Mr. Color - RLM80 olivově zelená

Olive from Mottled Camouflage

The shade listed as RLM 80 did not appear in the Luftwaffe as an overall coat for the whole airframe, but mainly as an accent. It was sprayed in mottles and squiggly bands over the upper surfaces of twin-engine aircraft, covered spinners and propeller blades, and in the Mediterranean was dotted over a sandy-yellow base so the aircraft would not blend into a solid patch above the semi-desert terrain. In the last year of the war it also appeared on the upper surfaces of single-engine fighters alongside other late-war green tones.

Applying Mottles

Mottles are done up close, with heavily thinned paint and the pressure turned down almost to a minimum. Guide the nozzle a few millimeters above the surface and move your hand smoothly, or you will get cobweb-like spatter. A test spray on a scrap piece of plastic will save a lot of work here, since the ratio of thinner, pressure and distance differs from airbrush to airbrush. The package holds ten milliliters, and the contents can only be thinned with a lacquer-type thinner.

What to combine it with

It appears most often paired with the darker greens of the early war and with a sandy base on aircraft from the southern theater, or with a light blue-gray on the sides and underside. It is also interesting away from aircraft: a similar tone was carried by some German ground equipment, and it works well on crates, drums and gear in a diorama, bringing a green into the scene that does not fall into the classic olive army color. Small areas can also be touched up with a fine brush, but you have to work quickly in a single stroke, since the solvent will immediately attack a partly dried layer underneath.