Swedish Army, Strv 103C MBT - S-Tank

Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:25 pm

Hey guys,

Finishing the J29 with time to spare I though that I should try my luck with another interesting subject from the Swedish defence industry - the Strv 103 or ”S-Tank”. In Sweden it's called ”Stridsvagn S” or ”103”. It's the most well-armed bulldozer in the world!

The main feature of the S-tank is of course that it's turretless and uses the suspension to aim the gun, but there are many other unique features of this tank.

Background:
The ideas of the 103 formed back in 1950's when a new secret heavy tank where planned, the KRV or ”Project EMIL”. It should be a ~30-ton tank with high mobility, firepower and protection, but at this point Sweden had the opportunity to aquire Centurion tanks and the project was cancelled.
However, the discussions of a tank with high firepower, good frontal protection, low silouette and lower weight continued and the Swedish Army needed a tank where they could train tank-crews quicker.

In 1956 Sven Berge proposed a new tank, based on a revolutionary idea of using a high caliber fixed mounted gun where the track traverse and hydralic suspension where utilised to aim the gun. The lack of a turret made it possible to design a low profile, low weight tank that could fit a big gun. The weight where maintained low by the wedge-shaped upper hull that kept down the thickness of the armourplates.
The fixed gun made it ”easy” to add an auto-loader without any penalty of turret size, weight, engine power and complexity. Ammunition would be stored in the center of the tank, protected from the outside and away from the crew.

The tank only needed a one man crew to operate since driving the tank and aiming the gun would be the same thing and there where no need for a loader. The tank had a front mounted transmission and power plant, which protected the crew as well.

Deployment:
The aiming system where thoroughly tested using different mockups and the first prototypes where delivered in 1961 by a combined effort by Volvo, Landsverk and Bofors. Bofors got the first mass production order of 70 Strv 103A units in 1964 and the deliveries started 1967.

The Strv 103B and C versions where developed with increased engine power, flotation capability and less fuel consumption.

A total of 302 tanks where produced.

Characteristics:
The 103 has three crewmembers commander and two drivers, one forward driver/gunner and one backward driver/radio operator. The commander could also override the controls and drive/aim and shoot to engage suddenly appearing targets (or if the driver where knocked out).

The main weapon is a 105mm L/62 gun (derived from the Centurion actually). It shoots sabot, smoke or high explosives, total of 50 rounds. The gun fires 20 rounds per minute and is very accurate between shots. The 103 also has three Ksp58 7.62mm machine-guns.

The Strv 103 has two engines; one 290hp traditional diesel engine and one 490hp gas-turbine. Top speed is 55 km/h (34 mph).

It weights 40 tons and it's 9m long and 3,4m wide. The tank has a catepillar blade at the front to pile up dirt and rubble for protection when setting up an ambush.

Tactics:
The 103 is basically a very mobile tank-destroyer designed to deal with T-55s and T-62s, by setting up an ambush along a defensive line. The 103 unloads on the attackers and quickly pulls back (that's the job for the rear-driver!) into a safe position where it can reload and setup a new ambush.
It was never intended to be used in an attacking role.

There was a lot of arguments about the lack of a turret. Even the Swedish armed forces where split in half over this question. Tests showed that the 103 where very effective and when six 103C's where pitted against six Strv 121 (Leopard 1) - all the ”kittens” where killed but only one 103C where lost.

End-of-life:
The Strv 103 never saw any action and were never exported – it was too specialised for Swedish ”shoot-and-scoot” tactics to be useful for any other nation.

The ability to fire during movement where also developed much quicker than expected as well as TOW missiles and IR optics. This made the 103 obsolete since it had no advantage anymore. The aiming system needed the engine running and the angled armour were of no use if the round penetrated the hull from above.
The 103s where taken out of service in 2001 and only around 40 are left in museums around the world. I have had the opportunity to see one of them in action at Arboga Armour Museum.

[youtube]yZm7sLzDwGY[/youtube]

Ok... about my build then:

I have selected the Trumpeter 1/35 kit #00310 of a Strv 103C and I will add some aftermarket stuff to it as well.

