Holy cow, Model Master Olive Drab is LIGHT

Bwog

Member since
August 2003

Posted by Bwog on Saturday, July 24, 2004 5:32 PM

First, i want to thank Armydogdoc and any other service person reading this!

Second, i don't know if i should thank or curse you guys...after reading your comments i started to doubt the color of my T-34...i had second thoughts to begin with, but guys confirmed it. Drove to my nearest hobby shop (55 miles!) got the paint and got the job done.

Thanks a lot!!! Wink [;)]

Reply

renarts

Member since
April 2003
From: Sunny Florida

Posted by renarts on Friday, July 23, 2004 12:18 AM

I know its not armor, but it is OD and it is pretty light....
I think too that if you spray Future on it it will darken considerably and possibly compensate a little and turn a shade more to your liking.

Mike

Mike "Imagination is the dye that colors our lives" Marcus Aurellius A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"

Reply

wbill76

Member since
July 2004
From: Texas

Posted by wbill76 on Thursday, July 22, 2004 8:55 PM

Here's a pic of an M3 Lee I did recently using MM OD with a black preshading and weathered with black and burnt umber pastel. Under normal lighting it's darker, but this gives you an idea of the variation you can expect with this MM color.

BP Models

Reply

yw18mc

Member since
April 2004
From: sunny imperial beach

Posted by yw18mc on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 6:19 PM

Hi Larry, couldn't help but go to my paint supplies and look at MM olive drab. I have three different shades of olive drab made by MM 1. FADED OLIVE DRAB 2. OLIVE DRAB (FS34087) and 3. OLIVE DRAB (ANA 613) they obviously are all a little different in shade. My preferred OD is the FS340087 for vehicles, I use the others mainly for equipment and uniforms. like Ron "ARMYDOGDOC" stated, in the field, you'll find all manner of OD, this can be the result of changing parts and components, to cannibalization from other vehicles, to paint touchup, it goes on and on. I think it gives character to your collection to have some variation in an otherwise OD color. By the way the builds looke terrific. semper fi, mike

mike

Reply

RAF120

Member since
March 2003
From: Exit 7a NJ Turnpike

Posted by RAF120 on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 5:22 PM

I painted my '42 Willys about 5yrs ago in OD and the other day I put the windshield down and noticed a real difference between the paint on the hood that was exposed to the sun and the paint on the cowl under the windshield and on the dash board. It wasn't quite the contrast that you have but very noticable none the same.
Now I know what your saying "You painted it 5yrs ago." Well it spends most of its time in a garage and I've only put about 2,500miles on it in 5yrs. If I had a digital camara I would post picture for you. I was surprised at the change in color.

Trevor Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?

Reply

lizardqing

Member since
July 2003
From: Dahlonega, Georgia

Posted by lizardqing on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 5:11 PM

I put up the exact same comparison a while back. I was used to the MM and then used the Tamiya. I like the light MM look though, probally since I just like the really weathered look on my stuff.

Chris The Scale Firehouse The Lizard's Workshop

Reply

wbill76

Member since
July 2004
From: Texas

Posted by wbill76 on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 2:43 PM

One other thing I'd suggest if you want a darker green is to paint two base coats. The first one black as you did already, then follow with a second coat of MM Dark Green. Then apply the thinned OD Green. I use an Aztek airbrush with changeable tips and use the broad application tip for the base coats and the fine detail tip for the final coat of OD. This insures that the final coat will not be even and will provide some nice darkened color variation if you are after the greener look as opposed to the lighter look. Overspray it with the Faded Olive Drab and it could work. I did this on an M10 (don't have pics handy) recently and it produced a very nice darker color, especially when weathered and dusted up.

BP Models

Reply

ABARNE

Member since
February 2003
From: Southern California, USA

Posted by ABARNE on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 2:19 PM

Olive Drab supposedly would fade really easily, and I do think there is a lot of photographic eveidence to support that. So you could include the truch and the tank in the same dio, weather the tank more than the truck, and call the truck a newer replacement.

More annoying to me, is that there seems to be greater sample variation in their OD than I have seen with other colors. After doing all the OD painting on a Sherman, I decided to open the periscope cover on the driver's hatch. After finishing I needed to repaint, or at least touch up, the hatch. Unfortunately, Murphy struck (or perhaps I didn't adequately seal the bottle after I last used it) and my bottle of OD spoiled. The replacement which was the same stock number was an entirely different shade of green, so I had to get creative to match the reast of the tank. Fortunately, this was for just the hatch, and not a major portion of the hull, otherwise I would have had to repaint everything.

Reply

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 10:17 AM

Well, there ya have it!

Thanks for the good word. Apparently that was especially true of OD in WWII, seeing that it was mixed, and that it faded a great deal in the sun.

Good to hear about the sand too -- you see so many arguments amongst modelers about how to get that color exactly right ....

Reply
Edit

armydogdoc

Member since
March 2004
From: Camp Couch Colorado

Posted by armydogdoc on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 10:08 AM

One thing to remember here is that even on the real stuff the color varies. I am here in Iraq surrounded by this stuff. So far I have counted at least 3 different shades of sand and numerous different shades of woodland camo. And that can be on the same vehicle!!! Even my army issue T-shirts are of a few different lots, and as a result are completely differnt shades. The moral of the story, dont get to bent out of shape over the lightness or the darkness of the shade cause somewhere in service right now is a vehicle with that color on it.

Ron "One weekend a month my$1***$2quot;

Reply

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:58 AM

QUOTE: Originally posted by wbill76

Your MM OD looks like it came out very light indeed. How much did you thin it before applying it over the black primer coat, at what pressure, etc.? I usually apply it 50% thinned at low pressure (10-15 psi) in light coats and have never had it turn out that light.

