UA415 - Regio Esercito Tuta Carrista

Regio Esercito Tuta Carrista — the overall of Italian tank crews

Tuta carrista is Italian for a tank crewman's overall, and that is exactly what this water-based acrylic shade is intended for. The crews of Italian armored vehicles did not wear the infantry uniform but a one-piece working garment that did not catch in the cramped space of a vehicle and could be pulled on quickly over ordinary gear. That is why the manufacturer gave it a number of its own within the Italian group.

A one-piece garment is painted differently

From a figure painter's point of view an overall is an unusually large continuous surface without the seams, lapels and interruptions that otherwise break a uniform up visually. A flat coat therefore flattens it more than a tunic with trousers. The volume has to come solely from shadow and light: a darker position at the waist, in the armpits and behind the knees, a lighter one on the shoulders, on the chest and on the edges of folds. Without that the figure looks like a mannequin.

Use

• the overalls of the crews of Italian armored vehicles and self-propelled guns
• half figures leaning out of a hatch on a diorama
• the working garments of mechanics and ground crew in repair scenes
• one-piece working clothing outside the Italian subject too

The dirt that belongs on a tank crewman

A crew picks up different dirt from infantry. Instead of dust and mud on the trouser legs it is greasy marks from lubricant and metal rub on the knees, on the elbows and on the belly, that is where the figure leans against the rim of a hatch. The marks are smaller and more sharply bounded than dust and a few of them are enough — an overall plastered with them loses legibility exactly as much as a clean one.

Who the paint is for

For modelers who build crews for their Italian vehicles, and for diorama makers looking for a convincing tone for a working garment.

Mix the paint, work in a well ventilated room and keep it out of the reach of children.