Honey Tanks for the Desert

[yarkshiregamerParticipant 456xp 7]

https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com/2020/03/28mm-honey-tanks-for-desert.html

Hot on the heels of the Mk VI Light Tanks I posted a couple of weeks ago I have been busy with the Caunter Paints again, this time adding them to some lovely 28mm Blitzkrieg Miniatures.

Plenty of pics on the blog link above. For our 1941 games these are the pinnacle of British Armour and it’s nice to have something that isn’t armed with a 2 pounder !

Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer

[tankkommanderParticipant 6393xp 0]

Those look fantastic. Lovin’ the camo pattern. I think of that on the Matilda rather than other tanks.

[yarkshiregamerParticipant 456xp 1]

One of my favourite Honey pics is this, from August 1941 of M3 tanks practicing in the Desert. Not only does it show all the tanks in the Caunter Scheme it shows how there were subtle variations between individual vehicles.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

[innes 11086xp 0]

Looking good. What colours did you use for the caunter pattern? Painting guides i’ve seen vary a lot.

[yarkshiregamerParticipant 456xp 1]

Hi,

That’s one of the most argued questions in modelling ?

Start here with this paint set, it has the official colours,

https://ak-interactive.com/product/the-caunter-scheme-1940-41/

After that it gets more complicated, once suppliers switched to ones local to the area colours started to react to the harsh desert conditions, the contemporary colour photos I have from the time show the Silver Grey colour in the scheme changing to different blue colours from a very light, duck egg blue to a mid blue green. As the colour is reacting to conditions over time there is no right or wrong.

I use Vallejo Pale Blue Grey or Blue Grey for mine when I’m not using the Official colours.

Hope that helps

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

[danbangParticipant 145xp 1]

I do love a Honey tank, they look really really good. Attached is my take. 

[danbangParticipant 145xp 1]

Sorry as in the tanks youve painted  Ken look really really good.

[avernosKeymaster 33717xp 1]

Lovely work @yarkshiregamer

If anyone is interested there is a book (pamphlet) by Mike Starmer on the pattern. He got access to the MoD’s patterns and it ends with paint chips and whatever the British equivalent of RAL is.

I’ll dig out my copy for a few photos.

[avernosKeymaster 33717xp 2]

This is the book in question

One of several he has researched and prints at home, very old school but then so am I. If you want your own copy I definitely recommend it, the details are here.

It’s full of the MoD’s patterns, every piece of equipment had it’s own scheme, so light tanks had a different application than cruiser tanks, or soft skins. All of the MoD’s patterns are reproduced like this wagon one.

he explains its inception, trails and subsequent use in the desert. There’s a good deal of research in there including the official colours and unofficial and pattern variations. If you are not mad keen on spending £15 for maybe a one off model I will include the best part, the paint recipe for the caunter style with notes for vehicle restorers as well as modellers. The crowning glory being 6 paint chips glued into the book so there can be no colour shift through printing.

[torros 23802xp 1]

@avernos That name seems familiar  I’m sure I gave a pdf of a public forum  where he mentions the colours he uses

[avernosKeymaster 33717xp 1]

he mentioned it on TMP a long time ago, which is where I saw and ordered it the first time. It’s also the reason  that I’m alright posting that, I don’t want to post his whole book though

[torros 23802xp 0]

I cant find it . Its probably on a dead hard drive somewhere. It might not even bevyhe same thing It was probably  10-15 years ago I saw it

[torros 23802xp 0]

Quite right  not to post it

[Author]

Posts