Boxart:

Sprues:

Instruction manual and decals:

The aftermarket parts are two big sets of PE from Eduard and a metal gun barrel. There is also a masking kit for the wheels that I might use as well.

I have also ordered Trumpeters individual tracks from eBay (package is en route).

Stay tuned for more!

ScaleMates · Post by **papatika** » Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:51 pm

A rare vehicle, from Trumpeter, with PE, barrel and tracks... I think everything is ready for a great building experience!

GL & HF!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 12:44 am

I will be watching this build with intrest
I won the same kit last year with the Panther sig and haven't gotten to it yet
It really is a one of a kind tank and aiming by moving the suspension was a unique feature too
Good luck with the build

Post by **rm6239** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 5:39 am

I'll be in on this one, have almost exactly the same gear waiting in my stash, except I went with the J's Work paint mask and I haven't gotten the tracks yet.

cheers
Rossco

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:40 am

good luck . Great little intro. Tnx for taking the time.

Post by **TommyKillander** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 6:49 pm

papatika wrote:A rare vehicle, from Trumpeter, with PE, barrel and tracks... I think everything is ready for a great building experience! GL & HF!

Thanks !
I will do my best effort to make this tank justice!

Cheers

Post by **TommyKillander** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 6:56 pm

rm6239 wrote:I'll be in on this one, have almost exactly the same gear waiting in my stash, except I went with the J's Work paint mask and I haven't gotten the tracks yet.

cheers
Rossco

MarkVerploeg wrote:I will be watching this build with intrest
I won the same kit last year with the Panther sig and haven't gotten to it yet
It really is a one of a kind tank and aiming by moving the suspension was a unique feature too
Good luck with the build

Cool, maybe I can drag you guys into start building your kits as well

I'm planning to paint it in the 4-colour splinter-cammo scheme, but I don't have a masking kit so this build might be very interesting

Post by **TommyKillander** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 7:02 pm

gustavlekstal wrote: good luck . Great little intro. Tnx for taking the time.

Thanks Gustav,

You're welcome - It's all stolen from the Internet and the book "Svenskt Pansar"

There are so many things that make the 103 such a special tank....

Cheers

Post by **rodrant** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 7:41 pm

Interesting ...I remember to see a documentary on this some years ago ...a 'low' profile tank ...

Nice choice, interesting intro , to follow with interest !

Post by **patrickroos** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:21 pm

Oh no...more Swedish stuff!

Great intro, thanks!

By many (including myself) considered the best defensive tank ever.
Ingeniously built for purpose.
And it also had offensive capabilities, extremely hard to spot and hit.
In my service we had Strv Centurion, cant remember which version (constantly upgraded Strv 81/101/102/104) and Pbv 302.
(I was Pansarskytte = Armoured infantry)
In exercises against Strv S (103) when attacking we always got our a$$es kicked...

The only time in my life when I crapped my pants (almost) was when we were on patrol at dusk and all of a sudden an extremely well camouflaged 103 roared to life in front of us and just "appeared" from nowhere blasting away with its MG!

Good luck Tommy!!!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Wed Jul 01, 2015 6:21 am

patrickroos wrote:Oh no...more Swedish stuff!

Great intro, thanks!

By many (including myself) considered the best defensive tank ever.
Ingeniously built for purpose.
And it also had offensive capabilities, extremely hard to spot and hit.
In my service we had Strv Centurion, cant remember which version (constantly upgraded Strv 81/101/102/104) and Pbv 302.
(I was Pansarskytte = Armoured infantry)
In exercises against Strv S (103) when attacking we always got our a$$es kicked...
The only time in my life when I crapped my pants (almost) was when we were on patrol at dusk and all of a sudden an extremely well camouflaged 103 roared to life in front of us and just "appeared" from nowhere blasting away with its MG!

Good luck Tommy!!!

Hahaha... yeah that must have been a surprise.

rodrant wrote:Interesting ...I remember to see a documentary on this some years ago ...a 'low' profile tank ...

Nice choice, interesting intro , to follow with interest !

Thanks guys!

Started too look at the PE yesterday and it is 5 frets all together (!), basically the whole top of the tank is littered with tiny tiny details

And some scratchbuildning is needed also.

