Churchill Mk. IV – Camouflage painting
The camouflage color of this British tank was a solid green. Brightening some zones and with a bit of detailing I managed to not make it look flat!
Camouflage painting
I used Vallejo Model Color acrylic paints, diluted with 50% water and 50% alcohol-based glass cleaner.
Base
In order to render the original color (which it's itself subject to variations for several reasons), I started with a 1:1 mix of 70.890 Reflective Green and 70.889 U.S. Olive Drab. This is quite dark, and I sprayed it on the lower hull, on the running gear, around the turret ring, that is in the "shadowed" zones.
Shading
Afterwards I brightened this color with 70.976 Buff, starting with a 1:2 ratio, then increasing it gradually until 2:1. Thus, I "lightened" more and more the color in the upper turret, in the upper hull and in the center of the panels, that is in all the parts struck more by the light. As in my previous works, I imagined the light coming from a direction slightly inclined from the vertical.
Details
Using a fine brush, I painted the protruding parts (rivets, bolts...) with a 2:1:1 ratio, respectively, of Buff, U.S. Olive Drab and Reflective Green. Even if now the contrast is evident, it will be softened in the following phases.
I painted the bare metal parts in black (I will eventually dry-brush them with graphite), the wooden ones with Buff (a base for a brown oil color wash) whereas I colored the fire extinguisher body with a 2:1 mix of Buff and 70.967 Olive Green.
Decals
I applied the decals on a coat of clear gloss varnish, such to avoid the "silvering" effect of the transparent parts, then I covered them with an additional coat of the same paint. I chose the scheme of the tank "Salome", belonging to the 79th Armoured Brigade of the British Army, Suffolk (East England), January 1944.
