How to Paint Tiger Tanks | Tank Chats Special | The Tank Museum

Tank Chats playlist • Tank Chats from The Ta... *See Tiger 131 at Tiger Day X - tankmuseum.org/whats-on/event... * Before opening the Tiger Tank Collection, the Jagdtiger and Tiger II needed to be re-painted. Find out everything you ever needed to know about the RAL system, as Curator David Willey takes you through the process of painting a Tiger Tank.
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This video features the King Tiger, Jagdtiger and Tiger 1 and briefly shows the other tiger tanks in The Tiger Collection. #tankmuseum #tanks #tigertank #tankchats The Tank Museum E-Newsletter sign-up: mailchi.mp/e6fae2ac8bee/newsl...

[@stevenbrown8857]

Who knew a man sitting on a step amongst shelving talking about paint codes would be the most interesting part of my day ... tank museum ... always excellent

[@HOBMACHINE]

I know !!!

[@gusty9053]

I agree. Who knew paint could be so interesting ?

[@SnowmanTF2]

Reminds me of as semi joke video The Chieftain made, provided running commentary on watching paint dry, which apparently comes up as something he could make interesting or as a request somewhat regularly in comments

[@gusty9053]

@SnowmanCA saw that as well. Not as informative but fun to watch.

[@wetlettuce4768]

This guy is trying to give James May a run for his money as the worlds most interesting boring person lol

[@darklingeraeld-ridge7946]

Modellers and wargamers note: Vallejo Model Colours have RAL numbers printed, when appropriate, at the bottom of their labels. Excellent video.

[@Spencer481]

"For tiger " written on a that tin of paint makes me smile. Like it's for the extra bed room or the living room.

[@miskatonic6210]

Like the scientist telling you: "For tiger only, don't use dunkelgelb for the Sherman, dammit!"

[@stevie65able]

I know, made me smile when I noticed that. How many people can say their full sized tins of paint are for a Tiger or Panther...

[@voiceofraisin3778]

@@stevie65able Carole Baskin?

[@xirensixseo]

The museum should start selling RAL colour sets at the merch store

[@Tuning3434]

+Xiren Seo Standard RAL sets you can get from any decent paint company, but actually researching and printing (!) correct WW2 vintage scheme's might be a tad more challenging for a museum. You can only hope another company want to do the effort and then sell their products instead.

[@ninoschier9528]

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAL-Farbe You can look them all up in german Wikipedia

[@roblink4781]

Xíren Seo, Vallejo, Tamiya, and AK, all sell very good representations of the RAL colors for scale model building, Vallejo even has a series of paint called Panzer Aces...

[@xirensixseo]

Nice, if I ever need to get the set I now know where, thanks for sources.. Though museums collabing with idk Nippon paint or smth to make these sets would still be good business XD

[@markfryer9880]

@Lassi Kinnunen If you had modelling kits, glue, several brushes, the appropriate paint tins all in a single box ready to go they would literally walk out the door.

[@BurtSampson]

The only channel on KZbin that can get me to watch an 11 minute video about historical paints.

[@taofledermaus]

I can only imagine the curators 20 years from now will be saying you did it all wrong.

[@jackstephens7222]

Undoubtably, love your channel btw

[@thetankmuseum]

We'll be sure to make another video about it, when the inevitable happens!

[@nathanfagan9881]

And here's me thinking you just shot Gummy Bears.... Who'd a thunk it!?

[@markfryer9880]

@@nathanfagan9881 Shooting Gummy Bears? What a Barbarian! Shooting Drop Bears, now that is a different story. Damn things breed like rabbits and attack tourists to the detriment of our Aussie Tourism industry and the economy.

[@gusgone4527]

When paint scrapes are analysed with mass spectrometers. It's the end of the lines to determine which paints/pigments/oxides were used. So in 20 years they will be thanking the current lads and lasses for their attention to detail, while some original samples still exist.

[@DEW1TT18]

8:36, now that's what I call a selfie stick.

[@bradyelich2745]

Add to that a cringe factor of 1000 out to 2 km.

