Caunter Scheme

We don't as yet appear to have a modelling queries section so I thought I would post it here.

I am doing a British force for Operation Crusader of which there were still some vehicles and tanks in the Caunter scheme . I was thinking of using the thin masking tape and paint sponge system to paint a few vehicles in the scheme. I havn't tried so just wondering if anyone else has and any other tips you can provide me for this scheme would be most welcomed. My vehicles are 15mm .

Mine are painted freehand

Look great, Will... better than my first attempt (using masking and an air brush... and two days of stripping paint!)

Did you draw out your lines first or free hand those as well?

I never got round to doing any despite buying Starmer's book. The method shown in this article seems quite effective.

https://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=5673

Thanks, NTM - I might just give that a try. Worst case, I give the tanks yet another soaking and start over.

Regarding Mike Starmer's book, I picked up some of the AK Caunter paints and they look pretty much dead on with the color swatches in his book.

I've only done one 15mm A9 in Caunter so far. I started out with the intention of masking and airbrushing it, but that turned out to be far more trouble than I had expected, and in the end I just painted it freehand. I laid out the lines to follow first with a long fitch in very thin paint, just opaque enough to be perceptible, then just coloured in.



It's a lot easier in 1/300 scale.

Thanks guys.

I know my free hand isn't as good as Wills so that method I ruled out some time ago . The system I will be using will be the FOW system using very thin Tamiya masking tape and a sponge to apply it . I did try it on an old vehicle and it didn't turn out as I would have hoped. I think what I need to do is start with the lowest band and make it slightly wider at the top edge so when I apply the masking tape to do an upper band perhaps say one millimeter should show above the new masking tape strip. That way should avoid narrow gaps between each band I got on my test model. It is a slow process though as a least one days drying time will be need between each band .Any models I make a mess of will just get repainted in the single colour scheme as I only need an handful for this era. Just glad I chose Crusader and not Compass!

Good luck and I'm not that great at freehand. Currently working on some Caunter Stuarts, it's just patience.

Well I managed a stage further this time on a Honey. A second colour band whoot .The only thing that keeps me going is thinking of those poor sods painting the British Cold War Berlin Cammo scheme. Incidently the FOW chart for painting the Honey doesn't quite tie up on the turret .

They're based on those in Starmers book which in turn come from the original documents and they don't line up . This is stated in the article and the book. I know because Mike told me in no uncertain terms when I queried it on the FoW forum.

"I pointed out the anomalies in the drawings in the notes in the book. Evidently some folk haven't read those. The article drawings are fine. However I found four variations of design on Stuarts, three on Matildas and two on both Crusaders and Valentines. A simpler method of painting I found is to apply the sand colour first and overlapping into the other coloured areas. Then mask off the line between the sand and Silver Grey without bothering too much about the dark colour. Then you only need to mask off the Slate areas and paint over any of the previous colours in that area. Saves a lot of masking and fiddly paintwork. BTW 6 RTR used names beginning with F, not random, nor on the rear of their tanks."

Just done the Caunter scheme on a Honey of which I think is OK , the only area that needs the masking tape is probably the sides . All the rest I think is better done freehand . There is a lot of raised detail particularly at the front hull/top on these Honeys ( PSC) and if masking tape is used , I think the paint will go underneath . Once the tank is completely finished I will use this as the pattern for the other 3 . The remaining Honeys will be going in stone only. There is a good picture in Volume 2 of the Warpaint series of books of a honeys in both schemes in the same unit. I am just wondering if the Caunter scheme actually puts some people off doing the early desert engagements. If this is the case it is a shame really as there is some nice querky vehicles for this period. Going back to the Warpaint book which I recommend for anyone doing the Med campaigns, there is a good picture of a Quad in Caunter and the 25 pounder in stone . Well worth recreating in miniature I think .