"WWII North Africa terrain colors" Topic

This upcoming book looks very interesting WRT North Africa terrain coloring and general appearance. Unfortunately for me, it isn't supposed to be out for a few months yet. :-(

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MH

Looking at the differences between the photo on Amazon and the 'proof' photos on the second link, I'd wait until I could see inside the book before ordering. It looks like the book images have been 'artistically' altered to make them look like WW2 color photos rather than being the true colors.

Looking at the differences between the photo on Amazon and the 'proof' photos on the second link, I'd wait until I could see inside the book before ordering. It looks like the book images have been 'artistically' altered to make them look like WW2 color photos rather than being the true colors.

While anything is possible, I doubt that your theory is correct (no more than with any other book showing "true" colors).

Instead, what we are seeing on these 2 different web sites is an illustration of the fact that images of the same object vary, when subjected to separate capture and image-processing procedures. Actually, you *have to* color-correct for maximum accuracy in each display context (printed media, computer monitor, etc.). For example, I have posted many images of my 1/6000 ships on these boards, and every time I have to color-correct to get the gaming table color to look similar. If I didn't, they would look quite different in each. The actual table is of course the same color every time I photograph it, but ambient lighting, camera, image processing software, etc. have varied over the years. (Note that the "2005" date on the 3rd image is years later than when it was taken with a film camera, and digitized by Kodak). Examples:

MH

My guess is that you would be hard pressed to nail down the precise color of the Western Desert. It certainly varied based on soil consistancy and mineral content. The rockier the terrain the darker the sand. The more iron in the sand, the redder it will be. I've seen photos of tracks left by tanks that are very dark compared to the untouched sand on either side of it.

As far as painting your minis is concerned, the Saharan sun will have bleached the color out of any paint-scheme within a couple/few weeks. The Germans actually made a slurry out of the sand and applied it to the new, gray panzers and other vehicles in lieu of paint.

Google Earth might help with checking the relevant colours

Does this Help?

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Excellent reference!

Terry