Mr. Color - RLM71 tmavě zelená

RLM 71 Dunkelgrün

The dark green with the number 71 belonged to the first generation of German aircraft camouflage. From the late 1930s it was used, together with an even darker green shading toward black, to draw the upper surfaces of the wings and fuselage into sharply bounded fields whose edges followed the geometric pattern laid down by the production specification. The undersides stayed light blue, so the machine looked different seen from the ground than from above.

In this finish fighters, dive bombers and twin-engine machines went into action during the campaigns over Poland, France and Britain. The pair of greens gave way only during 1941, when gray tones better suited to combat at high altitude replaced them on fighters. On bombers and on machines over the Eastern Front, however, the dark green scheme held on longer.

Spraying and the shade

The paint is nitro based and once dry it hardens into a smooth surface onto which decals and a clear overcoat lay down well. It is prepared by long stirring, because the dark pigment settles to the bottom, and it is thinned with the thinner of the same brand. It is sprayed with a gun; the range is unsuitable for brushwork.

If you want to imitate a sun-bleached surface faithfully, add a drop of light gray to the shade and blend it into the middle of the large panels. The package holds 10 ml.

The tone also comes into play on German-built ground vehicles and on accessories that are assumed to have a factory green finish. After a few hours the dried surface can be polished with a very fine abrasive, and the next coat then lays down smoothly with no noticeable grain.