Landships II

Rochagavia · Corporal

Cuestions about Ford T

plastic fan · General

From what I have read and seen in photos I would venture to say that most Model T cars could be the same Brunswick Green as artillery or even black. Most photos I have looked at show a mid to dark color as opposed to a light color such as sand. This is just an opinion and hopefully someone with more knowledge will answer you. . In the meantime hopefully this will get you started.

PDA · Legend

What if they were painted the standard Daimler Green (as BT White says some vehicles were painted, in his book 'British Tank Marking and Names', 1978) but then when they were used in the harsh conditions of the Middle East the paint faded?

Note that the tyres were definitely not black, they were a natural rubber colour.

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-- Edited by PDA on Sunday 10th of November 2013 04:32:32 PM

Rob · Legend

John, without definite proof either, I would also agree. Also, the Resicast kit, like the similar RPM one, shows a vehicle possibly unique as modified by a motor machine gun corps unit in the UK, and David Fletcher says it was probably only ever used to carry supplies, not an MG, in France/Flanders. The bodystyle for the Lewis gun armed vehicles in Palestine was the standard van body cut down

plastic fan · General

Paint fading in the desert is a real possibility as the heat and sand would surely affect the base color along with a coating of dust. Chances are the vehicles were painted in a European military color or manufactures color, such as Daimler Green, and then sent to the desert where I doubt if they were repainted due to time and supplies. Replacement parts, ammo, food, water, fuel and lubricants would be the priority items and paint last in the supply chain. As you can see in the photos that PDA posted a heavy coating of dust can obscure the color a great deal. Even with today's paints military vehicles can become so coated with dust or mud that the original color can be completely obscured. So worry too much about the exact color just pick one you think is close to the photos and finish the model with the color and give it a good coat of dust. And by all means make sure you post a photo of your finished model as we would love to see it.

PDA · Legend

Here's a 1/32 one that Sean Hadfield made:

As you can see, he painted�the body�green and, unfortunately, the tyres black. The tyres are definitely wrong, but the body looks right.

Note that his build is based on the last photo I posted, and is substantially different from the RPM one.

Regarding the 3-tone scheme, all I can say is I've never seen a photo of one. American vehicles sometimes used a 3-tone scheme (seemingly based on the French one), so maybe an American Model T might have had such a scheme, or indeed, a French one (I've not seen a Model T in French use in WW1, but that doesn't mean much).

plastic fan · General

So should the tires be painted light grey? I would appreciate your advice as I intend to do a Ford myself.

PDA · Legend

Yes; light grey or maybe even a very light beige. Very pale, either way, because natural rubber is almost white.

plastic fan · General

Thanks PDA, that helps a lot.