British AFV paint set (WW2 European colours)

British armored vehicles by the standards

The British changed the color of their vehicles according to written standards, and it is exactly their sequence that forms the axis of this set. Each of the six shades is given with its standard designation and the years in which it applied, so choosing a color for a particular build is a question of a date, not of guesswork.

The oldest pair comes from the standard of 1939: khaki green No. 3 as the base of armored vehicles of 1939 to 1941, for which the name service color caught on, and dark green No. 4 for the darker patches of the disruptive pattern of the same period. The standard of 1942 brought khaki brown No. 2, known as service drab, which was the base of vehicles from 1941 to 1944 and occasionally held on until 1945. Dark brown No. 1A made up the darker patches with it in 1941 to 1943, among other things in the pattern nicknamed after a cartoon mouse. From April 1944 olive drab No. 15 took over the role of the base, and with it British vehicles rode the European campaign to the end of the war, while black as standard No. 14 gave the disruptive patterns of 1943 to 1945 their darkest tone.

The practical benefit

Painting a British vehicle correctly means hitting the pair that belong together for the year. The set holds all three base tones and their accompanying patches, so from one package you can cover vehicles from 1939 to 1945.

Applying the patches

The disruptive patterns on British vehicles had fairly crisp edges, so masking putty serves well. Apply the base over the whole area and the patches only once it has cured.