Oh no! Not Olive Drab! Sorted thanks.

[Gern]

'fraid so guys. I'm putting together an order for the shop and need some Olive Drab paint.

I only use Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics so not interested in any of the other manufacturers (Yes, I know, some of you think they're better, but I'm kinda stuck in my ways thanks).

I have used what VMA laughingly describe as Olive Drab and it was waaaayyyyy too dark - almost like the black green they do. I know there are lots of variations of OD, I think Vallejo do a set of paints for OD and shadow and highlight variations, but I just want one generic medium green that's close enough. Any suggestions?

[SimonT]

Vallejo olive drab primer is actually pretty good - just because it says primer on the bottle doesn't stop you from using it as a top coat

VJ Primer

[minitnkr]

There are noticeable differences in US olive drab between WWII/Korea & postwar. Postwar being very dark in comparison. PaulE

[Gern]

Vallejo olive drab primer is actually pretty good - just because it says primer on the bottle doesn't stop you from using it as a top coat

VJ Primer

Alas, John doesn't show it in stock. If there are no alternatives mentioned, I'll give him a call and see if he can get some.

[Gern]

There are noticeable differences in US olive drab between WWII/Korea & postwar. Postwar being very dark in comparison. PaulE

I appreciate it has changed over the years Paul, but I need it for WWII subjects so the stuff I have is not light enough - even though it may be close to today's colour.

[David Lovell]

You could do what I sometimes do add a few drops of flesh colour sounds daft but lightens it without whitening it ,hard to explain but it will lighten it without that white paint added look to your colour ,but if you use tamiya why not try mr colour paints even better than tamiya wich are very good mr colour are even smoother.

[Gern]

You could do what I sometimes do add a few drops of flesh colour sounds daft but lightens it without whitening it ,hard to explain but it will lighten it without that white paint added look to your colour ,but if you use tamiya why not try mr colour paints even better than tamiya wich are very good mr colour are even smoother.

Not a fan of mixing colours David. I either don't mix enough and can't match the shade to finish the job, or I mix way too much and end up throwing paint away. I've also had odd occasions when paint has started unmixing itself in my A/B. By that I mean I've seen pigments separating from the mix and therefore the paint changes colour as I spray.

I already have a couple of hundred assorted Vallejo and Tamiya colours. I don't want to even think about adding another manufacturer!

[PaulTRose]

i agree with david.......mr colour aqua are superb paints....fast becoming my go to brand instead of valejo

a little while agoi needed a green, just like you,went through all my paint and made a colour card.....splodge of paint in a row so i could compare them to find the one i liked..................and i think olive drab is the green equivalent to panzer grey!...lots of variation

[Guest]

There are noticeable differences in US olive drab between WWII/Korea & postwar. Postwar being very dark in comparison.

There is also a difference in certain variations of US Army and USAAF/USAF olive drab, and olive drab from the 1960s on vs. earlier.

The short form of it — off the top of my head — is that the US Army had one colour of OD into the 1940s. The USAAF then developed a darker shade, because they felt the normal one was too light for use on aircraft. Then the second or third version of FS 595 of the early 1960s or so introduced a lighter shade but under the same number as before — and the matt shade was lighter than the gloss and semigloss ones, even though they should be the same.

There was a very good article by Steve Zaloga about this subject in Military Modelling a loooong time ago. It turns out to be available online — good reading if you’re going to paint anything OD (especially ground vehicles).

[Guest]

olive drab is the green equivalent to panzer grey!...lots of variation

That’s mistake number 1 Olive drab is not green — it’s a green shade of brown, really, and American OD, at least from the Second World War, weathers to brown even more. (The WWII British equivalent colour, SCC 15, is greener than American OD and weathers to green, though.)

[Gern]

I just knew I was opening a can of worms!

... and all I wanted was a Vallejo or Tamiya paint number for something close.

[stona]

Dave, without going into the various versions of Olive Drab that were applied to aircraft (and the USAAF was particularly slow to adopt the ANA standard 613, making almost any aircraft before mid 1944 guess work anyway) you could look for a match to the later FS standards in you weapon of choice.

FS 34088 is often reckoned a good match for a slightly faded Olive Drab 41 and FS 34087 a fresher version. Other equivalents are FS 34064 (dark) and FS 33070 (which to my eye is more brownish). I believe Vallejo do give an FS standard number on their paints, I don't know about Tamiya.

There is a famous story about P-38s which had a version of Olive Drab 41, formulated with fewer pigments and new stabilisers, (something to do with a shortage of cadmium IIRC, but I'm not a paint chemist) fading to a nice purple colour. So if you want to go really mad.....

Cheers

Roy Lichtenstein

[Tim Marlow]

According to Jakko’s article, Tamiya XF 62 is the closest to American wartime OD......

[PaulTRose]

That’s mistake number 1 :smiling3: Olive drab is not green — it’s a green shade of brown, really, and American OD, at least from the Second World War, weathers to brown even more. (The WWII British equivalent colour, SCC 15, is greener than American OD and weathers to green, though.)

i never said it was green......i said i wanted a green

but i prostrate myself in respect of your vastly superior knowledge :rolling::rolling::rolling:

[Gern]

OK. Thanks guys. I've ordered Model Colour 70.887 as FS34088 as I wanted the lighter, faded colour and XF 62 as suggested.

One of those will no doubt be close enough for me.