The lower hull and running gear seems pretty straight forward though.

This will be a interesting build, hope I can complete it in time.

See you soon!

Post by **martin57** » Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:12 pm

thats a strange looking tank, i like it,best of luck with it

Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Jul 03, 2015 10:35 pm

martin57 wrote:thats a strange looking tank, i like it,best of luck with it

Thanks Martin!

Cheers

Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Jul 03, 2015 10:50 pm

Hi there!

My vacation started today so I will probably spend the days with my family and the nights building scalemodels

Ok, took a quick peek at the PE frets and suddenly realised how much work it is to remove plastic detail and add PE...

But.... as my old grandma used to say -"If you take the devil into the boat, you have to row to put him ashore again"... So I guess there is no turning back.

Anyway, started to assemble the wheels today. There are some separation marks (I think - but they might be intentional) and ejection pin marks as well as some flash. The ejection pin marks are not visible on the assembled kit, so thats ok. Some of the flash where between the spokes of the driving sprocket, which took me almost an hour to get rid of using a scalpell and 2mm wide stripes of 1200 grit sanding paper.

Stay tuned!

Post by **chief5437** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 1:22 am

I've always been fascinated by this tank, such a unique design. Would love to build one one day. Hope it goes well for you buddy

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 9:10 am

chief5437 wrote:I've always been fascinated by this tank, such a unique design. Would love to build one one day. Hope it goes well for you buddy

Thanks mate!

Found this document, tests conducted by British Army in 1968:
http://tanks.mod16.org/2015/03/03/repor ... tank-1968/

I remember when did my military service one of my COs told me about a British military observer visiting Sweden looking at a demonstration of an S-tank for the first time saying:
- "This is a product of a nation with 350 years of unbroken peace suffering from technical hubris"

Not everyone where convinced that a turretless design where the right way to go and there was a lot of initial problems with the design, but those where sorted out and the 103 proved to be a very reliable tank in the end.

Cheers!

Post by **chief5437** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 12:39 pm

Interesting reading, thanks buddy

Post by **Andreas** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 5:47 pm

Hej tommy. Are you doing aftermarket traks on it?
And if not. Where man I get them? Looking great tommy. Good luck

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sat Jul 04, 2015 6:43 pm

Andreas wrote:Hej tommy. Are you doing aftermarket traks on it?
And if not. Where man I get them? Looking great tommy. Good luck

Thanks Andreas!

Yes, I have ordered Trumpeters plastic track links, late version (#02056)
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/204616- ... rack-links
I had to order them from eBay, though - couldn't find them in Sweden. Price sits around 20 USD.

Unfortunately they are not delivered yet, but they will show up in a week or two from now I think.

I'm not in any hurry - there are plenty of things to do before I need to put the tracks on

Cheers!

Post by **Dunhill2005** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:39 am

I built a Strv a while ago (B-Version) and it was a really fun-built.
Nice to see another one here...

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:46 am

Hey guys!

I've started to work on the lower hull and the running gear now. This Trumpeter kit seems full of surprises.. The fit in general is quite bad, some pieces, like the return dampeners (don't know the proper word for them), does not fit onto the hull.
But what the heck, that's not a major issue. Anything (almost) can be fixed with patience and some glue

The lower hull is assembled, except for the rear panel, which has some serious PE. I have made some scratches using a coarse sanding stick just to make the plates more "interesting".

I got warned for the driving sprockets on a swedish forum and that was unfortunately true - this looks really bad and it won't work for me.

I need something more exact and sturdy if I'm gonna get the individual link tracks in place properly. I need to be able to assemble/disassemble everything 100 times without breaking it

My dependable russian comrade SU-100 agreed to make a donation (спасибо). This is a horrible kit that a friend of mine gave me, since he gave up on it some time ago (he never returned to the hobby after that...) - I use it for organ transplants and horrible paint experiments

While I was at it still, I reinforced the hull sides to get more material to put the Dremel in. The whole thing is drenched in extra thin so I will leave it until tomorrow to cure.

That's all for today, I'll start working on all that wonderful PE soon, stay tuned!

