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US Army Vietnam/WW2 Uniform colours

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  • Member since
    October 2010
  • From: Staten Island
Posted by BigDaddyBluesman on Saturday, September 17, 2011 1:35 PM

I do only Vietnam era models. That includes figures and I have been working on the colors and the color of Vietnam mud/sand/ earth. Many different shades.

I have found that what I see in real life changes a lot when scaled down to 1/35. So the color of a shirt changes to something much lighter when it's in 1/35. I also have books and many pictures off the internet.

Once your were in country your uniforms changed drastically within a few days even. The Vietnam sun bleached everything including the tracks. Vehicles out in the field got much lighter. Something to take into consideration is what time of year it is. If it's during the rainy season everything is a bit darker not from the rain but the humidity. So shading would be different then a soldier out in the field in the sun. A uniform in the rainy season is much different. Look at pictures during the Hue battle which was during the end of the rainy season and look at stuff before. Much different.

Also take into consideration how long they were in the field.

When I was in the Army we had BDUs in camouflage and I always had a few pair for wearing in the field and for garrison which were newer and brighter. The ones for the field were washed out, same for my boots. High polish for garrison and older more broken in for the field.

So lets say you were doing a tank crew out in the field for a week or so. Their uniforms would be a very yellowish green and their boots almost gray. Everything would have red earth/mud and what was not wet would have a coating of dust. It depended on what part of Vietnam the color of the dust was. It could be a yellowish gray that turned red when wet, look at picutres of roads and that's many times what you see. On the dry side it's a yellow gray and were it's wet it's red.

What I have been trying to do is find out what unit, what year and time of year and were they where in Nam. Once you know that you will know how to color everything. A bit complex but easy enough to do.

For instance when you look at pictures from the Hue Tet battle the Marines were wearing their uniforms for a few weeks when the offensive started. So they were bleached out yet looked darker because of the rain and humidity. Many were ripped around the knees even up the legs or missing sleeves. They were very dirty from grime and sweat. Then look at some Army more south and their uniforms would be a very light green even yellowish from sun bleaching and no rain or humidity. Unless they were in the jungle and crossing a lot of the shallow ponds and water ways in the low lands.

I think the best way is to take one picture of what you want to do and work totally from that. WWII colors were completely different but could be used to mix washes depending on what you need. Dry brushing just edges with Buff color really brings out the highlights. The little buckles and things can be painted black and dry brushed with a little silver or silimar types of paint to show wear.

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Australia
Posted by Fast Heinz on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 8:59 PM

Thanks Guys, great info as usual. As you've all pointed out, the base colour doesn't last long given the fading/wearing/sweating issues so i have a fair bit of latitude i guess.

Cheers

 

  • Member since
    June 2008
  • From: Iowa
Posted by Hans von Hammer on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 8:09 PM

Ditto... I too grabed as many sets as could get outta Clothing Sales with the day they went on sale there.. 21.00 bucks a set for new uniforms? Betcher a....

Yeah, they laundered-out of shade fast, but I didn't care at that price.. ModelMaster Dark Green, with varying amounts of white added, worked prety good for OG-107s.. As Stikker said, they faded fast, some faded so bad we called 'em Cook-Whites, lol..

For Vietnam though, be sure to keep in mind that the temps were in the low-100s and the humidity almost that high, so their colors would be very dark in the sweat-areas, not to mention the mix of grime, mud, red clasy (if centered around units in the Central Highlands)and sweat that accumulates on the trousers...

You're only gonna find Jungles that're looking the color they were issued on Garritroopers, not Paratroopers...

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 1:15 PM

The OG-107 Jungle Fatigues start life as a dark olive green and fade rapidly once exposed to sun and laundered. Some faded to a blueish green hue while others took on a sandier tone. The material was a rip stop poplin cotton for most of the war. Humbrol Light Olive or Army Green are good starting points for moderately worn uniforms. The US Army uniform when new was a different color than the WWII uniforms. When I served in the Army in the early/mid 80s, the Vietnam uniforms were authorized for us due to the poor hot weather wearablity of the original BDUs. I spent most of those years in Jungle Fatigues, until Hot Weather BDUs were introduced in summer 1987. My favorite uniform I ever wore was the Jungle Fatigues.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 12:53 AM

Heinz, as you said yourself, the wear in the field sets the colour off in many ways. That's what you can (and actually should) do in your models too. As for the US Army uniforms for that time, many sources state Humbrol 116 as the base colour. Of course after you shade and highlight it, the colour will change. Hope it helps, have a nice day

Pawel

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: west springfield,mass
Posted by rudedog on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 11:43 PM

If it;s any help,the Marine Corps [ according to my senior NCO's ] wore " herring bones" utilities at the early years of the conflict.They were a faded O.D. shade,even when new.They had the same diagonal,shirt & pant pockets of later B.D.U.'s ,just all green.The herring bone moniker was from the style of stitching in the fabric. I have some of my own later B.D.U.'s from my time served [ post Nam] & am always trying to find a pair of the early type's in surplus stores,to no avail.I'm sure you could find an example of them on-line. Best of luck, keith r.

"...That's an order,not a debate topic , Sergeant Rudzik..."

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Australia
US Army Vietnam/WW2 Uniform colours
Posted by Fast Heinz on Monday, September 5, 2011 6:38 AM

Hi all

I'm building my first non-WW2 diorama. Its Vietnam-based with a M48 Patton and several US Army figures. Am i okay to use the WW2 uniform colour paint or was the US army uniform in Vietnam a different base shade? Reference photos aren't much help given the various amounts of wear that inevitably happens in the field.

Appreciate any help.

Cheers

 

 

 

 

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