RickC5 Posted September 18, 2010 Report Share Posted September 18, 2010 This question relates to those large suspension jacks issued with, and mounted/clamped on most WWII German armor, especially the late war stuff, like Panthers & Tigers... Does anyone really know what color those jacks were originally painted??? Most of the color photos I have seen are of restorations, where the jacks are painted black. However, if you look at real WWII (b&w) photos, the jacks simply CANNOT be black, as they are very light colored. They look like they could be body color--yellow--but without the camo pattern(s) painted on them. In my (past) ignorance, I simply painted them a steel color, but I'm pretty sure that's not correct. So help me out here. Even a link to some additional photos would be fine. I just don't want to continue to paint them an incorrect color. All help greatly appreciated!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Deliduka Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 I don't have anything to back it up with, but I always painted mine the body color and drybrushed steel over them to show wear. I apologize that I can't offer more specific references to back up my practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Aldrich Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 Rick, The consensus on the boards seem to elude to the track jack was painted the same as the body color. There is even evidence of the BII (tools) leaving the factory all painted the base color and even happening in the field. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickC5 Posted September 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Thanks guys! Looks like I'll stick to basic body color for the jacks, with some dirt, etc. to show a bit a of wear. I did some more searching and found ONE unsubstantiated reference to the "C" type tow hooks all being painted a light grey too. No back-up data, but just someone helping out a newby with painting a Tiger. Made me wonder what's up with that, & if the jacks may have been grey too? Mine are body color at the moment. There are enough reference photos of U.S. vehicles simply being re-sprayed over anything & everything on the vehicle in the field, that one could easily conclude that the Germans may have done the same thing in the field when applying additional/new camo. I also found a couple of color photos of the Samur (French Museum) Panther with the jack painted body color + camo. It must have been left on when the tank was resprayed at the museum. It's amazing how many photos exist of Panthers from the front, but very few photos of the rear. Most of the color photos out there are of existing display tanks where all the external bits have been stripped off. I'll continue to keep my eyes open & if I ever get any concrete data on the jacks OR the "C" hooks, I'll post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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