Italian, Japanese and Soviet machines of the Second World War wear palettes that resemble neither Allied nor German practice, which is precisely why substitutes taken from a general colour chart rarely convince. This group covers Italian desert and mottled finishes, the dark greens and grey-greens of Japanese airframes and the Soviet greens used across aircraft and armour alike. Japanese and Italian schemes belong almost entirely to aircraft, Soviet green to aircraft and armour alike, which makes aircraft model kits the natural first stop. All three palettes are remembered for finishes that wore thin and chalky in service, and that impression is built with the filters and washes in weathering products.
