Are the wheels on the RSO painted? I know they have the base color but I am wondering if they are also painted like black or rubber like tires!
Mike
Sir, to be fair, and not wanting to start yet another “dust up”, I have seen both versions, that being painted wheels and no painted wheel. Of course, the wheels of a vehicle specifically designed to operate on the Russian Front, by design will have the wheels in and out of the mud muck, snow ice and whatnot all day long. So there would-be crews that would not want to waste time and effort painting something that is going to take a pretty good beating, and as such not a practical solution. Then on the other hand, there are B/W photos that “suggest” that besides the base coat, there is some other paint added. Please note, the wheels on the standard RSO are quite large compared to other vehicles. The panther has the same question. And there is evidence to support both examples. I know this doesn’t exactly answer the question. There are some self-appointed experts that will “poo poo” this simply because a 100% clear shot wasn’t posted on Panzer World.
Another small thought leaning towards not being painted, might be that the RSO was a transport/supply carrier by design. and even though some RSO’s were assigned to PAK 7.5cm and Nebelwefer units, being supply they were “typically” in the rear areas and thus the need for camouflage might not have been a super priority. Other than snow/white for the winters.
Respectfully
After rereading your post, and doing some cursory research, looking at restored RSO’s it is almost impossible to say whether or not the “actual wheels” have a rubber portion to them. They most certainly DON’T have a rubber rim like tigers, panthers, and others. They MIGHT have an insert to the wheel. Kind a like having a rubber piece sandwiched in between the wheel. But again, please continue your research
GREAT QUESTION,(s)
The wheels have no rubber
An actual RSO, I was clearly mistaken on the rubber portion, I try and only use actual vehicles as reference, not kits or drawings. Not sure why I thought there “could be” a rubber component
Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate it.
Mike
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No rubber on the RSO wheels. Also the one at the Patton Museum (unrestored) had the entire vehicle painted the main body color. (dark yellow) I cannot be sure this was original however but certainly looked like it.
These photos won’t help much. Sadly my overall photos of the RSO are buried somewhere in my pre-digital negative files and in need of scanning…
My flash photography here makes the color look almost white. However the dark yellow color was very sun faded into almost a light tan.