I'm going to take the plunge with the Dragon kit of the above. First I am well aware of the issues with this kit (planning on using the Legends mantlet cover as a start, maybe steal an IR searchlight from a Tamiya or Academy kit, & use an AM gun barrel). My reference for this is the Ampersand book on the beast.

In terms of color schemes of Marine vehicles, the photos seem to conflict. SOme (including the museum vehicles -- not always the best reference for colors!) appear to be in OD. One color photo looks like it is USMC green. Were ALL M103A2s in USMC Green or could some be in OD (I like OD personally!) & the Dragon instructions say the vehicle color is OD. So looking for a good answer on how I should paint it up...

Damon.

Hi Damon,

I would recommend sticking with USMC green. All of my research of operational vehicles provides validation for USMC green. Bear in mind that old processed film back in the 60s and 70s was not as great as state of the art digital images and colours could and would vary in photos. We still see that with digital images. If there were two types of colours used it could be a result of the US Army M103A1s sent over for use with the USMC. Maybe they were not painted right away and that was done when the tanks were rebuilt to the M103A2 version?

Have you read my USMC M103A2 feature? It might help you with some fixes of the kit and getting a good grip on a match for the USMC green colour. I am very happy with the paint on my M103A2.

Have fun with your build. It is a beast of a tank!

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/features/7044&page=1

Marine Corps Green would be suitable, but that color changed over time. Post World War Two, the color corresponded to FS 34079, but in the late 1950's, black was added, rendering it as FS 34052. In the 60's it reverted to the original color. Even though the FS number has a 3 prefix, the actual paints wer often semi gloss rather than flat.

Thanks guys!

Damon.

Tamiya XF-74 JGSDF OD is a good match for USMC Green right from the bottle.

G