White camo/preshade colour?

[Guest]

Hi guys,

I'm working on a Tamiya Tiger 1 right now and I have it in my head to have a crack at doing snow/winter camo.
I'm guessing white and grey will be my colours but I have a question.

Since white is pretty much the main colour, what colour paint do I use for preshading?
(I have only tried preshading once before but it turned out quite nice and I did the preshading with white paint, but that's not going to work
if white is my main colour, is it?)

So what colour would you suggest for the preshading? Thanks!

[Ian M]

Paint the tank exactly as you would if it was not in white. Mix some very thin white paint. Ammo paint even do a "washable" white that they claim can be washed of with water and a brush....
Don't be too fussy about the the finish and the coverage. Most winter camo where field applied. That is paint where it hits and don't where it misses. Everything from hand sprayers. yard brooms, rags, mops and even a whitewash brush have been used. Some might have had the luxury of a division workshop but even then not a complete repaint.

[Guest]

At the extreme end of that are tanks camouflaged with chalk looted from some nearby school …

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Don’t do this with a Tiger, BTW. It’s the kind of improvisation German troops had to resort to in the first winter in Russia, 1941–42. By the time the Tiger came in, the German army was better prepared for winter and generally managed to issue enough white paint for it.

[wasdale32]

Hi guys,

I'm working on a Tamiya Tiger 1 right now and I have it in my head to have a crack at doing snow/winter camo.
I'm guessing white and grey will be my colours but I have a question.

Since white is pretty much the main colour, what colour paint do I use for preshading?
(I have only tried preshading once before but it turned out quite nice and I did the preshading with white paint, but that's not going to work
if white is my main colour, is it?)

So what colour would you suggest for the preshading? Thanks!

Winter "whitewash" was applied over the base colour so apply the base colour first. Then decide how long the winter camo has been on ... Freshly applied or several weeks old. If it's freshly applied then the coverage will be fairly consistent, but don't use pure white - tone down the white with a tiny amount of grey and vary the amount to give shadows and highlights. Old whitewash would discolour more so a bit of brown or yellow might help - also make sure that the base colour starts to show through a bit. Try watercolour paints from art or craft shops as they can be removed with warm water if you don't like the effect. Maybe add some fresh patches where the crew have touched up the paint. Don't spray the entire thing white....

[JR]

Tend to agree with Ian Ian M. Its a very emotive subject .
But less is more as the weather played a main part in removing the camo because of its make up, esp in Russian armour.

[rickoshea52]

I have done a 1/35 half track in winter camo recently. Build, paint and decal and varnish the model as usual then I used a chipping medium over it followed by white acrylic paint. When dry the chipping medium was activated using a wet brush (water) that softens the paint and underlying medium. A stiff brush to scrub off the white paint to the degree you are happy with will reveal the underlying original camo.
https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/rick’s-completed-1-35-tamiya-sd-kfz-7-1-8-ton-halftrack-w-20mm-flakvierling.41554/

You can also use this method for aircraft - https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/rick’s-1-48-icm-dornier-do17z-2.38132/page-2

[Scratchbuilder]

Imagine you are a tank squaddie, have never decorated a room in your life, you are suddenly given a pot of white paint, a brush head from a broom and told to paint your tank white.... Then comes the next question, do you use water or petrol to thin the paint, and how much is too much, well pour it in and see what happens....
During my time living with armoured vehicles, re-painting was a chore carried out as quickly as possible, paint was applied with a brush (if you could get one) or a wad of cotton waste tied to a stick. Same with parades, once you left the tank wash, you drove around to get rid of the excess water, then used a wad of cotton waste dipped in some diesel and wiped over the vehicle to get the 'shine' and just hoped it was not a dry windy day with dust blowing across the parking area.
So in a word, neatness goes out the window...
And this was during the 1960/70's...

[Guest]

a wad of cotton waste dipped in some diesel and wiped over the vehicle to get the 'shine'

Just the other day, someone over on the TWENOT forums remarked that this was officially forbidden in the Dutch army, but it was done anyway in a lot of units if the commander felt it looked better.