WWII British Colors Africa 1939-1943 Set

The Western Desert in eight bottles

The North African campaign between 1939 and 1943 created a world of color with no parallel in the Second World War: faded sandy tones, reddish finishes, and alongside them the dark shades brought over from Europe, which changed quickly in the desert sun. Eight bottles cover its main parts.

The most characteristic is the reddish pink desert shade that the British used on equipment and on aircraft operating over sandy regions; in morning and evening light it blended with the terrain better than pure yellow did. Beside it stand two sand tones, a lighter and a medium one, the medium being among the best known upper-surface shades of British aircraft over Africa. A brown green, a dark slate gray and a dark green bring in the contrasting element of the European schemes, an olive green matches the American equipment supplied to the Allies, and black serves for markings, rims and shadows.

Properties and use

The paints are water-based acrylics and are ready to spray with no further thinning. They will take brushing as well, but they work best in an airbrush at low pressure and in thin coats. On a model it pays to lighten the desert shades still further on the surfaces exposed to the sun, because the real finishes in Africa faded noticeably within a few weeks, and the difference between the upper and the side surfaces is clearly visible in period photographs. With black it is better to go sparingly, because a sharp contrast in direct sun looks harder on a model than period photographs show it.