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

*SLOW DOWN SHERMAN TANK LET ME HIT YOU!!!!*

[@juremv7]

mine is bigger than yours kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4qzi5eJmNCsaqs

[@americanpanzer4163]

@@juremv7 But yours is on the bottom rather than top

[@lukelloyd-adey552]

IS-3: Hold My Beer

[@Panzermeister36]

Very good and accurate video. Awesome to see you're trying to shed light on all the inaccuracies and myths of old. Couple of things I'd like to add that I often see model makers asking about or making mistakes with (not everyone cares and that is perfectly fine). The two-tone RAL 7021/7017 panzer grey/brown scheme was not entirely discontinued in 1940 as you said; StuG III Ausf.B were still being painted in it at the factory in March 1941. There are good photos of this. Seems like it was continued on tank destroyers/assault guns for some odd reason. After March '41, StuGs were all painted in grey (until tropical schemes and dunkelgelb were introduced). The RAL 8000/7008 (Tropen 1) and RAL 7027/8020 (Tropen 2) schemes were not exclusive to North Africa. Southern Russia was also considered a tropical region and so many tanks there were delivered and repainted in these schemes, likely including Tigers that were at Kursk. Those two tropical schemes were often applied in the factory, meaning that they often would not chip to panzer grey underneath but instead to red oxide primer, as no grey is underneath in the first place. There are some exceptions, such as earlier vehicles delivered to North Africa, and some later ones too. But the early ones were usually just RAL 8000, and the later examples are mostly Panzer IV Ausf.F2/G which were painted over their grey with Tropen 2. This also meant that some tanks painted in tropical schemes in the factory got diverted to other places...a good example is StuG III Ausf.F/8 and Initial production StuG III Ausf.G, which were delivered to Kharkov in the winter of 1942/43 in Tropen 2 desert camo...in the middle of winter, which looks badass in photos. Most tanks also got two- or three-tone factory-applied camouflages starting in August 1944. This continued to the last days of the war and it well documented. No nothing every left a factory in red primer...it's a myth. No they didn't run out of paint either. That's also well documented. Gun barrels are also not red oxide primer but a dark grey heat-resistant lacquer primer. These factory camouflages were standardized and were done to reduce factors like deployment times, tanks never being properly camouflaged, and to reduce fuel use when thinning down paint for camo application and work depots. It was a production streamlining thing, just like the elimination of zimmerit around the same time. Additionally, the idea that "field-applied" camouflages were done literally in a field by tank crews is incorrect. It was done at the depot level with proper equipment and work crews. Winter whitewash camouflages were often literal crew jobs though, and were usually done really shitty with paintbrushes rather than spray guns. Feel free to add more stuff below, anyone :)

[@AdamMann3D]

My little baby is all growed up

[@ThePerfectRed]

Here is also an interesting article, not as scientific but with a lot of original color pictures: ftr.wot-news.com/2015/02/24/german-camouflage-and-tactical-markings-part-i-by-agarestretiak/

[@Panzermeister36]

Why don't you just adopt me already Adam

[@mike_burke]

Because you are too high maintenance dude. But seriously Evan, fantastic write up, much appreciated.

[@james.black981]

Man, you're a wizard...

[@lucaschurer7516]

Great! Now I can finally paint the Tiger 1 in my garage historically accurate.

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

The only time straight men will argue about paint colors.

[@miskatonic6210]

Well, many straight men known more about pleasing a tank than about pleasing a woman.

[@thetankmuseum]

There's a t-shirt slogan in there somewhere...

[@coolminecraft1457]

A wise man told me once “ women are like tanks hot and sexy with lots of men inside” but yes when it comes to paint on my Panzerkampfwagon VI Tiger yes I am known to hit people for not getting me the right color

[@jimbehr2291]

PickelJars ForHillary 😁So true.

[@beerenmusli8220]

Straight man without any taste at least. xD

[@scoe5908]

Loving the bit of Siegfried's funeral march at the end there.

[@bmcg5296]

The Way the Museum keeps these tanks in the top condition is a credit to the men and women, who have done these weapons of war justice to factory spec. That is quiet a super achievement from a basic thing like paint had to be right, or don’t do it at all is remarkable to a detail many wouldn’t notice.

[@MURDOCK1500]

As a paint sprayer myself I found this very interesting. The colour of a vehicle or anything for that matter is very important because it's the first thing you see. It's nice to know that the tanks we looked at in Bovington were as authentic as possible. I remember seeing a Spitfire up close for the first time in the 70's. It was painted with shiny gloss paint and the markings were wrong too.

[@eyebite007]

Thank you David for another insightful video.

[@endlesssummers2391]

Thank you Subaru for watching

[@RaduB.]

Hello! You surely hit the spot with this one! From a modeller that's also a bit of a colour freak: excellent presentation!

[@MosoKaiser]

The mention of museums having used to fit a story reminded me of the Stug III in Bovington that was painted up to represent a German vehicle, and has since been restored to its correct Finnish colors and markings it sported during the war.

