Sorry it took so long. I have 3 points.
- First vehicles, not just tanks to arrive were in panzer dark grey.
- Most were sent to the front before they could be painted and so field modifications in terms of dirt mixed with petrol were used generously with all sorts of combatant vehicles.
- Paint was in short supply so Italian paints were used and later in the spring some units actually got painted according to orders. so here are the pix I have.
So one expedient was to partially cover the vehicle or the dust did it for them.
This is the dirt and petrol mixed field applied.
Next is using stocks from the Italians.
Then there is this one unit that was correctly painted in early 1941:
Finally, vehicles on the march, from an original color photo, but with the blue exaggerated due to old
type film.
So you have alot of possibilities to choose from. I am particularly fond of the cross hatch or partial paint and the mud cover using some of the admixtures to give it texture and thickness. Still rubbing it off with the hairspray technique.
I hope this is helpful or at least interesting. We’ll not get into uniforms which become even more problematic with French, Italian and British clothing used here and there when stocks became available. I think it’s what makes modeling North Africa so much fun.
DAKjunkie/Jack