German Grey

The dark gray of German equipment

The shade listed as German Grey follows the dark gray finish that German ground equipment wore in the first years of the Second World War. Gray was then the basic finish regardless of the theater, and only from 1943 was it replaced as the starting color by dark yellow, over which green and brown patches were added. For building machines of the campaigns of the late 1930s and early 1940s this gray is therefore the tone from which the whole color scheme follows.

Where you will use the color

Besides the hull and the turret it also suits the small things that are easily forgotten on gray-painted vehicles: tool boxes, brackets, spare wheel carriers and external stowage. Dark gray looks harder on a small model than on the real vehicle, so it pays to breathe a lighter tone into the middle of large areas and leave the shadows richer instead. Every trace of dust and earth also stands out on gray, so dirt shades are handled more carefully than on yellow and green schemes.

How to apply the paint

• Stir the bottle thoroughly before each use, as the pigment settles at the bottom.
• Thin it with the thinner of the same line and spray two or three thin coats.
• It can be applied with a brush too, but on a large area spraying is more even.
• Let a gloss intermediate coat dry under the decals, as silvering appears around a decal on a matte surface.
• Let the paint dry through properly before masking, as a fresh film peels away with the tape.

What is in the box

One bottle of paint of 10 ml. Thinner, a brush, varnishes and the model are not included, unless stated otherwise.