[@jeffklepzig920]

Very very interesting video. Anything from the tank museum is worth a look and this is great

[@MSGtJimator]

I've never watched a 10+ minute video on paint. But this was very interesting and extremely informative. Thank you very much. Can't wait for next year to come to Tank fest :)

[@klobiforpresident2254]

It reminds me of a video on the production of aluminium cans. "The cold enthusiasm this man has for the production of beverage cans is amazing." "I wish I was as passionate about something as this man is about soda cans." Now here I am, thinking: "The best part of my day will have been watching paint dry and hearing someone talk over it."

[@engleberteverything421]

@@klobiforpresident2254 I think I saw that one

[@NZobservatory]

Really appreciate the RGB crates surrounding the guy talking about paint colors.

[@Studi851]

Well done ... I have seen the collection in real ... looks so great ... best wishes from Germany

[@Panzergredi]

The amount of details and presentation of knowledge to the public is extraordinary.

[@jamesp8569]

Who would have thought watching paint dry was as fascinating....

[@miskatonic6210]

Watching paint dry is how to prevent a war. Just apply a new camo scheme each and every week. "Sorry general, we can't make a push, the paint isn't dry yet."

[@coolminecraft1457]

James P I’ll volunteer as tribute than I’ll go break into the chieftain and centurion and test if the german cats are as great as I hear

[@p_serdiuk]

You should check out Chieftain's video about paint drying. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHqzlqBnerKqaNU

[@ninus17]

they look magnificent. i hope that one day i will be able to go to england and visti the tank museum

[@11Kralle]

Just imagine the usual reaction of a german to '60 shades of grey': "What??? Only 60?"

[@Splodge542]

David Willey has my undivided attention again. His talks are so good I wish they wouldn't end.

[@haydencaryofilles6379]

Awesome comprehensive video I love watching this stuff as a history buff and I could see how this would be very useful for modelers trying to get their colors right Great job tank museum

[@JuergenGDB]

This is why Panzer Grey RAL 7021 is not faded like on the Tamiya boxes. I have seen color photos of Pz III, Pz II in Poland and France and they are dark as hell, almost as dark as the Panzer Uniforms the Germans wore. Lovely work at 3:56

[@Sovietskikh]

Glad to see the Jagdtiger no longer in that hideous grey/lemon polka dot yellow scheme.

[@thepulle4722]

But it’s a shame that the nice camo on the King Tiger was replaced with a plain tan, even though it is more historically accurate, still not as disappointing as what happened to their Matilda 2

[@Sovietskikh]

Your Average pull I think replacing inaccurate camouflage is as important as dispelling tank myths. The only reason some of these museum camouflages exist is due to a lack of information.

[@laurie1183]

Depends if your focus is on pure accuracy or upon relating a feeling. Most museums focus heavily upon accuracy, but if you want people to understand the true terror of coming up against a Tiger or Jagdtiger in the field then giving them a slightly inaccurate camo may work better for your purposes.

[@markfryer9880]

Polka Dots? Was it a Forming up tank? Oh wait that was for US 8th Bomber Formations.

[@jonvancil4431]

Thanks to all of you for your hard work maintaining these big cats!

[@skyflier8955]

Glad to see that they’re striving to be as accurate as possible and fixing mistakes made in the past.

[@josefstalin2351]

I was there yesterday and had a wonderful time absolute incredible museum

[@thurstablelane7567]

We have the same issue in the heritage railway world, locomotives which (some) have been built in the early 1900's have seen 3-4 Railway companies own the locomotive so the decision to paint it in an earlier more glamorous livery compared to liveries it carried in the 1950's & 60's where there is still memory for these engines in those liveries...This also goes for the stations and the wagons and coaches the engines pull.

[@ScottKenny1978]

I'd prefer to see the most colorful schemes on a railroad.

[@cglandorf]

I just watched a video about paint drying, and was completely fascinated!

[@typxxilps]

Wow. That was pretty impressive. Sounds like you would find the best made Tigers ever seen combat at Bovington with such effort to be precisely or more accurat than the germans then with their supply shortage day in day out. Fells great how you keep that heritage in good and realistic shape following the latest scientific research results and you are not afraid to talk about mistakes might been made and to correct them even at high expenses and efforts that it takes cause a new correct painting is not done by 3 men at one saturday evening, it takes ages to research, plan, prepare, refund before even one can start to clean chasiss, sandpaper, grounding, ... A lot of effort no one can really see except the few living survivors. Huge thank you for all these re questioning of tiny details everybody believes to know but does not know anything. And I like this kind of new minimalistic perspective inside your warehouse between the shelves . Just you and your book telling that tiny, forgotten story about "RAL" an acronym that only a tiny permille of germans could explain as good as you did. I simply knew that RAL is a base for colour identification but never thought about that it is "typical german". And of cause your German pronounciation is damn good + right emphasis. Hard work to get it right to that level many people won't see or recognice. Good luck for your goals in this "campaign".

