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Colour photos of WW2 armour
Pinky:
Happy Chinese New Year everyone...
I spent a bit of time digging up genuine colour photos of WW2 vehicles, to get a better idea of the colours and the weathering. Here are a few (I'm sure some of you have seen some of them before). I've tried to find photos that haven't been re-touched, or colourised. I haven't adjusted them at all. There are a lot of famous colour photos from Signal, but they tend to be very washed out, probably as a result of the limitations of colour printing at the time.
US jerrycans. The colour seems different to olive drab on most of them, but you can see some darker ones. Note the weathering, and the spot of red near the handle.
A beautifully clear photo of a jeep (it looks fairly new). Note the colour of the stowage, and the way the dust has accumulated.
A French Sherman, probably an M4A2 and probably also quite new. Note how dark the olive drab is, and the light colour of the dust. The appearance of the tracks and stowage is also interesting.
Early Churchills in training. This shows how mud accumulates, and the different colours that result as it dries. Note also how the paint tends to wear away rather than chip.
Pinky:
A dark grey Panzer IV. The dust contrasts strongly with the grey. There is a large collection of similar colour slides of WW2 German subjects released by Bundesarchiv.
Another Panzer IV, in close up. This shows how the paint becomes shiny from wear. I think there is a bit too much blue in this photo - apparently a common issue with certain types of colour film at the time. Note how monochrome the tank is, especially with the layer of dust. There seems to be some chipping around the front mudguards - but almost no rust.
A Panzerjaeger I. The grey looks much more weathered, and may have faded a bit. Note how bright the bare metal is where the track teeth meet the wheels.
Pinky:
A Panzer IV of Panzer Lehr in a classic 3-colour scheme. While the colours have been sprayed fairly evenly, it's quite rough. This is how it was usually done, not the elaborate patterns depicted on many models. I think the barrel is grey, possibly still in heat-resistant primer.
A Panzer IV from a column knocked out in Italy. A combination of dust and the effects of a fire has almost obliterated the colour scheme.
Another knocked out Panzer IV from the same column. You can see vestiges of the colour scheme under the layers of dust and grime. Note again how roughly applied the colours are.
A destroyed Marder. This exceptionally clear photo shows that dark yellow could be almost pink in hue. The camo pattern is very crude and might have been applied by hand. Note the absence of chipping. And rust.
A column of StuG IIIs in Russia. This is one of the few relatively clear photos I could find of Panzers in a clean 3-colour scheme. Again, the dark yellow looks almost pink, and contrasts a lot with the other 2 colours. It seems too pale, but based on the previous photo it appears to correct.
Pinky:
Finally, a fascinating photo of a Panther production line, which apparently came from Steve Zaloga. The comments were added as part of a discussion about primer colour.
Captain Blood:
These are great. Thanks for sharing.
Very revealing, as your comments intimate... Shiny metal where wheels meet tracks - something virtually never shown by modellers; hastily and roughly daubed on camo schemes - not the pinpoint accurate décor schemes beloved of AFV modellers; and a lot less chipping than you see on most models (mine included!)
Really interesting.
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