What color was armor in Vietnam

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Yes I know it was a shade of green…

But I have seen different shades of green, Where it is a very dark green and some faded green and some that seemed khaki green brown. (all depended on weathering of course)

The model I am doing is the M55 SPG at 1:30 scale - the renwal kit.

I have sprayed it with Tamyia Nato green and was about to put on a second lighter shade with a mix of yellow and/or tan.

Looking at the Tamyia colors, on the website the best looking color is the XF-62 Olive Drab. But I have a bottle of that and it looks much more dark brownish green then the green it shows online color

But was wondering if I should change the base color completely to AK interactive OD green and fade that…

Or does it really make that much a difference.

2

The color was a darker green than standard OD. I like to use Testors Model Master Dark Green to start with. Once weathered a bit, it looks the closest to me.

3

Humbrol Dark Olive Drab (66?) is another good starting point for the Vietnam shade.

4

Hello!

Some say it wasn’t a shade of green at all - that’s why they call it Olive Drab and not Olive Green. There’s also another thing to remember - the Marines painted their equipment different shade, also very dark - and greener - those colours are hard to tell apart in old photos.

Like stik wrote - Humbrol 66 is a good match. I have checked it by painting a chip of Humbrol 66 on an old .50 ammo box. After overcoating with future the patch was indistinguishable under daylight, and visible under incandescent light - talk about technical details!

There’s also the habit of washing the equipment with diesel fuel to make it look cleaner and more shiny. To further enhance the effect some black paint (army) or green paint (marines) was added to the wash. Vehicles frequently washed this way tended to fade quicker later from what I read.

Look at this baby - it isn’t very green, is it?:

Good luck with your modelling projects - thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

5

This is the color I would like to paint my SPG

6

Please note that this is a Marine gun - like I wrote, the Marines used different colour for their vehicles in Vietnam (generally, before the camo).

7

The USMC used a Bronze Green, Model Master makes the shade in their paint lines. Or at least they did before the last reduction of their paint line.

It still shows on their website, 2025 in the enamel, and 4724 in acrylics.

8

Perhaps these weren’t used by the USMC but in the Army.

But here are some more examples of the color I want to capture in a mixture somehow.

Although this one I believe may have been taken in Europe.

9

Stuar06, below is an example of Army olive drab in Vietnam (1967). Allowing for some difference in computer screens I think you can see that your color choice is perfect. It is true that US Army and Marines used different colors and when you add the effects of sun, rain, mud, diesel fuel, agent orange, gun power and blood you get many varying shades of color. But I think the main difference was determined by how much paint and in what color was available at the time, a piece of equipment was repainted. Many times paint colors were mixed in the field to get enough paint to do the job.

10

Thanks Stikpusher…I hate using Model Master in my spraybrush…it never goes well…either it clogs or comes out way to runney…can never get the paint/thinner ratio right.

11

Humbrol also makes a Dark Bronze Green, for UK Cold War vehicles. I’m not sure how close that color is to the USMC shade. But as photos show, with the varieties of weathering, it may be within the realm of options.

As far as the M55 goes, if you have your heart set on that Bronze Green color, and for Vietnam, your only option is as a Marine Corps gun. The Army took the M-107, M-108, M-109, M-110 families of SP guns to Vietnam. The Marines started there initially with the M55, and received the more modern SP guns later.

Also don’t get too wrapped up with matching a paint color to a color photo. With the variables involved in color photography:lighting, film type, exposure time, etc., not to mention the printing process, there can be quite a change from the real thing to the printed photo depiction.

12

Stuar06, below is an example of Army olive drab in Vietnam (1967). Allowing for some difference in computer screens I think you can see that your color choice is perfect. It is true that US Army and Marines used different colors and when you add the effects of sun, rain, mud, diesel fuel, agent orange, gun power and blood you get many varying shades of color. But I think the main difference was determined by how much paint and in what color was available at the time, a piece of equipment was repainted. Many times paint colors were mixed in the field to get enough paint to do the job.

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When it comes to Marine Corps equipment, I use Marine Corps green from Testors Model Master acrylic paints. Any shading or weathering will take care of the final color.

BTW I like the Fort Sill patch. Especially being a graduate of MASOC-0861 in November of 1975. Semper Fi.