I was converting the colors of the Italeri Jagdpanther with Winter Crew I bought on holliday.
And I was using the Hobby Color Converter app on my smartphone.
That was going well for most of the colors mentioned in the instruction sheet manual.
But I ran into trouble with the camouflage colors of the Jagdpanther.
I’m at this stage only having Revell, Tamiya and some Mr. Hobby paints.
And none of what I have does match the colors shown in the instructions.
At least not the way I’m wanting them to, namely realistic.
Could you help me out with this problem?
Seeing the kits instruction here would help.
Instructions here:
Please do not rely too much on the colors on the instructions. Rather look for different brands like the sets of AK or MIG. Modelbouwenzo has them and ships fast and good. I don’t know where in the Netherlands you are living?
Let’s just say that I’m most of the time ordering my scale modeling stuff via internet.
You could look at this:
https://www.modelbouwenzo.nl/epages/80239986.sf/sec99c7228a67/?ObjectPath=/Shops/80239986/Products/AK-560
or this one
Assuming it’s a tricolour camo you are after, Tamiya dark yellow 2 (xf-88), dark green 2 (xf-89) and red brown 2 (Xf-90) are decently close
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What @Mead93 said and maybe add 10% to 20% Tamiya Buff to lighten the colors a little if you want too.
That’s a good starting point.
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uh… german colors… the longes battle fighted by modellers…
in my opinion you can choose with a good degree of shade because:
color is delivered in paste with out thinner
quality of color is not coparable with modern military paints
and the weather modify rapdly the intensity of the colors
modern modellers prefer use pale color to give more evident effect of wearing on the model but i don’t agree.
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I agree with this minus dark yellow. Mid to late war green and brown as @smolensk came as a paste that was mixed with whatever thinner was on hand from fuel to other stuff, which could alter the shade. I’m the ballpark is good for red and green, but dark yellow was factory applied generally and more consistent. Though that being said @smolensk os also right in that they change tone over time so any dark yellow is probably a good starting point
Four shades of “dark yellow” aka dunkelgelb per Tomas Chory who seems to have very credible research.
The one of the left was the earliest color and updated before a RAL number was assigned. The other shades appear after ~ June 1943 or so. Lot of leeway for the modeler and no reason’s sweat color accuracy. Obviously the picture isn’t accurate as it’s a cellphone photo in poor light but hopefully will demonstrate the various shades for discussion purposes.
Chory’s book is one of those rare references that’s invaluable.
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Interesting to see the large variation in dunkelgelb
I have the Chory book, too. It is a quintessential reference tool. The original paint chips in the book are indespensible. It’s too bad the book is so rare. I’d like to see all modelers have one. Stay far away from the light yellow and cream Dunkelgelbs that the Spanish paint companies are selling! They are artists fiction! Here is a photo of the same chips, shot with a DSLR, under daylight balanced light:
Pretty much the same as Wade’s, maybe a little greener. But these chips are what TRUE Dunkelbelb looks like.
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@SSGToms Matt, Thank You!
That’s a much better picture and greatly helps explain!
Chory’s book is like top 5 reference for WW2 German AFV to me and definitely wish all modeler had a copy.
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I was looking for the book to buy on Amazon.de, but they didn’t have the book.
A big bummer, because the book looks very interesting to me.
Especially since I find German WW II subject the most interesting to model.
Regarding the colors, Thursday I was going to Airbrush Services Almere and I also asked them for a general paint brand that had the most colors. And that I could use for all of my scale modeling projects. And they said Vallejo was one of the most extensive paint brands they had. And I’m now planning to use all of my Tamiya paints up and replace it with Vallejo. To use it as my standard paint brand and manufacturer, making it easier to get the right colors for all of my projects.
I got a catalogue for free from Airbrush Services Almere and didn’t have the time to take a more detailed look at it. But it looks very promising to me, not just paints but also weathering products. So there is a high chance that I will got with Vallejo for this project and future projects.
Thanks for replying and providing these refence and discussion materials.
Vallejo are excellent for brush painting, I’ve never tried spraying them. Tamiya are excellent for spraying but not so much brush painting. I think having a couple brands on hand is a good idea. I don’t keep every color in every brand, but I have a lot of figure uniforms and skin tone colors in Vallejo to brush paint, standard colors in Tamiya, and hard to find colors or colors I prefer like panzer grey, raf sky, azure blue, etc in AK real colors
Even fanatical folks like myself (Floquil
Forever) won’t dedicate to use one brand exclusively.
Its really not a big deal to have two or three different types of thinner on hand for various types of paint. Having freedom and flexibility is worth the price of the thinners in my experience.
Basically what Mead93 said. Only buy what’s needed. Buying all the colors in a line of paint is expensive and 85% of them are seldom if ever used.
Personally, I would find a new hobby if I was stuck using exclusively Vallejo. It brushes pretty enough with thinner and retarder.
However, each to their own preferences:)
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With Vallejo be sure to watch whether it’s Vallejo Air which sprays pretty cleanly with little to no thinning vs Vallejo Panzer etc which is designed for brushing. I try to buy my paint local for ease of replenishing so I have a selection of Tamiya, Vallejo, Mission Models, Testora Model Master and some other various acrylics. Never be afraid to duplicate, every manufacturers Panzer Grey is a bit different etc.
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As a side note; are the figures any good?