UA254 - Panzergrau Deep Shade

Panzergrau Deep Shade

The dark counterpart of the base German tank gray. Lifecolor lists it as Deep Shade, that is as the position intended for the depths, and with it completes the base tone and its brightened variant. On gray vehicles such a color is more necessary than on any other, because gray itself falls easily into an illegible surface in shadow.

Almost black, but without black

Pure black is a trap on a model. In scale it swallows all the light, takes the texture out of the surface and looks like a hole. The dark position of the gray goes almost as deep, but it holds a remnant of the tone, so even in the deepest shadow it is visible that metal is there. It serves around the muffler and on the surfaces behind it, where the deposits from the exhaust settle, in the grilles and vents above the engine, in the joints of the armor plates, between the road wheels and on the underside of the hull. Add a slightly warmer brownish tone at the exhaust and a transition from sooty metal to burnt metal appears that cannot be made with one color.

Where to use it

• The area around the exhaust and the surfaces where the deposits settle.
• The grilles, vents and depths of the engine deck.
• The joints between plates, the underside of the hull and the space between the wheels.
• Preshading before the base gray goes on.

Who it is for

For the modeler who does not want a single area of pure black on a model and yet needs real depth. Check the effect on the ground the model will have: on a smooth glossy surface the dark tone stays rich and sharply bounded, on a matte grainy one it softens and scatters. Choose how far to take the dark position accordingly.

Keep out of the reach of children. Ensure ventilation when working with an airbrush and protect your airways.