REAL COLORS OF WWII ARMOR – NEW 2ND EXTENDED & UPDATED VERSION

Real Colors of WWII Armor — the second extended and updated edition

A publication from AK interactive, aimed, as the title says, at the colors of armored vehicles of the Second World War. It is not a model and it is not paint — it is a reference title for the workbench. The distinguishing fact is right in the title: this is the new second edition, described as extended and updated. If you already own the older edition of the same title, what you are buying here is a reworked version, not the same book again.

Why vehicle colors are treated separately

With ground equipment the situation is even less clear-cut than with aircraft. Vehicles were repainted in field conditions, the paint material was not always the same, and above all the shade changed in service under sun, dust and mud faster than on machines kept under a roof. The modeler therefore needs to know not only the starting tone, but also how it looked after a few months. A publication devoted to period shades gives you the ground for that decision.

How to work with the book

The practical procedure is the same as with any color reference. Spray the shade onto a test plastic card first, let it dry and compare it in daylight — the color on the sample and in the book behaves differently under an incandescent bulb and under a fluorescent tube. Reckon also with the fact that on a small model every tone reads darker than in reality, so the starting shade is usually lightened slightly. The book gives you the target; the way to it you tune yourself.

Who the publication is for

This is a publication, not modeling material. The extent, the language of the edition and the arrangement of the chapters are given on the cover of the publication.

• Builders of ground equipment models who want their colors backed up.
• Modelers who mix their own shades.
• Anyone interested in period paint systems and their designations.
• Owners of the older edition who want to replace it with the reworked version.