That is exactly how I did it. Thinned it 50% with their airbrush thinner, and shot it on.

Remember too that this is shot over black, so it's going to be darker, if anything.

Reply
Edit

wbill76

Member since
July 2004
From: Texas

Posted by wbill76 on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:53 AM

Your MM OD looks like it came out very light indeed. How much did you thin it before applying it over the black primer coat, at what pressure, etc.? I usually apply it 50% thinned at low pressure (10-15 psi) in light coats and have never had it turn out that light. If you follow it up with pastels or a wash it should darken to a closer match to the truck. The truck itself is probably too dark, if you look at a swatch of #9 OD it's somewhere in the middle between your two examples.

It does point out how strikingly different similarly named paints are across different manufacturers though. Phroosh is right, it has to sit on your shelf so if you aren't happy with it you can change it, otherwise just roll with it. Big Smile [:D]

BP Models

Reply

zokissima

Member since
July 2003
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Posted by zokissima on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 7:50 AM

Yep, that's MM for ya. Actually, I'm not complaining. I started off using MM, and still wish I could. I don't think mine ever came out that light, but then again, I never directly compared to Tamiya until I tried it, and indeed, the Tamiya OD is ridiculously dark. I usually don't use MM enamels, so the OD I have used has been straight out of a rattle can, and the look seemed just fine to me.

Reply

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 7:27 AM

Hmmm. I wonder what the modelmaster would look like lightly sprayed over the tamiya?

I wish we had the full range of Modelmaster in my town; they certainly have some interesting colours.

My advice is if it doesn't look right to you after a couple of days, change it. It has to sit on your shelf. I recently painted a T-34 that probably turned out a bit light, but I still like it, and am hoping a dark wash will tone it down.

Good luck Larry. They look good in any case.

Reply
Edit

J-Hulk

Member since
February 2003
From: Tochigi, Japan

Posted by J-Hulk on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 3:43 AM

It looks good, but it is quite light.
Personally, even with scale effect, I think OD looks better darker, especially on newer, cleaner vehicles. In some ref pix, the vehicles almost look black, the OD is so dark.

My favorite OD used to be Pactra. I thought it was the perfect, dark shade of OD.

Heck, I think Tamiya's OD is too light!
Maybe it's just me...

~Brian

Reply

gringe88

Member since
July 2004
From: ...Ask the other guy, he's got me zeroed-in...

Posted by gringe88 on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 11:52 PM

I think it looks OK. I mean I agree that there's a good differnece, but rememeber the circumstances: not all paints batches are gonna be the same. some may come out lighter, others darker. some vehicels may have been repainted in the field by their crews or service battalion. If your that worried about it, then change it. otherwise, just weather them to look like that they're in the same area.

======================================

-Matt

Reply

adrake2

Member since
February 2004
From: Ft. Bragg, NC

Posted by adrake2 on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 11:45 PM

MM Olive Drab ANA 613 is a lot darker. Much more comparable to the Mack NO 7.5 ton prime mover in the photos. As for the difference being explained by the Sherman in Sicily and the Mack in Normandy, I don't think it'll fly. The sun would only lighten the upper areas of the tank, and I don't think it would bleach the paint that much.

-Aaron

Reply

diggeraone

Member since
July 2003
From: Ozarks of Arkansas

Posted by diggeraone on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 11:43 PM

Which one are you using the aclyic or enamel,because my MMOD does not come out that light.Digger

Put all your trust in the Lord,do not put confidence in man.PSALM 118:8 We are in the buisness to do the impossible..G.S.Patton

Reply

Foster7155

Member since
July 2003
From: Pensacola, FL

Posted by Foster7155 on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 11:34 PM

Larry,

I noticed the same thing when I shot my Stuart. I suspect (it's only a guess) that the MM OD is lightened somewhat for scale effect. I personally don't like it and would prefer a true OD to start with. Once it is washed and drybrushed, it's not too bad. I chalked up the lighter color to sun-fading and pressed on.

Enjoy your modeling...

Robert Foster

Pensacola Modeleers

Reply

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Holy cow, Model Master Olive Drab is LIGHT

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 11:23 PM

I'm used to using Tamiya OD and lightening it with green yellow. This Model Master stuff is LIGHT! I just shot some on my Formations M4A1 (shot over black primer) and I am amazed by the difference.

Here are some pics, compared to my painted, washed and drybrushed Azimut Mack NO 7.5 ton prime mover (which is not weathered yet -- it's waiting for the M4A1 to catch up). Now, these pics don't begin to capture the color contrast, but they were the best I could do with my pathetic photography skills. The terrible, blurry last shot gives the best indication of the difference.

[image]http://www.image-hosting.net/images/messageboard/bugswarm/olivedrab1.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.image-hosting.net/images/messageboard/bugswarm/olivedrab2.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.image-hosting.net/images/messageboard/bugswarm/olivedrab3.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.image-hosting.net/images/messageboard/bugswarm/olivedrab4.jpg[/image]

And I haven't even shot their "Faded OD" over the model yet! Of course, I also haven't given it the black oil wash either, but still, yowza. Is this at all realistic? Was the variation in color this great?

Could it be explained away that my Sherman will be with the 1st Armored in sunny Sicily, whereas my Mack will be towing a gun of the 997FA in Normandy?

Reply
Edit

THE MAGAZINE

CONTACT US

RECENT ARTICLES

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT REVIEWS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT REVIEWS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT VIDEOS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT THREADS

CATEGORIES

NEW PRODUCTS

OUR STORE

CURRENT ISSUE

SEARCH FINESCALE.COM