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Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:17 am
by ronnie42
Have a look at this.
http://www.aboutww2militaria.com/german ... a-536.html
Don't think they would be painted for safety reasons. Looked this up as a mate gave me insulated tubes made of the same material. Its darker but never been exposed to daylight .
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 9:41 pm
by 43rdRecceReg
Interesting website. Yes, you would think if they went to the trouble of camouflaging a set of wire cutters, identical to the ones attached to tanks, then other tools and equipment would merit the same treatment. Water bottles, binoculars, webbing, jerry cans and more certainly did undergo camo treatment; even this Africa Korps periscope wore a colour disguise:

- Africa Korps trench periscope
- Afrika Korps periscope.jpg (20.3 KiB) Viewed 1531 times
In the course of rummaging on the net, I did come across this useful article on British camouflage patterns and types throughout WW2..
http://www.wwpd.net/2015/09/hiding-in-p ... e-and.html
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:22 pm
by Maccrage
Not sure about tanks, but WW2 USN camouflage instructions directed that all topside equipment, i.e. stretchers, fire extinguishers, tools, hoses, be painted or stained the camouflage color of the deck or bulkhead they were attached to.
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 11:45 pm
by ronnie42
The wire cutters have no overspray or paint drips on the metal , its the natural colour of the insulated resin handles don't know about the black end caps . Looks like the resin is breaking down.
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 1:31 am
by Maccrage
ronnie42 wrote:The wire cutters have no overspray or paint drips on the metal , its the natural colour of the insulated resin handles don't know about the black end caps . Looks like the resin is breaking down.
Bakelite. Also used for the MP-40 lower receiver. They used it for jewelry too, because of its color.
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 11:35 am
by Afrikakorps
So, without high jacking this thread, what colour should I paint the spare tracks on the side of a panther or king tiger?
Would they be bare metal ? Perhaps black like a shovel blade or sledgehammer. Or would the crew have painted over them in whatever camouflage the tank was.
I haven’t seen too many colour pictures to give me a clear indication.
Your thoughts gentlemen.
Cheers Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 1:22 pm
by Max-U52
Afrikakorps wrote:So, without high jacking this thread, what colour should I paint the spare tracks on the side of a panther or king tiger?
Would they be bare metal ? Perhaps black like a shovel blade or sledgehammer. Or would the crew have painted over them in whatever camouflage the tank was.
I haven’t seen too many colour pictures to give me a clear indication.
Your thoughts gentlemen.
Cheers Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If the camo was painted in the field the track links will probably be the same color as the camo, but if it was painted in the factory the track links will probably just be dark grey or black color.
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 3:01 pm
by 43rdRecceReg
Max-U52 wrote:Afrikakorps wrote:So, without high jacking this thread, what colour should I paint the spare tracks on the side of a panther or king tiger?
Would they be bare metal ? Perhaps black like a shovel blade or sledgehammer. Or would the crew have painted over them in whatever camouflage the tank was.
I haven’t seen too many colour pictures to give me a clear indication.
Your thoughts gentlemen.
Cheers Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If the camo was painted in the field the track links will probably be the same color as the camo, but if it was painted in the factory the track links will probably just be dark grey or black color.
I think that's what I was really getting at, Gary.

I suspect a lot of hard pressed units would simply have sprayed
everything- including spare tracks Olive drab (allies), or triple-tone (Germans) later in the war, or some form of sandy/ dark yellow during the to-ing and fro-ing melees of the desert campaigns. Tanks arriving on trains for the Kursk metal on metal mashup, would probably have sported factory fresh livery...but not for long
But, overspraying spare tracks, while allowing significant hints of bare (dark grey) metal to peep through (weathering effects), would seem like one valid option for tank model painting.

Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 5:36 pm
by 43rdRecceReg
Hmm..I wonder what sort of campaign emergency led to this subtle outcome

:

- Zer Pink Pants-sir
- Pink Panzer...jpg (55 KiB) Viewed 1461 times
Re: Were tank tools and spares the same colour as the tank?
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 1:33 am
by Afrikakorps
43rdRecceReg wrote:Hmm..I wonder what sort of campaign emergency led to this subtle outcome

:
Pink Panzer...jpg
Perhaps it is pink piñata camouflage

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