British Army WW1 Green & Equipment

[T2B]

Airfix as far as I'm aware have only done the WW1 male and female tanks in 1:76 So have a limited range of vehicles from that range. 

 

I noticed recently Roden did a lovely WW1 lorry, limber and artillery piece. Not my era for modelling but if it was I would have snapped it up!

[John Symmons]

Hi 18F

I'm not really sure that army pieces in WW1 were any shade of green, as most or my references show that various shades of Olive or Khaki was the norm.

The Roden's WW1 lorry Roden recommends Vallejo 71.018 Brown-black / Khaki for the British WW1 lorry western front 1917, which is very miss-leading as 71.081 is a black green. Khaki brown being 71.024, and black brown being 71.042. In the Humbrol range you could use No 72 (Khaki Drill) for a faded or worn look the other colours you could try are No's 86 and 155 both olive shades.

Looking at accurate colours for something that happened a 100 years ago is in most cases a bit futile, as colours back then were not noted for there colour fastness, and were often mixed up what was available in war time conditions; a typical case being the RFC Green / Brown / Khaki used on the Camel and SE 5a fighters. Also don't forget the "scale effect" you get with small model being painted in dark colours that end up looking too dark.

Hope this helps. Maybe Airfix could do a few more WW1 armour models in 1/72 / 1/76 scale. I'm sure it would make many modellers happy.

Remember we do this for fun                             John the Pom

[Kenneth ONeill]

I've seen print souces that suggest that Humbrol 27 grey is also a valid choice for WW1 armour, although possibly more for RNAS armoured cars and Mk IV tanks than for Mk I.

[81F]

 Many thanks for the help

[Ratch]

I am primarily a railway modeller and am looking for suggestions for some wagon loads for the WW1 period. I already have several of the Corgie WW1 tanks and some Howitzers (from another make). In addition I have a 1:76 narrow gauge WDLR simplex kit.

 

My first question is would Humbrol Matt 30 be the correct colour green that the British Army would have used in france for it's artillery and narrow gauge railway equipment. Most colour photos of preserved items seem to show they are in a similar colour green. However, this green looks a bit darker than Matt 30. However, I am, aware that preservationists do not always get the colour exactly right or is matt 30 more of a "weathered" shade as the paint would have looked after a few months in service.

 

Also can anyone suggest other Airfix kits of the period that could be used as wagon loads.