[@BoriDeLeon]

Kudos. Finally i know how to properly paint my tigers. They were really unhappy till now with all this rawring and biting. They were just painted wrong, simple. Thanks.

[@PjotrStroganov]

The 70** ral numbers are quite popular these days when it comes to home building and interior. Never knew it was German. It still is widely used today.

[@klobiforpresident2254]

You might not notice when you see RAL, but when it says "Reichsausschuss für Lieferbedingungen" those compound nouns should leave no doubt.

[@Emdee5632]

Or in English , ''Imperial Commission for Delivery Terms and Quality Assurance'' . I would like to say I got it from a straight German-English translation, however I googled and Wiki gave me one...

[@klobiforpresident2254]

@@Emdee5632 That's about the straight translation though.

[@Panzermeister36]

Those RAL colours are not accurate to the originals.

[@jamesmulligan7413]

I think my room is in 7015

[@SGusky]

Wow As a modeler Best video I’ve ever scene Thank you so much

[@Bovara]

Fascinating, thank you for all the great work you, the museum and all the volunteers do to keep history alive.

[@dannyhanny1191]

Easily one of the most fascinating and interesting videos from the Tank Museum - thank you Mr. Willey. Great subject, great presentation.

[@BladeRunnerC]

Incredibly invaluable! Yet again The Tank Museum is an invaluable source of information that had eluded and caused us so much derision amongst the ranks of us modellers that at last we have it from horses mouth.. Now there is a way forward without doubt..

[@roblink4781]

This video couldn't have come at a better time, my brother and I are researching diffrent aspects of the battle of Kursk for a diorama we are getting ready to build, you folks at the Tank Museum just made my day...

[@Scarletsb0y]

Amazing, I love the tank museum, I done one of there days where you get to ride in a Type 59/ leopard 1, drive a tank, go inside a tank and have a tour of the conservation shed. This information just makes your bond go deeper as you understand why this are done that way. Great stuff cant wait to see more!!!

[@jamessmart7109]

Great Video, I have been to the museum lots times and have spoken to the staff about the new paint job on those two, so really pleased about the video and clearing that up. The Tiger exhibition is sadly ending this year so anyone who has not visited it i fully recommend getting there if you can. David has so much knowledge and good to see him do these videos.

[@TheMotorGuyDirect]

This was the best paint explanation video for German WW2 tanks I have every seen. Thank you for actually getting technical!

[@jimbehr2291]

The most interesting talk about paint I've ever heard. Seriously good.

[@nukemman]

Thank you for all your commitment to keeping every display accurate with history. I hope one day to visit The Tank Museum.

[@VonRammsteyn]

THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH MR WILLEY! And all the guys who work to make this video, offcourse. That color's info is more helpful than you may think. Thanks to all of you!!!

[@garyframe9682]

Excellent, thank you. I especially like these videos that showcase the effort and research required to accurately preserve and present history.

[@donaldhill3823]

Very interesting. Always love hearing the research done to prove things are correct.

[@kevinmiller7792]

Love the attention to detail!

[@petesy03]

One of the best weekends of my life visiting the tank museum, even my wife thought it was great

[@fatarsemonkey]

I never thought I could be so interested in paint schemes.

[@bumblebeebob]

I wasn't so sure about watching this when l started. But once l did l couldn't stop! Excellent video! Thank you.

[@scotty555babe]

Great info.. I just purchased the correct ral coded paints from Mig Ammo for modelling.. It was like winning the lottery when I saw my numbers come up lol 👌

[@alangray9675]

Never thought the science of paint could be interesting, but David has managed it. A very good video.

[@thekev506]

What a fantastic resource of a video! I'd love to see more of these for all different kinds of tanks and countries!

[@DFWTF]

Thanks for all hours you guys put in !

[@CheshireTomcat68]

Nice of Jean Luc Picard to voice over the colour code number mistake!

[@mcfontaine]

As always, a brilliant video, so well produced and so informative. Thank you.

[@Flugmorph]

3:55 the demons came through there for a sec

[@junkelist]

Yeah I noticed that, really weird!

[@RWJP]

They did it because David said the wrong number. When you listen to it carefully David says RAL 7012, whereas the correct number is 7017. They edited in the voice to speak over him and say 7017. I'm guessing his handwriting made 2 and 7 look similar!

[@Flugmorph]

yeah i suspected that

[@EasyTiger700]

As always, a very informative video. And an absolute joy to watch.