TOmmy

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:58 am

Dunhill2005 wrote:I built a Strv a while ago (B-Version) and it was a really fun-built.
Nice to see another one here...

Yeah, I saw that in a build-thread.

It looked really cool, awesome winter cammo!

Cheers

Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:35 pm

Hey guys,

So... it's time to dig on the stack of PE-cards and see if we are fortunate or not

Yesterday I did some "recon" of the upcoming buildsteps before I went to bed and I had to read three user instructions in parallell and take version 103B and 103C options into account on every step

This morning I gave it a new try and it seems to me that I need to divide the buildsteps into subtasks and ask myself "will the plastic part look good enough?" and "will the PE part look better?" before I take a decision to hack away on the styrene and spend a lot of effort making improvements.

Anyway, I started with the rear panel replacing a couple of hatches. It seems like a straightforward task if you have a chisel-tool, but mine is still on backorder so I have to do it the hard way instead.

As you can see the rim of the backpanel is framed with nice looking boltheads.

The instructions generously gives me the hint that I should use a file/sanding stick to remove the hatches and it also gives me some dodgy instructions how to heat sprue and use hexagonal holes in the fret to mould new 0.5mm boltheads, cut the with a knife and glue them onto the surface - guess what, I'm not going to do that

Ok, time to bend some metal.

And the lower hull is completed (except for the dozer-blade ofc)

I have started to drill some holes (note that some holes are not needed if you are going to use PE, so read the three instructions carefully)

The hole for the rear driver/radio operator hatch should be increased, have no idea why, but maybe the hatch is smaller in the 103B kit.

So, next up is to start assembling the three different hatches on the top. It will culminate in the commanders hatch where basically everything will be replaced with PE

Cheers!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:32 pm

Hi!

I have started to work on the upper hull now, first out is the rear drivers hatch. The hatch has two 90 mm "Lyran" flare-launchers, which I will put in the launching position.

I made a quick test trying to use the hatch-handles supplied with the kit but they looked so awful that I decided to remove them and use steel wire instead.

The muzzles of the flare-launchers look awful

I filled the misaligned holes with liquid sprue so I can drill them out properly later on.

Next up is the drivers hatch. It needs some attention as well. Lots of flash on the grenade canisters to take care of....

I have started assemble the plastic parts for the commanders hatch, there are a couple of plastic parts still missing, but I will add them after all the PE parts are finished. The periscopes are small boxes of PE; 7 pieces in total(!) for the whole kit and the MG is a mix of cut up plastic parts, scratched material and PE. It will be a lot of work to get everything in place, but hopefully it will look good.

That's all for today

Cheers

Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:38 am

Hi there!

Started to work on the periscopes, beginning with the optics (lenses). Eduard have been kind enough to provide a sheet of transparent plastic for the lenses.

It would probably work to use the lenses as they are (assuming that the periscopes does not leak light), but I would like to add a colour effect to the glass as well.

I try to achive this by first applying Tamiya Clear Blue and Clear Green paint to the sheet - the Clear paints will act as a filter for the reflecting light. I added one extra sheet to have more material to choose from (or I might save it for another projec).

On top of that I put a generous coat of XF-69 NATO Black.

If we turn the sheet around, we can see the coloured glass effect. This is a little tricky to catch with a camera, but the effect is that the lens is very dark with a small tint of green (or blue) in certain light-conditions.

I'm happy with that. Let's get started with the periscopes next...

Cheers!

Post by **chief5437** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 2:09 pm

Nice work so far buddy!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:36 pm

chief5437 wrote:Nice work so far buddy!

Thanks Chief!

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:08 pm

It's outstanding work you do! But I wish there would be a newer addition of the stridsvagn 103 coming out. You got some real modelling skills so you will pull this kanin out of the hat.

Website · Post by **Gav0909** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:49 pm

Pretty neat work so far! Good luck with all the PE additions, I often find the main issue is working with two sets of instructions!

Nice work on the lenses as well, not seen that method before.

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:30 pm

gustavlekstal wrote:It's outstanding work you do! But I wish there would be a newer addition of the stridsvagn 103 coming out. You got some real modelling skills so you will pull this kanin out of the hat.

