Can anyone suggest a reasonable paint match for vehicles such as the M151 during the Vietnam War? I tend to use enamels (Humbrol and Revell), and I have recently read that Humbrol 66 would be a suitable choice.
Paul
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Opinions are going to very greatly here. I’ve not those brands for Vietnam, but recall people using Tamiya colors from XF-62 and XF-74 most often.
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Paul, I’ve been discussing the use of this - Humbrol 66 - recently for my 1/35 M48A2; be warned that Humbrol 66 is very dark indeed - probably too much so for a small scale model:
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Brian,
Yes, I imagine the Humbrol colour will be far too dark in my scale. The Revell version appears to be more suitable. My intended subject will be the M151A1.
Paul
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Tamiya TS-5 Olive Drab spray represent the darker post-WWII OD Green well.
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Also, I believe the Marines used a darker shade than Army vehicles, and time frame might vary also. Not for sure. Wayne
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I had researched this extensively about 14 years ago when I was restoring my full sized M-37 as a Vietnam guntruck. The Army FS number was 24087, a lusterless finish. Further investigation found that the current FS 24087 is not the same as it was in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s. I bought jars of green paint from everybody and there weren’t any that came close. I ended up mixing my own based on the correct 24087 I had found for my truck. I didn’t use the full-sized paint as it was too thick for models and was solvent based. Recently, Mission Models released a 24087 that they claim is correct for the Vietnam period but I have found that it appears to be the newer formulation as it is too yellow/brown when compared to the period-correct 24087. As an aside, there are still debates in the MV preservation world as to what the correct 24087 is. It also depends on the light source it’s seen under. LED lights render colors differently than sun in daylight (even those bulbs that claim high CRV’s).
As paint batches differed and the sun in Vietnam quickly altered colors (the yellows and reds would fade out first) you could make a point that almost anything close will be ok, especially if you are going to weather the model.
Another factor will be the color/tone of the primer. A darker toned primer will get you a darker top coat, etc.
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Not to be a jerk, but the color that looks right to you is the right color. You will go crazy trying to figure out what is right by asking everyone on here. OD is the chameleon of colors. If all of us, say 20 , built an OD tank, or the same jeep as you , there would be 20 different OD greens represented. WHo would be right? all of us probably in some aspect.
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I don’t think you’re being a jerk. In the end, what you say is true and it’s up to the individual to say what’s right for them. Old photos from Nam show a wide variety of colors in the same shot, due to paint batches and time in fading light. For me, I know the color I’m looking for and I want to get as close to that as I can. My models will never be entered in any competitions let alone be judged so I’m only pleasing myself. My full-sized M-37 was in a few competitions and not one judge ever commented on the color. That could mean the color was correct or it could also mean it was close enough not to matter. It didn’t matter to me, I took 1st place and I was happy with the way the color presented.
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That is pretty cool dude. You would have to be close enough or correct. Like you said there are so many pictures with each one looking a little different. I wonder how much is our eyes themselves, as we all see colors differently…
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I agree with the “choose a color and go with it” school of thought. I have a couple of photos I took of a new M113 and a well used M42 within 10 minutes of each other at Cu Chi base camp in 1970. The colors are very different, the track is a dark, almost semi gloss finish while the Duster is faded to a far lighter shade with a good amount of yellow/gray dust ground in as well. Also of note, I recall some “owners” of M151’s and 3/4’s having their vehicles painted by locals in the nearby village. (Very inexpensive and saved them doing it), obviously there was a wide color variation. I recall one 3/4 looked more black than OD. So as a model builder, you have a wide range of choices, and anything in the ballpark can’t be considered incorrect.
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SAC Bomber Green is more of A match for USMC used in country; Now they would change very fast depending on which region they were deployed in, the Soil faded the hue of the color.
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Yes and no 
I agree that you should go with what you think the correct colour is, but I also think you should first try to form a decent idea of what that colour looked like on the real thing. Else you get things like people painting American vehicles olive green rather than olive drab because they don’t realise the two are distinct colours. Yes, both are “army green” but one is very clearly a green colour and the other is much more green-brown.
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