what color(s) for my M1A1 with mine plow?

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

i’m building a M1A1 with a mineplow and i’m wondering what color or colors to paint it.

i have a M1A2 that is painted in sand and two tanks that look very similar in build with similar color schemes, seems boring. i dont want to do a multi color camo tank, so i’m thinking of going with olive drab. were they ever colored in just olive drab? i’m not overly concerned about it being 100% accurate though.

of course if i get the M60A1 i’ll have an olive drab tank then, but i have other models higher up on the list of models to get.

yes ultimately it will be up to me but i’m looking for opinions from other people, call it looking for validation if you want.

2

yes to olive drab. before the war they were. at least when i was in they were. look for ref in ero. 1980 to now.

3

groovy, i thought they had em painted in olive drab but i wasnt sure.

i’ll do some googling for pictures…thanks.

4

M1A1s were not olive drab, some were overall forest green and others were in the standard NATO 3-color camouflage scheme. Also if you want to add some color, the mine plow could be sand colored on a NATO or green vehicle. Or a mold board (those wing scoops) could be painted green since they could break off and be replaced by a factory piece that came in forest green.

5

thats odd i’am looking at one right now also in 1979 on the firing line they sure looked od to me. if i could get my pic’s to come up i’d send it.

6

And if you say you saw an M1A1 in 1979, I’d call you a liar. The original M1 (A-nothing) and initial M1IPs were an olive green though, but we’re talking about M1A1s (actually they would be M1A1 Heavy Commons, aka M1A1HA).

7

ok OD or forest green, either way they were a green at some point. is their a paint made for the forest green or whatever the actual name of the color is?

the box shows a M1A1 with a nato color scheme and a desert colored plow, its an actual picture on the side of the box, not something done by an artist, and it looked wrong to me.

i’m looking through google and i’m seeing three color M1A1’s and desert M1A1’s. i have found one that is in all green, so obviously they do exist. it looks like OD green to me.

here’s the picture. looks OD to me.

actually it doesnt. i looked up M1A1 and this was labeled as a M1A1. after actually looking at it, i’m not so sure it is but…i dont think it matters, its going on one of my shelves when its done. but i might do the three color scheme.

8

That is an XM1, one of the prototypes. Yes, the XM1 prototypes and initial early M1 and M1IPs were OD green. Yes, those initial tanks were olive green, OD or whatever color you want to call that shade of green.

All of the M1A1 tanks, these are later modified 120mm armed tanks were produced initially in the NATO 3-color scheme (no OD used), then post Desert Storm the M1A1s were produced in both NATO 3-color or desert sand and rebuilt/refurnished ones were produced in overall forest green.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that the INITIAL XM1, M1 and M1IP tanks were olive green?

9

i might go with OD just to give some purist a heart attack or an ulcer.

10

Paint it pink with purple polka dots for all I care. I was just trying to put out some accurate information. The tank pictured above is one of the XM1 prototypes on display throughout US Army museums. The one above is at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD Ordnance Museum. Here is a link to a couple of other shots of the same tank:
http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?set_albumName=albus69&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

11

Tamiya make a nice NATO Green color that works well.

12

ok i’m looking at the colors suggested for the three color camo scheme and nowhere do i see a green being suggested.

i see flat black, desert yellow and red brown (XF-1, XF-59, XF-64) but no green.

do i paint the tank olive drab and put these colors on top of it?

because thats what i’m thinking of doing, painting it olive drab and then putting those colors on top of it and making it into a four color camo scheme.

what does it look like without green on it? i’m guessing unappealing.

13

The three tone NATO scheme is red brown, flat black and Forest green. Desert Yellow (Armor sand, Desert Sand, whatever) is for the desert scheme, not the camo. As the others on this forum have stated, US tanks haven’t been painted OD since the mid-70s.

If you’re looking for advice on an accurate paint scheme, you’re in the right place, as the experience and knowledge on this forum is unsurpassed. [2c]

14

ok forest green. looks like they screwed up on the directions then.

it didnt seem to make sense to me when i saw it so i had to ask.

whats the Tamiya code for the forest green? they list an olive green which is XF-58. wouldnt that be OD or close to it anyway? forest green and olive green dont sound the same to me, forest greens are darker.

and i’ve never used Tamiya paints before, but i thought i’d try em out on this one since its a Tamiya kit. i usually use testors/model master.

15

i found nato black brown and green. XF-68,69 and 70. i’ll have to find some pics of M1A1’s with this pattern before i paint, i think its an even mix between the three colors though.

16

It is not an even mix of color, it is about 50% green, 40% black, and 10% brown. Looks like this.