Thanks Gustav, I'm hopeing that kanin-pulling-tricks (i.e. damage-control) will not be needed this time. But it's never too late to mess things up

Yes, I would love to have a more modern kit with included PE. It seems that Trumpeter took the easy way out when they made this kit, but on the other hand the kit is not so expensive.

Gav0909 wrote:Pretty neat work so far! Good luck with all the PE additions, I often find the main issue is working with two sets of instructions!

Nice work on the lenses as well, not seen that method before.

Thanks Gav, since I bought two PE sets my poor brain needs to deal with three IMs at the same time

I hope the periscope optics turns out good, it's the first time I do it this way

Cheers!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:09 pm

Hey Guys!

I have started to work on the PE for the periscopes and done some preparations for modifications and scratched parts on the rest of the commanders cupola (MG and smoke-launchers).

Tried both the green and blue glass and I didn't hesitate when I selected the blue one. I think it looks totally B.A.D.A.S.S. !
I'm very pleased with it, though it is a bit tricky to catch with a camera (you have to trust me)...

Tommy

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:46 pm

Great work

The 'glass' technique looks awesome!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:52 pm

OliveDrab wrote:Great work The 'glass' technique looks awesome!

Thanks OliveDrab,

I have started to assemble the rest of the periscopes and this is by far the most complicated thing I have done sofar. There are 9 periscopes in total with covers and tiny arms to connect them.

I hope it turns out good.

Cheers!

Post by **demarcation** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:03 pm

Awesome work so far Tommy! I will definitely follow this build.

Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:31 pm

demarcation wrote:Awesome work so far Tommy! I will definitely follow this build.

Thanks!

You're welcome, please enjoy watching me struggle with a sea of photoetch!

Cheers!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:49 pm

Ok...

I have completed the periscopes now, it's hard to say if they look more realistic than the plastic parts, but there is more detail for sure and the optics turned out quite neat I think.

It's not hard to understand why this tank beat it's opponents on visual range and spotting performance - it has more eyes in every direction than a spider...

Each of the smaller side and rear periscopes have a cover for the optics and two links. This is the first one completed, now repeat that 6 times.....

Last thing I will go before I hit the bunk is to mask the optics with some Micro Mask and prepare some parts for the MG, so I can continue with that tomorrow.

I think I will complete the commanders cupola as a subassembly, building and painting it separately (it's too fragile with all the different PE and stuff) and put it on the tank last thing.

Cheers!

Post by **RobBye** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:58 pm

I'll be following along with great interest too.

I plan an Strv 103C build for later this year, as soon as I've finished building my workspace. I have a camo mask and a metal gun barrel already ordered, so the first steps have been taken.

Best of luck with your efforts!

Post by **patrickroos** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:00 pm

Nice work, that PE really makes a difference!

Website · Post by **Gav0909** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:56 pm

Optics turned out brilliant there! Its amazing how something as simple as putting some colour into the glass can make a model look so much better.

Excellent.

Post by **TommyKillander** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:21 pm

RobBye wrote:I'll be following along with great interest too.

I plan an Strv 103C build for later this year, as soon as I've finished building my workspace. I have a camo mask and a metal gun barrel already ordered, so the first steps have been taken.

Best of luck with your efforts!

Thanks and good luck with your 103 too, it great fun to build!

The metal barrel is a good investment and I really recommend the PE-kit Eduard # 35538 as well.

Cheers!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:30 pm

patrickroos wrote:Nice work, that PE really makes a difference!

Thanks Patrick!
It's lot of work, but worth the effort I think.

Gav0909 wrote:Optics turned out brilliant there! Its amazing how something as simple as putting some colour into the glass can make a model look so much better.

Excellent.

Thanks Gav!

I was considering using mylar "party-stripes" - I think they look great on hi-tech stuff like aircraft pods and modern AFVs, but couldn't find any color that I think matched the 103.

Cheers!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:01 pm

Hello,

Done some work on the MG now, some minor scratchbuilding where needed to fit the ammo-box.

It was a lot of flash on the kit MG-parts that had to be cleared. There are some collisions on the ammo-box parts that I discovered after I glued the parts together and I couldn't fix them afterward, but part from that I think that it looks OK.

Next up is the smoke launchers.

Cheers

Post by **Jack** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:40 pm

Excellent work, photo-etch looks great

Post by **TommyKillander** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:15 am

Jack wrote:Excellent work, photo-etch looks great

Thanks Jack!

Cheers

Post by **TommyKillander** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:08 pm

Hey guys!

I decided to leave the photo-etch for some nice brass tube work for a while.... The plastic smoke-launchers in the kit looks like crap I think and the photo-etch version where far too complicated to assemble and to look good, so I decided to scratch-build them.

Now, I got a friend that has a complete engineering workshop, but I got a little impatient so I decided to use a blunt metal saw and sanding sticks instead. So instead of getting perfectly cutted parts with the right dimensions, I spent a couple of hours ripping a 3/32" brass tube apart.

I probably spent the same amount of time fitting and sanding and fitting and more sanding... before I could glue the smoke-launchers in place:

I'm happy with the result, but I probably spent too much time and effort into it...

But that what you get if you're impatient, stupid and stubborn at the same time

Cheers

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:08 am

Hi there!

I have spent most of the day with other stuff than this build, but I have had some time to start thinking about the painting.... I will paint the tank in the classic Swedish 4-colour cammo - known as the "splinter".

I have done some research about this and there seems to be quite some confusion about the colours. The main reason is that there are no exact model colours that match the color specs from the Swedish defence department (FSD-number) and these specs are for what the paint looks like when it comes out of the can. The paint itself is a rather expensive since it has IR-supressing properties, so vehicles where not repainted very often. The colour changed quite quickly due to the climate and wear-and-tear, so if you want to have a tank that looks geniune you shouldn't focus too much on what a brand new paintjob looked like. But on the other hand, these tanks did not spend 5 years in a trench so we are not talking about KV-1 or PzKpfw iV kind of wear and tear

Anyway, after a couple of hours surfing the Internet, I stumbled on a thread on a Swedish forum, where a guy with the name Teeoo showed a pic of a great looking 1/72 model of a 103. He suggested using standard Tamiya colours and he also suggested that instead of trying to match the colours induvidually - try focusing on the contrast between the colours and study pictures for reference.
I decided to try this and after some testing on my own with the green colours I ended up with more or less his suggestion anyway

If you compare it with the pictures below it is not that far off, I think.

I think that I will choose these colours.

Cheers

Post by **vdbo76** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:50 pm

Very nice color combo!

Post by **JonMW** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:24 pm

The colors looks pretty good. But as you noted the colors are hard to match with the sun bleaching, wear and such. But also from memory the spray cans are not that consistent. When I did my military service I was a mechanic so had access to paint for repairs and we got a bunch of spray cans of the dark green paint and then on night painted a guys car without him knowing about it. And some of the cans where slightly lighter or darker, so even newly painted (or at least repainted) parts might not have the perfect color.

Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 6:22 pm

vdbo76 wrote:Very nice color combo!

Thanks Fabian!

JonMW wrote:The colors looks pretty good. But as you noted the colors are hard to match with the sun bleaching, wear and such. But also from memory the spray cans are not that consistent. When I did my military service I was a mechanic so had access to paint for repairs and we got a bunch of spray cans of the dark green paint and then on night painted a guys car without him knowing about it. And some of the cans where slightly lighter or darker, so even newly painted (or at least repainted) parts might not have the perfect color.

Yes, I was thinking of painting some random parts in dark green only, to give the tank a bit of personal touch - like it where sent to a field workshop for repair and they didn't paint the new part in "splinter" cammo. I might do that to a couple of the Jerry cans, maybe.

If you repainted that car during night, the end result must have been a surprise both to you and the car-owner

Cheers!

Post by **JonMW** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:31 pm

For field repairs we only had one color with us as space was limited and most things could be painted in that green.

The car looked a lot better after we got done with it. Considering it was painted flat black by some drunk guys in the middle of the night before we got started on it. And we were at least not drunk, so it was a master paint job