Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Well my books haven't come in yet but I'm pretty sure I want to paint my tank with a paint scheme from the Battle of Kursk.

I've attached one image and I wanted to know if you guys knew what the Tamiya Paint colours would be? Also does anyone have any other example of paint schemes from this battle?

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

This link has some from around that battle date.
http://www.alanhamby.com/paint.html
The accuracy of such colour paintings is always subject to dispute, but I'd guess and say you could try dark yellow with thinner (than the one s you posted) green bands/squiggles or dark yellow with red-brown bands as two other possible schemes. I don't have the tamiya paint numbers, but have been told elsewhere that the tamiya dark yellow isn't dark enough (but that is another dispute than seems to go on forever).
Geoff

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

I actually have that link already, thanks.

This is just frustrating trying to find a good example of a color scheme from this battle.

Some of my prints like the one below show a brown and reddish color.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Tigers in Combat 1 states dark yellow and green olive for 503, dark yellow with rust brown for 505. I don't have vol. 2, so I can't quote for the SS and named SpzAbt. I'm told it (TIC) is a good source. Almost all colour pictures are someone's interpretation. Even original colour photos may be out in colour balance. The good part of that is, no one can definitely say that you're wrong if you put your own interpretation on the information available. As for the patterns, you can see some in the black and white shots, but some only show up very poorly, and almost none at all show the top surfaces, for example.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

That's one helluva picture dazman.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Here's a few-
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...eWoz/tt1-1.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...eWoz/tt2-1.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...iveWoz/tt3.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...iveWoz/tt4.jpg

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

If you want to narrow down colors and pattern you should select a unit to model the tank after. Each one did their own thing, even among the individual companies you'll find distinctly different patterns and paints used.

Most tanks before this battle would have been completed in Dunkelgelb - RAL 7028, which Tamiya offers as XF-60. The additional colors, RAL 6003 and RAL 8017 were to be applied over this. Some units applied them at depot level by spray painting, some by brush. Other units recieved these colors in paste form and used whatever liquid they could get their hands on to dilute and apply it with whatever they could get their hands on. It wasn't unusual for them to use gasoline or canal water to mix the paste into paint and then apply it with a brush or broom. That being said, there is no right or wrong color for obvious reasons. Pick something you like and have fun with it!

I've taken a liking to Xtracrylix and always used Floquil Polly Scale paints. Tamiya paints are great too but smell, the others aren't noxious and I don't get dirty looks from my wife!

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Thanks Guys, that'll get me started.

Here's another print.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

great pictures all around. Nice ref. material. Thanks for sharing,

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

I found these when searching for paint schemes.

Here is a good link for Panther Tanks

http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panthers.pdf

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Another good site on details of the Tiger. Lots of closeup shots.

http://tigertank-h-e-181.com/index.htm

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

The 1/16th Tiger that Dazman pictured above is mine. Before painting, I did some research into the Battle of Kursk to find paint schemes but came up empty. Any colour plates that you find in books are only artists' renderings and not actual colour pictures. I did however find a picture of the original S01 "Das Reich" tiger that I modelled. I then had to make some assumptions. I knew that Tigers used reds, yellows and greens for camo schemes and since the battle was in the summer of 1943, I made the assumption that the colours used on the real S01 were yellow and green to blend in with the landscape around Kursk. I also wanted my Tiger to stand out by not using the reds and greens that are more commonly seen.

But I guess we will never know for sure what colours S01 wore. Hope this helps.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

nice tank. like the verlinden figure as well

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Check out the second picture. That Tiger I has not only steel wheels but the transport tracks as well.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

This is the response I received from the artist, Nicolas Trudgian, concerning the paint schemes he used in both the above prints I posted.

Many thanks for the kind comments about Cold Front. I do enjoy painting tanks.

As for colour and other details I get a lot of help from enthusiasts who specialise in tanks. However when it comes to paint schemes if you can't get an actual artist's airbrush profile of a specific tank then you can't go far wrong by using the following. ..... After the Germans went over to sand yellow base coat instead of grey the splodges of cammo were done in a variety of styles often added to in the field ( especially with white paint in winter of course ). The two over painted colours were reddy brown and olive green sometimes applied with air gun but also with a rough brush technique. Once you cover the tank then with dirt you can just about get away with anything.

I certainly have seen summer cammo with just the red brown over the yellow base coat without any green which I guess would have been ideal for the dusty summer colours of the Kursk landscape.

I hope this is helpful.

Best regards,

Nick

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Here's the site I got it from.

http://www.ssocr.com/tiger/tiger.htm

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

I found this site with profiles of Tiger I and Tiger II's broken down by each division. This is the index... [link]http://tiger-ostpanzer.nm.ru/camouflage.htm[/link] and each page looks like this... [link]http://tiger-ostpanzer.nm.ru/Colors/sPzAbt505.htm[/link]

Whilst there is no "right" answer regarding colours as explained above, this is a useful guide and might inspire some new ideas.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Regarding "cammo" on tanks --- I got into tank modelling back about 1970. Hobbyists were hotly debating the issue then and they still are.

The info back then was MUCH more limited compared with what you can find now. Which--and this is just my personal opinion...is far more info than you want...;) !! When I was in the RCN and we "painted ship" , if there were 2 cans of paint side by side they were definitely NOT always the "same"colour --nor was either necessarily a match a match for the paint that was already on.. I'm sure others who've been in the carious services have found the same thing.

As long as you don't paint your Kursk tank as it would have appeared in Normandy, you're pretty safe:
Good Luck---!

Paul McD.

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

The links don't seem to work?

Can you check them?

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

It works when I do it... it is in Russian I think so you might have to ignore translations offerings... here is the index - you can link to specific battalions from there... [link]http://tiger-ostpanzer.nm.ru/camouflage.htm[/link] or just cut and paste http://tiger-ostpanzer.nm.ru/camouflage.htm

RE: Kursk Paint Schemes
 

Wouldnt the Das Reich tigers still have had s-mine launchers in summer 1943?