[@emiliodiaz3927]

Awesome editing thanks to the editor

[@tomcomber3723]

I love the tank museum. I'm really excited to go to tiger day and do a video on it.

[@reallyoldfatgit]

The Landship b

[@sirhrmechanic2648]

Well-presented from a fantastic museum and collection! Thanks for taking the time.

[@willierants5880]

Fantastic museum.

[@HellaNorCal916]

Thank you for the great video! As a new model builder you just covered about every thought and question I had or needed regarding German tank schemes.

[@gothamgoon4237]

Don't forget scale modelers. This is FULL scale tones. Smaller scales require the paint to be toned down to get the same effect as the full scale vehicles. This is where it gets hard and at the same time interesting for scale modelers to get right. Scale, light, time, operational theatre, method of application, concentration of paint, what diluting medium was used and weathering are all factors to consider when trying to get your scale model paint scheme just right.

[@NeilFLiversidge]

Awesome attention to detail. Respect!

[@seanc.5310]

Very impressive attention to detail! I am traveling to England this year and you bet I'll be making a pilgrimage over to The Tank Museum to see the fantastic work going on over there!

[@Rebeldoug]

Great video and congratulations on your thoroughness and dedication.

[@ecophreak1]

Fascinating research, love the attention to detail

[@timnewland4186]

Once again a masterclass of information from the Tank Museum.

[@johnrudy9404]

8:52 turret traverse....awe inspiring. Cant imagine how terrible it was to see this tank in either the desert, or woods. But of course, any tank is infantry supported and not fully independent.

[@KMac329]

This is the kind of detailed information that is so valuable and interesting to amateur WWII historians like myself. Thank you for your careful and skillful research.

[@thetankmuseum]

Glad you enjoyed it. David did the whole scene on RAL in one take.

[@bxmachine]

Fascinating subject, very informative. Thank you!

[@jaymesrod4209]

I love watching the videos. Its so much information and so cool to hear all of it!

[@americanpatriot2422]

Outstanding video and presentation.

[@localbod]

Thanks for posting this. Absolutely fascinating and very informative. Another superb video presentation.

[@garyneilson1833]

Very informative, thank you David

[@andymoody8363]

Thanks David, another great one. Need to visit Bovington soon!

[@clatz13]

Absolutely fantastic.

[@TheNorman1169]

Awesome...... Would love more like this

[@redbeardnj]

Amazing content for military history fans. Thank you

[@markusfrombgen2967]

Thanks for this history lesson, very interestig. You do a great job ! 👍

[@scotsbillhicks]

Any trip to Bovington is special but seeing these legends side-by-side has to be one one of the best experiences of my life, (the time/cost of visiting them separately would have been prohibitive), and now I appreciate the dilemma. I have seen some painting guides for armour that change completely in a matter of months.

[@Gunninator]

Yet again another great video. Keep up the good work guys. Can't wait for my next visit

[@stephengiles2873]

Fascinating and intriguing video your knowledge and enthusiasm are very encouraging to see thank you

[@gusgone4527]

I love these intricate details. Must be the nerd in me but they float my boat.

[@UliMuliko]

Awesome tank museum. What job you guys have... damn.

[@daveybyrden3936]

The two "desert" schemes were not intended for Africa only. They were also used in southern Russia. In fact, at the start of Tiger H production, a new Tiger was more likely to be painted in these schemes than in grey.

[@Panzermeister36]

Hello Mr Byrden!

[@Ar-kx4hp]

Brilliant video

[@miscsilliness]

David is great! I always learn a ton.

[@Headbehindthebubble]

Absolutely fascinating.

[@paintbox9899]

Excellent video, amazing research!

[@spadge4773]

Superb video sir, highly interesting, I look forward to visiting the museum again in the future

[@KyriosMirage]

Thank you so much! I've just started painting some Germans (among others) for Flames of War. This will be really helpful!

[@vanvan-oc4nj]

Is quite interesting ! Cool, even his shoes are in original RAL-colours !!!

[@shaenebuffster]

Awesome video as always. I actually watched the video with my Lifecolour German WWII Tanks Set 1 which had the famous RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb as well as RAL 8020 Gelbbraun , RAL 8017 Rotbraun and RAL 6003 Olivgrun that I used on my 1/35 TIGER I . MANY thanks especially for the Info on Tiger 131 and her original paint scheme in Africa I had always assumed it was the RAL 8020 Gelbbraun so thanks for correcting this.

[@DeltaSoldier121]

Man I love this stuff.

[@okrajoe]

Fascinating topic - well done.