Base colour British vehicles Africa (Tobruk period)?

Armor/AFV Painting & Weathering
1

Hello

I am sure this has been answered and I cannot find a thread.

What is the base colour (primer coat) colour used on British vehicles circa 1941-42 (Tobruk) ? By primer I am referring to the initial paint colour at the factory.

Thank you, Zella :ghost:

1 Like
2

If you mean the factory finish, ie; the color they were painted when they exited the factory, from 1939 - 1941 the base color was Khaki Green G3; 1941 - 1942 color was changed to SCC 2 Brown. Upon arrival in NA, vehicles would have been overpainted according to current Middle East General Orders.
:grinning: :canada:
More info here: https://www.mafva.org/british-vehicle-camouflage-1939-45/?v=79cba1185463

PPS; if you mean the color of the actual base primer it most likely would have been the usual red lead!

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3

Thanks for the link - excellent information.

I was referring to the base primer (red lead).

This said, I have not seen many pictures of vehicles that have this colour (base primer) showing through other paint layers (weathering).

Cheers, Zella

4

That’s because the paints used on most real AFVs is far more durable than the current fad is to portray. The paints specified by governments for use on their military vehicles from the factory was chosen for its ability to stay on those vehicles. Field applied paint jobs are another matter, as is battle damage. But most wartime vehicles just don’t have that long of a service life for factory applied paint to wear off.

5

Good point. Cheers, Zella :white_check_mark: