British Tank Gun Paint

[SebBrady]

Evening all, I need the hive minds help. 

Most British tank guns post war, mainly the L7 and L11 guns were painted in what looks like a Bronze Green/Brunswick green colour. My question is does anyone have the paint code of official RAL colour of this paint? 

Was this a crew level job to paint this or was this the paint that came with the gun and stayed until someone else did it? I have attached photos of the turrets of both Centurion and Chieftain showing the shade I am on about. 

[10FM68]

This is quite a hoary subject and open to opinion and some debate.  But, my take is as follows:

It wouldn't have a 'RAL' colour code as RAL is the German standard - though widely used across the world.  The British Standard for the paint would be BS 381C - 224 -  Deep Bronze Green, or DBG.  HOWEVER, the actual shade used will vary according to the manufacturer, both of the paint and of the item. BS 381C - 224 is the official colour used for British military equipment and manufacturers supplied accordingly.  But, quite often, they would use a colour which was close, but not exact, perhaps one they were already using for another application. If you look at military equipment painted in DBG you will find quite a wide variation.  Some will be very dark, others much lighter, almost Middle Bronze Green (BS381C - 223).  For example, pristine Land Rover green is on the light side compared with a unit vehicle painted from a tin of Army-issue DBG.  Some staff cars were supplied lighter still.  DBG also darkens with age and the yellow gives way to the blue side of the green.

So, you have a bit of leeway, but try for the BS paint, but be aware that 2 tins from differnt batches may well vary markedly.

[SebBrady]

I tend to use one manufacturer for paint so I’ll see what he can do, I had a feeling it could be deep bronze green. 
 

We shall see what colour and shade I get! 
 

thanks for your quick reply 

[fv1609]

9 hours ago, 10FM68 said:

HOWEVER, the actual shade used will vary according to the manufacturer, both of the paint and of the item. BS 381C - 224 is the official colour used for British military equipment and manufacturers supplied accordingly.

Indeed, many years ago I was lucky enough to obtain two tins of official DBG that were still in date. One was by Trimite & I have forgotten the other maker.

After a long mix I dispensed what I hadn't used into jam jars to give consistency when touching up. After a long time the pigments separated & I noticed one pigment was a slightly reddish brown & the other, I think the Trimite, was a turquoise/green.

When dry they both were similar at a distance, but close up there was a difference. I like the sharper tinge of the Trimite, but both were genuine.

 

[MatchFuzee]

E-Paint describe these two RAL alternatives for BS 381C - 224 as "Slightly Different" 

RAL 140 30 05

RAL 120 30 05

https://www.e-paint.co.uk/colour-alternatives.asp?cRange=BS+381C&cRef=BS381C+224&cDescription=Deep+bronze+green

[jmehner]

Please do not omit the "Design" part of RAL Design, to which those supposedly match. RAL Design was created and formulated for architects, designers and advertisers, so the variety of possible matches is a lot bigger. Also, you may find it is not suitable for painting vehicles.

Beside the alreasy mentioned RAL Design 140 30 05 and RAL Design 120 30 05, further matches cited by e-paint are RAL Design 110 30 10, RAL Design 160 30 05, RAL Design 140 30 10 and RAL Design 130 30 10. RAL colour paint suitable for vehicles always has a four number-code, in this case the equivalent of DBG is given as RAL Classic 7022.

This anorak will now return to the regular broadcast...

Edited November 28 by jmehner

[10FM68]

2 hours ago, MatchFuzee said:

E-Paint describe these two RAL alternatives for BS 381C - 224 as "Slightly Different" 

RAL 140 30 05

RAL 120 30 05

https://www.e-paint.co.uk/colour-alternatives.asp?cRange=BS+381C&cRef=BS381C+224&cDescription=Deep+bronze+green

But why would you choose to follow a foreign standard which is admitted to be 'slightly different' when you are dealing with a British vehicle and a readily available British standard paint - unless you live in Germany, perhaps.

[SebBrady]

In short because the paint codes for my vehicle from a document were presented in a RAL format. 
 

therefore I went along the path of the external of the vehicle and was painted in a RAL colour then there would be an appropriate RAL number for the rest of the vehicle whilst it was stationed there. 
 

All that aside I’ve gone along with the BS code and ordered that anyway. 

and I thank everyone for their assistance as always ☺️ will update with a photo when done 

[07BE16]

Assuming you are referring to the Berlin Cammo Chieftain it would make sense that the external colours were RAL as it would have been painted in Germany. (This also explains why Revell GmbH paints are a perfect match in 1/35 scale!). I assume the inside of the vehicle would have been untouched and remained in BS paint.