I have ICM’s 1/72-scale BTR-60PB, and note that the instructions suggest Model Master 1712 (Field Green) for the vehicle’s base colour. I wonder how accurate this is, and whether there
are suitable alternatives in the Humbrol or Revell range.
Thanks,
Paul
First off, don’t let anyone get away with posting a photo of a yard of deadlined BTRs of a wide range of ages, environments, and paints in order to say that there is no standard color and you can just use any color you want. You aren’t the same type of modeler as them, as evidenced by your willingness to go out of your way to write up a post and ask.
There was a standard and you would be best served on your models by finding something close to the real standard and drifting off that with your scale effects, weathering, and so forth.
I’m not familiar with the two ranges you cite, but Trumpeter recommends this for their BTR-60s in 1/35:
and this for their T-72 Ural of a little bit later time frame:
Zvezda recommends Zvezda #55 and Tamiya XF-61 for their T-62 which would be the same vintage as your BTR-60 and thus the same shade.
For scale effect I will cut my Soviet green with a pale yellow green to give 2 parts green + 1 part yellow green. For a 1/72 model I would go 1 green + 1 yellow green, otherwise the model will come out dark and just get darker with weathering. The model companies may have already accounted for that in their recommendations, though.
Hope that helps,
KL
Kurt,
I guess you saw the reply to my question on another forum. As you quite rightly point out, a yard full of old vehicles is hardly a reliable source. The references you provide are certainly a good starting point. Actually, my BTR-90PB will depict an Angolan version (from the 1970s), which I gather would have been supplied by the Cubans. The few photos I have suggest that these were often given a camouflage scheme of sand yellow over the green base colour.
Many thanks,
Paul
I didn’t, but there are people who have that image locked and loaded, so I knew it was merely a matter of time.
I can understand someone saying, “There was a lot of variation”, “The paint weathered badly”, and so forth, but there are a number of people who (apparently) don’t just want to use whatever green they have handy, but are also dead set against anyone else trying to base their models on a reasonable, logical scheme. I can just imagine them pulling out their phones to show that photo to anyone who’ll listen and crow about how they had shown that “the experts” weren’t so smart after all.
Here are some BTR-60PBs in Grenada that probably had a similar journey as those in Angola, and probably are a similar color.
KL
Counter point, in the original question of is field green correct. That yard photo does provide it could be correct because there are many different shades applied. The follow up question, about an Angolan version specifically, doesn’t appear that Cuban vehicles were that light of color so that would not be the correct color for what you want.
Both things can be true.
Nothing wrong with a yard full of derelict vehicles, you just have to know where to look. We found one in the famed Kabul boneyard (actually near the town of Pol-i-Charki) that was in excellent shape. We took it back to the U.S, but not before I grabbed an interior panel from it, and the fuel valves. I’ve posted my results of the color a few times, but the one below is all I could find on my phone this morning due to my location and limited vision.
Yes, it’s that photo that is being referenced.
No, there isn’t. Obviously they are all real examples, but the image does not justify or support statements like “There was no standard” or an implication that it’s foolish to try and model one, which has been the case in the past. (Not by you, to my knowledge, just to be clear.)
The image shows a number of vehicles at a single time and place. That in no way means that all of the vehicles started at the same time and place and went through the same locations, maintenance, and environments to get there. If one were to pick out two vehicles, one most like the standard color and one the farthest away from the standard, they each could be perfect examples for the particular vehicle and backstory somebody wants to model. The fact that the other example also exists does not negate that fact.
KL
This equipment was definitely not produced at the same time. It was all collected from all over the country for recycling. All the machines were manufactured, repaired and painted at different times.
As a difference in weather exposure, this can be taken as an example, but as an example for painting - no.
