Hello,
I'm hoping if someone can help me...... I'm looking for the right paint colour for 'Dragon's' figures of the US Army Airbourne (Normandy 1944) set. On the back of the box it has paint instructions for Italeri paints, but according to their paint colour number, as well as the colour of the four soldiers on the back of the box, it's a sand colour..... But I thought that the US Airbourne soldiers had more of a khaki green uniform (as in Band of Brothers)? The paints I use would be either Tamiya, or Vallejo Model Air, so either or paint reference numbers would be excellent.
I just hoping for some good advice before I proceed!!

Thanks
SIMON.

You might check out Mark Bando's "Triggertime 101st Airborne" at:

http://www.101airborneww2.com/

The color of the m42 Jump Uniforms did vary somewhat but they tended to be a lighter Khaki color. While Band of Brothers was a great series, the makers chose to produce the show in a washed out, high contrast
appearance...not the best for color advice.

Best regards,
Ron Volstad

Working link:
Trigger Time 101 Airborne

The M1942 uniform used in Normandy varied greatly from a medium green to a dark kakhi. IN reality, all were meant to be OD shade number 3, but, as in anything that is meant to be a uniform colour, there were many variations. The washed out kakhi you see in BOB is results only from extended periods of wear and usage, something not usually seen in uniforms meant to be replaced every couple of weeks. If I were to paint it, I would go with a tan colour (Probably Model Master Field Drab) with a small touch of green added to the mix.

I'm with David on this this one... I have both a repro, and original M42 jump jackets in my collection. They did vary in color. There are some rare color photo's that you can see in many of the well known books. I would post them but I don't want to add to the copywrite disscussions... They aren't the most helpful anyway, you can see the photos are faded too! Again not making them the most accurate. What those photos do illustrate is a variation in color. PM me if you like...

There were some that were lighter in color, and there were some in a more greenish color. The colors I have chosen is the same recipe David (Airwarrior) has given. If you would like to see my results have a look at my gallery... I purposely have chosen slight variations in the color of the uniforms.

Model master field drab is way too brown to my eye, especially at 1.35 scale. I'd go with Model Master Armor sand, maybe mixed with a slight bit of green and brown, then use washes and highlights accordingly. The uniform was pretty tan, as it was used in N. Africa, Sicily, and Italy before Normandy. Also, it was tan enough that it was replaced by the M1943 uniform to blend in better in NW Europe, so that should tell you something about its shade.

Rob

I don't know, all of the originals I've ever looked at are usually fairly dark. Since he is depicting Normandy, a dark fresh uniform would be most accurate. The troopers that jumped into Normandy, as I have read, were issued new uniforms before the jump. Combat uniforms are only designed to last a few weeks in theatre, to be replaced by a fresh uniform. I would say the only reason to depict a faded uniform would be to depict a trooper fighting in the later periods of the Normandy campaign.


Just my 2/100ths of a dollar.

I asked a similar question a while back, regarding the colour of the M43 Airborne uniform. Its seems there is no 'one colour', its just a case of finding one you like!
Does anybody know the conversion of Model Master Field Drab and Model Master Armor Sand to Humbrol? I've been looking on online conversion charts, but I cannot find a conversion for those two!

Cheers, H

Oh, I didn't mean that they wore the EXACT same uniforms as in N Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Heck, most of the paratroopers who dropped into Normandy hadn't fought anywhere before. I mean it was the same style. When I'm painting uniforms and will shade later, I find it easiest to start light and work it to make it darker. Therefore, I start with slighly modifed Armor Sand, darken the figure a bit with shading, then add highlights. But no two of us view colors the same.

But, as I said, the uniform was regarded as too tan (in real life) for NW Europe, so they were mostly withdrawn after Normandy and the paratroopers then switched to the M1943 uniform, which was more of a dark green color. Only the 504th jumped into Holland in the 1942 jumpsuit, and after that they are only seen here and there, as some troopers liked them so hid them and wore them later, such as during Battle of the Bulge.

Rob

Hi Simon,

This is a question that will always come up because there isn't any "right" answer, as no doubt you've already discovered. I recently went through this exercise for my "Flankers" diorama, and after many, many test swatches of paint from about five different brands, settled on Vallejo "Middlestone" for those uniforms. It seemed to be a good middle ground.

The other thing is how different the color(s) can look depending on whether in sunlight or shade.

Good luck,
Barry

Hello everyone.....
Firstly can I say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to send in a reply to my question!! I didn't realize there could be so many answers & arguements to a simple question.......

Having read all the replies I 'figure' :-) that I need something like a sandy / tan colour, as oppsed to the kahki green one I was going to use originally. Vallejo 'Middlestone' looked good, but felt that Vallejo 'Dark Sand' looks a more similar colour to pictures I've seen of painted figures from Dragon & Nemrod. It's good to hear that there ARE so many variations & opinions, so there is not one definite answer.

Thanks particularly to Dave & Ron for that link to 101 Airbourne, very interesting website, especially the BOB pages.

Cheers again guys, have a beer on me!!
SIMON.

Quite the contrary. The famous light kakhi colour of the M-1942 jump uniform only appeared after weeks, maybe months of field service, and then the orignals in this state have also been aging for 60 years. You are portraying figures in Normandy correct? IF that is true, then they would have been wearing brand new uniforms issued to them just before the jump. These brand new uniforms were the kakhi green.


HTH

I'm a reenacter , and my uniform (101 AB) is khaki as they say, but, most people think it's like olive drab, but it's not, it is very light, almost sand.

my favorite website: (a shop in normandy in the dead man's corner building with a museum)
http://www.paratrooper.fr

Yes, your reproduction uniform might be a sandy colour, but the originals were rather dark. The uniform on that page is also probably made in Pakistan, just like the ones sold ny Sportsman Guide and IMA. The shiny buttons are one thing that is way off.


Here is a nice page with ORIGINAL examples.

http://atthefront.com/

Go to the U.S. section, then click on uniforms. It should give you a list of different things. Go to "What is Kakhi". All the information you'll ever need.

http://atthefront.com/khaki_2.jpg This illustates it well...

http://atthefront.com/khaki_1.jpg As does this...

http://atthefront.com/khaki_main.jpg And this.

I can't effort a real uniform
I'm fourteen, I'm not rich :-)
a real one is like 600€, but a M1 Carabine is 325 €, so i'd rather buy the Carabine

Cheers

I don't think so. I have photos, including just a few in color, showing troops of the 505th prior to their jump into Sicily. The uniforms are quite tan looking. Granted, old color film does sometimes play tricks, but I don't think it plays enough to turn something that you say is relatively dark into something that in the photo looks quite sandy, especially when all other gear (helmets, trucks, etc., in the photos) look about right in color.

Taking into account the impregnation of the new suits prior to Normandy, I think a slightly darkened/greener Armor Sand is perfect.

No, the color of the uniforms in Sicily was different. I've tried a couple of colors, but for d-day I think the best color is 'tamiya dark yellow', dunno about the webbing gear.