Ok probably gonna open up a hornets nest on this one but what the hell. I am preparing to paint my Operation Cobra Sherman this weekend. I will probably paint the two tone black and OD just cause it looks cool. I am going to ask the age old question about the OD.

I have a choice of Model Master enamel OD or faded OD
I also have Lifecolor OD's regular and faded color.

In general opinion which would be the most correct to use along with the standard weathering etc.

Thanks in advance,
Mark

Why not use regular on the side surfaces and faded on the upper surfaces which would be exposed to the sun?

Kicking myself right now because I did n ot think of it. :-)

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I have a choice of Model Master enamel OD or faded OD
I also have Lifecolor OD's regular and faded color.

I really like the lifecolor paints much better than the ModelMaster. I use their OD, faded OD, and plain ole' Green for everything US.

Chris

I as well have grown fond of them. They thin easily spray great and lay down dead flat. I might just use them and see how they look.

Thanks Chris

I used Humrol 117 for mine!

Well, Mark, it all depends on your philosophy. Do you want to start with the nearest match to the official color and then add layers of paint to simulate weathering, or do you want to start nearer to the final finish color of the model and save a bit of time? Fresh No. 9 Olive Drab was a dark, saturated green with a hint of brown, and Tamiya's is supposedly the nearest match to the official color cards issued during the war, according to Steve Zaloga (he suggests cutting it with a bit of German Armor Sand for scale effect). In reality, of course, a vehicle in the field would be dusty, and that dramatically lightens the apparent color (note, the paint probably isn't faded at all--the M4A1's issued before Cobra were brand new, and had probably been repainted on arrival in the UK, so under the dust, the paint would be fresh and dark).
So would Model Master OD be "correct" for your Sherman? No, strictly speaking, because their FS34087 is matched to the shade used on Army helicopters in Vietnam from 1967 onward, a much lighter and warmer shade. However, if you're going to weather the heck out of it to represent a dusty combat vehicle, that's probably a perfectly fine color to start with!

I used Tamiya OD on mine!
Cheers and happy modelling!
Prato

I notice in Tamiya's spray cans there are 2 olive drabs. The second looks much lighter. Has anyone tried the second OD? How would you compare them?

I sprayed it with an aerograph over my sherman from a small Tamiya pot, not from a spray can! Sorry I can't help you!
Cheers and happy modelling!
Prato