring to 'black')... which it didn't ever have in Spain.   

[scrivs]

Wow, thanks chaps for some excellent references.

I now need to refer back to the 'owner' of the 88 and find out what he wants.