Bulgarian WWII Campaign

:raising_hand_man: Hi! Confused Canadian here who’s out of his historical depth. I have a question… why are you painting the German that the Bulgarians have ended up with Russian green?

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Bulgaria backed German for a bit then changed teams and joined Russia.

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When the Russians got to Bulgaria, the Bulgarians switched sides to the Allies and the Russians supplied them with captured Panthers, all painted in 4BO.

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Here you go Don…

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bulgarian_military_equipment_of_World_War_II

For reference only.

And thanks Matt @SSGToms … I will go with the AK 4BO…:+1:

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Hello everyone!
Whichever green you use will not be a mistake. I used acrylic Gunze Sangyo H309 or H320 for KV-1 (modified from 1942). Maybe Angel will have better information, as his interests are in the armament in the Bulgarian army.
Kalin

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My capacitor for my compressor is expected to be delivered today according to the message I got. Can’t wait as I have so much backed up for paint.

Pulled out the Steyr in preparation for laying some paint on the interior and Chassis so I can assemble them ready for the rest of the external etch to be added.

That is when I realised I have not posted the pics of where I was at. So here they are:



I am not using the whole etch fret - way too much that is unnecessary, just what I feel does add to the build. I am in two minds whether to cut out the dash panel and replace with the etch and film dials. The Tamiya ones aren’t too bad… The dash is just dry fit.

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Looks very nice, Peter!

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Looks very nice with the PE details you have added Peter. If the dash is going to be very visible and its not to much
hard work involved, I would be very tempted to do the etch and film for the dials … :+1:

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I have started on my Pz. 38t. I am going with this one - the “62”.

I know we have discussed this before, but are we comfortable that there is no white wash on the tank?

The color seems very light. Lighter than the skin of the soldiers and almost same color as the white turret numbers. Could it be dark grey with dark yellow with white wash on top?

The wheels clearly seem to have dark grey on them.
The front plate of the hull seems to have both dark yellow and white wash on it?

Another couple of questions:

What uniforms are the crew wearing - seems to be close to normal panzer crew uniforms?

What helmet is on the turret? And what color would it be? What model kit helmet can be used?

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Jesper, the problem with using one photo, and that black and white, is there is so much that can impact the representation on film - time of day and the light source, exposure time, film quality, processing quality, amount of dust/mud/dirt on the vehicle, etc - one pic is not always a trustworthy source. Where possible, multiple pics of the same vehicle are a much better source for determining what the film captured, but even then is subjective. Look at your pic, then these:


Compare the front hull sections and the two side views you could make very different assumptions if looking each separately:
image

To me that patch to the right is a different paint colour. The edge is too distinct and sharp to be mud. So what is it? Remnant of Camo? Was the front panel left Dunkelgrau where the serial and name is, but the rest of the vehicle painted Gelb? Also look at how indistinct the loss of paint(?) on the wheels is on the pic that is not too overexposed.

Your pic and the last one I posted have a distinct shadow showing a high level of light from the the front left in yours and rear left in mine. My First pic has no real distinct shadow. This all leads to the variations in tone you see.

I think your pic is overexposed, hence the much lighter colours and less distinct variation in colour where the number and name is, much deeper black contrast and loss of detail in the area behind the tank. Also the vehicle has a fairly heavy dust coat going by how ‘faded’ the cross marking is.

This would also account for the very dark patches on the road wheels. Consider the rear view of this one and the play of light on the wheels:


I believe this pic was taken at the same time as the one you posted - note light direction, street cobbles, type of building, crowd, etc.

The uniform is similar but not the same. These are unit commanders and sub-commanders of various units, tank, assault gun, artillery, etc. Note that the black jacket does not go as far right as the German Panzer jacket and the lapels are smaller:

There are some excellent pictures on this site, although no English captions:

Most likely the helmet is a Bulgarian M36 type C:

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Oh… and if the vehicle had whitewash, I doubt that the patch edge would have been so regular compared to the rest of the vehicle.

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Thanks for the comments, Peter. Definitely difficult to say with certainty on these old pictures.

I feel relatively certain that the dark spots on the wheels are dark grey and not mud.

Especially your last picture of the rear of the tank indicates that there is no whitewash. I will probably go with dark grey and a very heavy chipping of the dark yellow in places.

I will see if I can modify a helmet to the Bulgarian style or use artistic license and simply use a German helmet. That would not feel right though.
I take it the helmet would be green as in the picture.

Thanks for the quick and very through reply :+1:t2::slightly_smiling_face:

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I had a talk with Angel about this in the past, the helmet is different as I recall and unfortunately no one make one or something close.

I think it would be that green color.

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As Ryan says, very different.

If I was to try and make one, I think I would start with the British Mark III Helmet as a base. It would be easier to raise the height and to attempt the flange:
German - Bulgarian-British:

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Angel mentioned these as a starting point.

Sand off the horns and the sides to form the ridge.

HTH

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Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I will try to sand a German helmet to fit first. My skills are better for sanding something to fit than build up a helmet.

I think I can get close by sanding of the edges og the German helmet rounding of the “square” sides and reducing the front and lower lips.

It’s worth a try. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Very nice job on the Steyr, Peter!
Love the intricate PE work you’ve done!

Cheers,
Angel

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Off to a good start, Jesper!

I can hardly add anything to Peter’s reply he said a mouthful.
AFAIK there were no whitewashed vehicles participating Dec.2nd 1944 parade in Sofia, when majority of pictures posted earlier were taken.

I’m eager to see your M.36 helmet attempt!

Cheers,
Angel

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Another thing I just noticed, which emphasises how hard decyphering B&W pics can be. What colour is the Notek light? Pic one looks Gray, Pic 2 looks Gelb, pic 3 looks Gray:

image

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Well spoted, Peter!

I have seen many pictures from the mentioned parade and it seems the day was sunny and windy. The route of the vehicles from the outskirts to the Cathedrale in downtown Sofia took several turns and pictures were taken on different locations. There seems to be a vivid play of light and shadow,

Cheers,
Angel

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