Pete's Place

[foxbat]

These parades aren't that uncommon there, or, from I see on the web, in Southern England as well. You still have lots of functional WW2 vehicles there, and even more, it is not uncommon to see people driving a WW2 jeep on ordinary days.Saw quite a few these last few days.

[Hoth_902]

Hey Pete,

Do you have any pictures of german vehicles in german grey? Even better if some of them qte Pz 38(t)s, Pz IIIs and Pz IVs. I just ordered some 1941 era vehicles and need something to shoot for.

Thanks in advance.

[pmskaar]

Hi Hoth

I will post some pictures of my early German WWII stuff in Panzer Gray very soon. I may need to take some new pictures as some of my older ones seem to be missing.

Currently, I have 1 Panzer 38t done, a few Panzer IIIs, a company of Panzer IVF1s and F2s with Panzer IIs, and some miscellaneous trucks and halftracks. Some of this is my earlier work from 30 plus years ago but I will see what I can do.

[Hoth_902]

Pete, thank you so much. Those are pretty much what i am working on. Cant wait to see them.

[pmskaar]

Hi Hoth

I have the Panzer 38t and the Panzer IIIJ in the GHQ catalog. I also have the Pz IV Bridging vehicle and the Krupp Protze truck in there as well. You can check those out while I get some new pictures.

[Hoth_902]

Thanks Pete, that should hold me over

[pmskaar]

Here are a few pictures of my German Panzer Gray vehicles. I went and took some new pictures of some of what I have. These are not all painted the exact same shade of Panzer Gray as I have experimented with some different paints over the years. The two Panzer IVs are done in Humbrol #67 Tank Gray with a fair amount of #34 Matte White added to lighten for scale. Those are my most recent Panzer Gray vehicles as well as the Panzer IIs which are part of the same unit.

[Hoth_902]

Hey Pete,

Thanks for posting the German vehicles in all grey. My new order should be delivered this Thursday. Its great to have some inspiration and something to shoot for when they come in. I especially like the color variation. To me, its more realistic.

So I have a quick question, that you may be able to help with. I Purchases some PzIII Fs, not too long ago. In my rush to paint up a 1943 regiment, I painted them in dark Yellow. I thought I read some where that there were some painted in Dark Yellow that served in North Africa toward the end of that campaign. Then, some of them got transferred over to Russia to fill the ranks in Operation Barbarossa. after doing some research, I realized that most of the PzIII Fs would have been painted in Panzer Grey and not Dark Yellow. Especially at the begging of Barbarossa. I know think I have painted them incorrectly. So before I strip them, to correct my error, would you be able to answer the following questions.

1. Where some Pz III Fs, painted in Dark Yellow in North Africa?
2. Where there any Pz III Fs in service by 1943, when Panzers were painted in Dark Yellow?
3. If a Panzer IIIF was diverted from North Africa, to the Russian front, would they have been painted in Dark yellow in 1941 or 1942?

If I can't get confirmation that they were every painted in Dark Yellow, I am going to strip them and repaint them in Dark Yellow to build up my 1941 forces for operation Barbarossa. Sadly I did all the detail painting on them and it would be sad to strip them at this point. Any help from you or others would be appreciated.

[Hoth_902]

I guess the same question would go for the Stug Fs, based on the PzIII f. However, I imagine they were different and would have been around longer than the PzIII fs, because of the bigger guns. As a result, an all Dark Yellow might be fine.

[foxbat]

Excellent work, Pete. The long barrelled PzIII & Pz IV make it Fall Blau, the drive on Caucasus & Stalingrad, I think?
Regarding Panzer Grey, it is a deceptively simple scheme, much harder to do than it seems at 1st sight. I also have tried various brands of paint. As I use a dark wash to highlight details, I have found it is better to use a lighter shade of grey not to have my models to darkened.

[redleg]

Beautiful vehicles Pete!

[pmskaar]

Thank you very much, Hoth, Foxbat, and Redleg! I appreciate it very much.

Hoth, The sand color used in North Africa was different from the Dunkelgelb that was authorized for German vehicles in February 1943. The original color the Germans used in North Africa was RAL 8000. This was used officially in 1941 until March 1942. This was a bit darker and more red in tone than Dunkelgelb. In March 1942, the Germans officially switched to RAL 8020 which was a bit paler in color than the original. I seriously doubt if the original vehicles in RAL 8000 were repainted in the later RAL 8020, at least not right away if at all. New vehicles arriving would probably already have the later color applied.

Dunkelgelb, RAL 7028, apparently had a few slightly different shades. For my Dunkelgelb, I use Humbrol #83 Dark Yellow which seems to be reasonably close.

Panzer IIIs in Dunkelgelb. In 1943, the Germans gradually repainted most, if not all their vehicles in Dunkelgelb over the existing Dark Gray color.
Any old Panzer IIIs would have been repainted but keep in mind that the Panzer IIIF/G/H would have been very few in number by this time due to lower production numbers and attrition. The Panzer IIIJ was the most widely produced Panzer III with over 2000 of both the "Kurz" (short barrel) and "Lang" (long barrel) made.

I have heard that in 1942 there were some German Panzers bound for North Africa that were rerouted to the Russian Front. These were most likely some Panzer IIIJ's, and later L's that may have arrived plus some Panzer IV's and maybe some Panzer II's as well.

I hope this helps to answer your question.

Foxbat, My original batch of vehicles and the Panzer IV's were done with 1942 in mind. I have lots of earlier vehicles for Barbarossa but have not painted enough of them yet. I am thinking about it though.

[Hoth_902]

Pete,

That helps a lot. I think it all matches what i read with a few holes filled in. Sadly, I think, I need to strip and repaint my Pz III F/Gs. I think I have enough time to get the stripped, so they are ready when the Tank grey is delivered. Sometimes we don't get the answer we want, but the one we need. LOL..

[BurtWolf]

Real beauties (no surprise there!), always admire your dry brushing and highlighting!!

[pmskaar]

Hoth - I am happy to assist whenever I can. I have learned a lot over the years but I definitely still don't know everything.

Thanks very much, Burt!