RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Is the real Tiger 131 actually Dunkelgelb (Tamiya TS-3...XF 60), or Desert Yellow (Tamiya XF 59)? Maybe it's none of these. Yes, it's possible to see a hint of camo on 131, implying two shades of paint were used; but does anyone know what these are, and how they can be replicated?
A second query: has anyone an idea why Tamiya Tiger 1s appear to require two batteries, where other models are supplied with a two-way adaptor enabling both DMD units to share the single battery?
Why should it need two, when the beefy KT can get away with one only? Does it really make any difference ?

I think I may be able to save you one small headache, Highlander, when it comes to the color of paint. In my aircraft days we had numerous and lengthy debates at FSM about the "correct" colors of our models. Some guys wanted their models to be exactly the same color as the real thing, but they kept forgetting one key factor. If you paint a tank, or a BF109, take the can of paint you use and put the leftovers away on a shelf, park the tank, or the world's greatest fighter plane out on the tarmac or parade ground for a month or so, then bring down that original can of paint from the shelf and it won't be the same color anymore. It will be very, very close, but not the exact match so many guys were after. So when attempting to duplicate that color on a model, it all depends on the time frame of the model. A model of the brand new vehicle will be different from a model of a vehicle that's a year old. So the basic philosophy I adopted is, Get it as close as you can, and if looks good to you that's all that counts. FTW on this one, Laddie, your eye is the only one that matters for this.

Of course, if you just want to know the historical fact of what paint they used on the original 131, I imagine you'll be sorting through dusty old records for a while.

That has answered a question of mine,
I had assumed that Tanks were delivered to the German Army from the factory in red oxide undercoat with the German Army doing the top coat but now I discover they were delivered with red oxide undercoat then painted overall in Dunkelgelb as a base coat BEFORE being delivered so that the army unit could apply the camo scheme that would overlay the Dunkelgelb.

RAL8000 for the base coat.

RAL7008 for the camouflage.

I am awaiting RAL7008 to finish and sell my Tamiya Tiger 131 replica.

I swap my Tamiya Tiger and King Tigers over to the two way adaptors

I should add I am using AK real colours through an airbrush.

Thanks, Gary, Shaun, and STHV for your input. I have a Tamiya Tiger waiting in the wings, and I like to have all the bits I'll need to hand before a build. That includes paints and primers. This isn't always possible, however, especially with scratch builds say (improvising special bits etc.,), nor in the case of the Tamiya Panzer IV, I built from online spare parts and donations. In general, though, it's a good idea.
What I like about Tamiya models, and there's a lot to like, is that detailed build manuals for them are available for download, online. This means you can do a recce on a particular build, before you've even bought the model. That gives the prospective builder an idea of any potentially tricky bits.
The paint schemes for this early Tiger 1 are all based on Summer, in the Russian campaign. Tamiya suggest that the base colour would be Dunkelgelb (dark yellow) in all instances for 1943 models, and also for desert campaigners. This would suggest that 131 should have a base colour of Dunkelgelb, or TS-3 in Tammy rattle tins. As the dark grey, of previous iterations, strikes me as somewhat gloomy on the long Winter nights to come, I decided to go for the warmth of Saharan chic instead
Like Adam, though, I thought I'd base my build on Tiger 131 as I've already taken lots of photos of this unique beastie .
Gary, yes, I'm aware of how camo colours seem to change not only with age, but also with scale. The Olive Drab (SCC15 1944-45) on the Cromwell at Bovington, looks nothing like the SCC15 I was supplied with by Mig for my Cromwell build. That's even though they are meant to have identical pigment formulations.

Ad Lav wrote:I should add I am using AK real colours through an airbrush.

I shall check these out, Adam. Cheers. I have Mig colours for the Comet, but have not found 'em as easy to use with an airbrush, as Humbrol's rattle can version of Olive Drab. Their cans and primers are consistently good.

Here's a useful webpage on German paint schemes, I'd almost forgotten about. It's a useful adjunct to the David Willey video (above) on painting Tigers.
https://panzerworld.com/german-armor-camouflage

43rdRecceReg wrote: I have a Tamiya Tiger....The paint schemes for this early Tiger 1 are all based on Summer, in the Russian campaign. Tamiya suggest that the base colour would be Dunkelgelb (dark yellow) in all instances for 1943 models, and also for desert campaigners. This would suggest that 131 should have a base colour of Dunkelgelb

Here are a few helpful facts:

Dunkelgelb was not applied to any Panzers sent to Africa, ever.

Dunkelgelb was not introduced for Tigers until shortly after "131" was built.

When Dunkelgelb was introduced, of all the Tigers built up to that time, most of them were painted in the same two colours as "131". But about 25 of them had been painted "Dunkelgrau". Most of these 25 grey Tigers got whitewashed as soon as they hit the battlefield, and then got painted in different colours in the Spring of '43.

Tigers didn't operate in sandy deserts in Africa, ever.

Tamiya frequently don't know the correct colour for a Tiger. (I can't speak for other tanks)

David