I know it is TECHNICALLY armor, but as I am most likely to get my answer here. I am building a 1/35 scale DUKW by Italeri to be painted in USCG colors. However most of the photos online are B+W and sepia. There is a thread online about R/C DUKW’s that show them done in white side-shells but buff colored cargo beds and cockpits. From what little I could see in the photos and people I have talked to up in Sandy Hook, NJ, (home of the last CG DUKW) the DUKW’s were definitely white on the outside.
Any help I can get for this project would be great. I am donating the model to the USCG as a training aid since we inspect DUKW’s (civilian models). Whenever we talk to the mechanics, they always compare the mods and repairs on the real ones to the “original configurations” aka WWII config.
Um…thanks, yah I usually go to the forums for slow, sporadic yet gratifying answers over the faster speed of light search engines…
I did find the 1965 Coatings and Coloring Manual online, but in the manual the interior colors are to be buff, unless it is a working cargo surface (which the bed of the DUKW’s were) those colors used were dark gray/blue grey or black.
So the question stands. Personally I think the buff would look sharp, but I would like confirmation as this will be on display for many years.
My understanding of CG’s non-standard vessels, from the 40s up to sometime in the early 60s, is that standards were very laxed. They varied widely from unit to unit, and even more between the east and west coasts.
I imagine you have a lot of lee way with the colors you decide to go with.
In my day to day dealings I usually correspond with a much younger more “snarky” crowd online, and your post was reminiscent of something that they would put up in a forum. Had I followed your link, and not assumed you were being untoward, I probably could have saved myself some online embarrassment. I have read your other posts in the past and have never found them ill tempered. In this I should have trusted my instincts, and reviewed your post more clearly.
Again, thanks for responding, and I am very sorry for my miss-communication.
When I built my r/c DUKW, I followed the USCG 1952 Paint Manual, which states: “DUKW’s and Motor Cargo Boats shall have the entire interior of their cockpit and cargo space painted No. 24 SPAR.”
Just as an aside weren’t they painted olive drab externally and with green zinc chromate on internal surfaces at the factory and painted as needed when they arrived at the unit they were sent to?
Not sure about that distribution from a common supply depot. In the mid 1960s I was part of the staff for Naval Beach Group 2 which was responsible for the naval beach masters assigned to each amphibious squadron. Each beach landing party was assigned a DUKW. When they became unrepairable (which was fairly often) we would requisition another one. They were supplied from a Marine supply depot at Quantico and supposedly were still in the original crates. They were painted olive drab just like all the Marine vehicles on the beach.
The build is about half complete. I was not able to get the colors that CGBob listed since my local hobby shop didn’t have them, and I was more than a little impatient to get started. While it may be taboo to state here, I have found Plaid Craft Paints (those found at Walmart and Michaels) will do tolerably well for low brand acrylic paints. With a primer coating of white, I used the color “Kings Gold” to simulate Spar. I think for the scale it is spot on. I will post pics when I get farther along. I will say that the Italeri model is done in two parts, the top (deck and cockpit) and the bottom (drive and wheels). This seems to lend itself perfectly to the 2 part buff and white CG color scheme!
Here are some pics of the completed DUKW. I did not add the “roll bar” since some of the pics show it removed, so I opted to leave it off. This CG DUKW simulates Station Sandy Hook’s circa 1965. Special thanks to CG Bob for the copy of the Coatings and Colors Manual. Decals were printed on Testor’s decal paper (clear). Nav lights were scratch built from sprue and plastruct plastic card. The .50 cal mounts were omitted, Some pictures I used showed a large whip antennae, but some did not, so I left that off as well. The spar was enhanced to better show panel lines and recesses with Citadel Sepia Ink. This is an ink with just a touch of brown hue in it, that REALLY complemented the spar color. Tires were done in Floquil Grimey Black, and the hubs were done in Flat Black. The side panels (over the wheels) used by the Army, were not used by the CG, and were left off.
Since this model will be used to demonstrate differences and important inspection issues with “modern” civilian Ducks, I needed to show the undersides better. I picked up a VERY cheap football display case on clearance at Kohls that had a mirror in the back. I then bought some acrylic rod and attached flat round magnets to the top of them. Inside the DUKW are large block magnets. The magnets hold the DUKW in place on top of the rods so that the model can be taken out of the case. You can see how it looks in some of the pictures.
The name plate is temporary, until I get something permanent printed on heavier stock.
