Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

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Wolfie
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Wolfie »

If you have spray paint only, spray it on a rag and apply that way.

Jager Roll; lovely lid. Flextone is the textured paint? If so, I'd stay clear of it and just use sand or sawdust. I know this isn't Afrika scheme, but I painted my lid and while it was wet, threw "art" sand on it, then camo'd it up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/ ... G_0219.jpg

This way, it will look better once the paint is worn away after I've been using it.

As for a good colour, Testor's Model Master Afrika Mustard is a very good colour.
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Obergefreiter Hansch
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Obergefreiter Hansch »

This is one I did a couple of years back- can't remember what I used but it represents a mid campaign scheme- about the Alamein period. It has since been "re-issued" to my friend Anton, but it remains in that colour to this day. One of my better paint jobs!

Base apple green double decal brush painted with khaki sand enamel paint and sand thrown on and then rubbed back when dry- suitable chips etc were applied with a sock full of stones and the whole thing aged a bit. I painted over the tri-colour decal but left the adler rough.

I have fecked around with DAK paint jobs for years and this is one of the best ones I have done. I'll dig up a pic of my gas mask can as well.

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Pietje
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Pietje »

Thanks for placing the photo's. A very good paint job ! Looking forward to other photographs as well...
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Obergefreiter Hansch
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Obergefreiter Hansch »

The gas mask can for paint reference- dark yellow mixed with a little brown. Sprayed over a well rusty 1939 standard green canister then rubbed back and worn in the field a few times! Soon other equipment rubbing on it produces pleasing results! Also, wet it and cover in dust and then just brush off when dry- after a while this will "age" the paint!

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Jager Roll
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Jager Roll »

Well I have finished my tropical FJ and M35 Helmets. Here they are (They are the first two helmets I have ever done) BTW seeing some other the other Helmets done by the other forum members I am truely humbled by those pieces of fine art.
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I also found that paining helmets is like golf. It is only relaxing when it is going your way (I didnt even know I was capable of saying some of the words that were uttered when I made the mistakes on the helemt :lol: )

Tim
http://www.fjr3.com
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Obergefreiter Hansch
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Obergefreiter Hansch »

Herr Roll, you have indeed done well. Nice work!

I find the same thing- you get frustrated when things do not go to plan! I have stripped and re-done helmets and metal items more times than I care to think!

Stefan.
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Hannibal Brooks
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Hannibal Brooks »

Hi all,
I've been checking the paint used in Tunisia on German AFV's. I wanted to see the colours used specifically by vehicles arriving from late 1942. Specifically, I checked the schemes used by sPzAbt.501's Tigers. These were temporarily attached to the 334th Infantry Div, hence my interest.

The Tigers of sPzAbt.501 deployed to the Tunisian front in late 1942. They were painted in Brown RAL 8020. They were also authorised to over paint with Dark Grey RAL 7021 in a disruptive pattern, although there is no evidence that this happened. Later, they were oversprayed with Grey Green RAL 7008 to enhance their camouflage.

In addition, sPzAbt.504's Tigers were also painted in RAL 8020 oversprayed in RAL 7008.

It is not known if any Tigers were painted in RAL 7028.

So, from this small sample of evidence, it's theoretically possible that RAL 8020 or RAL 7008 could be the best paint for Tunisian helmets of certain units.

Any thoughts?
Sheikh Al Stranghi
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Sheikh Al Stranghi »

Beautiful helmet, hirschmann!
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Helmet markings/Decals?

Post by Freebooter »

Hello all,
What about helmet markins or decals? I have been told by several people that there were no DAK decals for steel helmets like you can order now, that they just painted around or over existing ones on the helmets they were issued in Europe. I have read and seen a pic or two of helmets where someone had painted the little DAK palm tree emblem by hand. I have a nice repro helmet that as a project I have painted and textured in DAK color. Any ideas, opinions, or advice as to DAK emblems, decals, etc?
Thanks,
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cckw-353
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by cckw-353 »

Hello

I recently did paint a helmet for a friend...Repro M35 I added a slightly aged liner and a new strap

The paint is RAL8000, one of the early Afrika paints. I purchase all my paints from the e-bay seller heereszeugamt

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Here the link to the paint, available in buckets and spray cans...

http://cgi.ebay.de/FARBE-WEHRMACHT-AFRI ... 5635c917f8

cheers
Uwe
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Pug42
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Pug42 »

The same paints from their regular website:

http://www.kommiss.com/index.php?cPath=10_75
David

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Steiner
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Steiner »

Most interesting... I'm just getting myself organised to paint a helmet and gas mask tin as DAK (we've got a small squad event based on the Kasserine Pass, in a 120 acre Lincolnshire sand quarry next year - which has given us an excuse to buy more kit! :lol: ). Having spoken to Richard Underwood about what colour to use, he said he's got something suitable.

I think the trick also is to make something look battle-worn enough, without looking 70 years old.
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Ardennes
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by Ardennes »

Those are some great helmets, Tim, that FJ lid is superb.

I spent some time with an FJR5 Veteran who remembered their NCO taking all of their helmets as soon as they landed in Afrika and sending them with a corproal over to the motor pool - where the mechanics were spray painting all the recently arrived vehicles with a "tan" paint - the helmets were laid on the ground and spray painted. Now veterans are not typically the kind to specify the exact shade of "tan", but I would surmise it was the typical ordinance yellow that was used on the vehicles.

That said, I've handled hand painted and mix color camo helmets from North Afrika. Seems to me the Tunisian captured lids (FJ and M35/M40s) have more brown and also typically display more camo'ing efforts. Also, it seemed the Heer units tended to preserve their decals while, more often, the Luft units covered them.

I hope this helps.

Mike
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dog green 1
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by dog green 1 »

Two helmets I have done in sand colour. Both textured with fine sand and grit. Wear to the rim and the crown where it would recieve most wear from being placed on the ground.

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timdp
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Re: Paint used on Helmets in N-Afrika/Tunisia

Post by timdp »

I seriously doubt that any vehicles painted in RAL 7028 made it to Africa. The order for 7028 Dunklgelb was in Feb of '43.
Newly built vehicles (painted with the new color once stocks of the new paint arrived) had to be transported from Germany to Italy and then shipped to Africa (assuming they survived the RAF during the crossing). DAK surrendered in May of '43, so that is only three months maximum for all of the stars to align to get a Dunkelgelb vehicle to Africa before the surrender.

Repainting of vehicles in Africa to the new standard probably had a pretty low priority during the retreat across Africa, even assuming supplies of the new color made it to Africa.

tim


Hannibal Brooks wrote:Hi all,
I've been checking the paint used in Tunisia on German AFV's. I wanted to see the colours used specifically by vehicles arriving from late 1942. Specifically, I checked the schemes used by sPzAbt.501's Tigers. These were temporarily attached to the 334th Infantry Div, hence my interest.

The Tigers of sPzAbt.501 deployed to the Tunisian front in late 1942. They were painted in Brown RAL 8020. They were also authorised to over paint with Dark Grey RAL 7021 in a disruptive pattern, although there is no evidence that this happened. Later, they were oversprayed with Grey Green RAL 7008 to enhance their camouflage.

In addition, sPzAbt.504's Tigers were also painted in RAL 8020 oversprayed in RAL 7008.

It is not known if any Tigers were painted in RAL 7028.

So, from this small sample of evidence, it's theoretically possible that RAL 8020 or RAL 7008 could be the best paint for Tunisian helmets of certain units.

Any thoughts?
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