WWII RUSSIAN STANDARD COLORS

Three shades that covered the whole Red Army

Soviet equipment rolled out of the factories in a single color, the protective green designated 4BO. It saved time and material and at a distance it worked in forest and in field alike, only in the steppe and on snow this uniformity gave away the outline of a machine at first glance. The regulations therefore reckoned with two further tones with which the green was broken up: a dark brown and a sand shade. In practice they were handled freely, painting was done with a brush right at the unit, and two vehicles of the same battalion could thus look different every time.

What is in the box

• Protective green 4BO as the starting color of a machine
• Dark brown 6K for disruptive stripes and patches
• Sand 7K for light fields and summer finishes

What camouflage looked like in the field

Bare green was the most common. Where patches were added, they had a soft, brush drawn edge and an irregular shape, often across the whole side of the hull and the turret. Winter turned the situation upside down: over the green went whitewash or white paint, which washed off quickly, so that in spring the original layer showed through in patches. Anyone imitating this procedure applies the white in a thin layer and then wipes part of it away with a damp brush.

Notes on application

The green is opaque and holds even in one layer, yet it comes out better in two weaker passes with a gun. The brown and the sand are best applied thinned, so that the transition is not as sharp as from a mask. The three also suit artillery, ammunition crates and trucks, because the same green was used across the whole range of equipment. Once dry it is advisable to even the surface out with varnish; only then do the decals come up.