My last query of the old year.
I've almost got the RPM kit of the Ford Model T US Army Ambulance to the
point where it needs to be painted. The instructions recommend Humbrol 102
for the overall colour. Does anyone know if this is a reasonable match for
the original colour? If not, can you suggest a suitable Humbrol or
Xtracolour paint or mix? Please don't just say Olive Drab!
As part of an attempt to finish off some of my many half-completed projects,
I've now managed to complete the Emhar 18pr field gun and the Emhar A7V and
the Revell Fokker Triplane are almost done. The Model T will be another one
"off the books" once I know the colour. With luck, the Academy Tempest 5
will finally head for the loft by January. This leaves the Roden Albatros
DII from the batch that I want to complete over the holiday.
This kit is accident prone. I had almost finished it last January when I
realised the wing gap was too narrow and I'd somehow misaligned the wings.
I took the top wing off, smashing the interplane struts in the process. I
straightened the top wing then tried to alter the angle of the starboard
lower wing. It broke off. I got it back on then had to put the model away
to concentrate on other things.
Some weeks ago, I knocked the box containing this and four other models off
the top of a six foot shelf unit. That took the undercarriage off. Last
night, I tried to adjust the port lower wing and broke that off. It's back
on now and I'm shortly going to make some new struts with a view to getting
the top wing back on. Wish me luck!
Best wishes for the New Year,
Gordon McLaughlin
Mark M - 27 Dec 2005 14:18 GMT
Here is a great cross reference chart for paint colors. There is no
equivalent color to Humbrol 102 Army Green though. This chart is a great
reference though.
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_humbrol.htm
markm70
> My last query of the old year.
>
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
>
> Gordon McLaughlin
Gordon McLaughlin - 28 Dec 2005 12:28 GMT
Thanks for your reply.
The IPMS Stockholm colour site is invaluable and I often refer to it.
Unfortunately, as you say, it gives no clue as to the colour to which
Humbrol 102 is matched, assuming that it has a real-life prototype.
Gordon McLaughlin
> Here is a great cross reference chart for paint colors. There is no
> equivalent color to Humbrol 102 Army Green though. This chart is a great
> reference though.
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_humbrol.htm
> markm70
>
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
> >
> > Gordon McLaughlin
The Old Man - 27 Dec 2005 20:49 GMT
Sounds like you need the ambulance for the Albatros. I've had this
happen more times than I care to think of. Most recently, I was putting
an Auhagen Castle model together (seriously, a model of a castle). the
fit is very exacting and every time I got one end of a wall together,
the other end would come loose, be misaligned, etc. Once I had all of
the wall mounted and aligned with each other, the castle didn't quite
fit on the base that I had made for it; I had to make a new one.
It finally got done, but I'm ~not~ ready to do any more structures for
a while.
Oh well, back to my resin Heinkel He.280.....
Gordon McLaughlin - 28 Dec 2005 12:26 GMT
Thanks for your reply.
I had the same trouble with a vacuform Nissen Hut. It took ages to get the
curved roof to fit properly. Nevertheless, buildings make fascinating
models and I have a few kits put away for the pre-war industrial street
scene that I'm never going to build in my retirement.
Gordon McLaughlin
> Sounds like you need the ambulance for the Albatros. I've had this
> happen more times than I care to think of. Most recently, I was putting
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> a while.
> Oh well, back to my resin Heinkel He.280.....
Greg Heilers - 27 Dec 2005 21:38 GMT
> My last query of the old year.
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> the original colour? If not, can you suggest a suitable Humbrol or
> Xtracolour paint or mix? Please don't just say Olive Drab!
Well...sometimes "just Olive Drab" is as accurate and
precise, as any other answer. Now, this is not WWI, but
in the book "Bomber Command: American Bombers in Original
WWII Color", by Jeffrey L. Ethel; there is a beautiful
color photograph (page 6) of two ambulances, parked
side-by-side, awaiting the bombers' return from a mission.
These two vehicles, both the same model, and serving
with each other...are two entirely *different* shades
of "olive drab". The two colors aren't even close.
Perhaps one of them is, technically, *not* "olive drab".
Perhaps neither is. That is irrelevant. The relevant
point is what colors they *are*...not what color, some
piece of paper says they are *supposed* to be.
:o)

Signature
Greg Heilers
Registered Linux User #328317 - SlackWare 10.1
.....
"The way I see it, I figure the YANKEES had
something to do with it."
- Maj. Gen. George Pickett, when asked
where the fault lie for the Confederacy's
loss at Gettysburg
Gordon McLaughlin - 28 Dec 2005 12:23 GMT
Thanks for your reply. You're right in saying that there is often local
variation so that a precise shade or hue cannot be specified. The reply
from Gerald Owens reinforces this point in relation to the mixing of orange
and black at unit level. Even so, it helps to know what colour a thing was
supposed to be so that a reasonably likely colour can be attempted even if
it's not exactly right.
My problem with this model is that I have no idea what colour was used on
WW1 US Army transport and couldn't judge whether a green colouring was
likely to be right. The same problem applies to British Army vehicles of the
same period. Some may have been in the grey colour commonly used on pre-war
horse-drawn vehicles. Others are said to have been a dull brown and a third
group may have been a rather glossy dark green. There would certainly have
been some variation but it helps to have some idea of the intended colour as
a starting point.
Gordon McLaughlin
> > My last query of the old year.
> >
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> :o)
Gerald Owens - 28 Dec 2005 09:05 GMT
Steve Zaloga's article on Olive Drab a couple of years ago in Military
Modelling stated that while the alphanumeric designations for Olive
Drab changed over the decades it was in use, the official color cards
were virtually the same from World War One until OD was discontinued in
1974. He also says that of the model paints currently available,
Tamiya's is the closest to the official color cards issued during WW 2,
though he suggests cutting it a bit with German Dark Yellow for scale
effect. There was more variation during WW 1, as the color was mixed by
the units themselves using orange and black, rather than using factory
mixed paints.
The OD model paints matched to the FS34087 standard (like Testors Model
Master) are really only correct for Vietnam era helicopter, and the No.
41 Olive Drab and the AN613 shade are both 1940's aircraft colors.
Gerald Owens
> My last query of the old year.
>
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
>
> Gordon McLaughlin
Gordon McLaughlin - 28 Dec 2005 12:13 GMT
Thanks! This is really very helpful. I might have a bash at a black/orange
mix to see how it turns out.
Is there any chance of a scan or copy of the Zaloga article? I have a
number of projects that will, sooner or later, call for a greater knowledge
of Olive Drab than I currently have.
Gordon McLaughlin
> Steve Zaloga's article on Olive Drab a couple of years ago in Military
> Modelling stated that while the alphanumeric designations for Olive
[quoted text clipped - 42 lines]
> >
> > Gordon McLaughlin
WmB - 28 Dec 2005 19:26 GMT
> Thanks! This is really very helpful. I might have a bash at a
> black/orange
> mix to see how it turns out.
I thought the field recipe for OD was YELLOW and black. Having never tried
it out though myself...
Let us know what you get.
WmB
Greg Heilers - 28 Dec 2005 21:51 GMT
>> Thanks! This is really very helpful. I might have a bash at a
>> black/orange
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> WmB
Orange+Black is an excellent start for mixing "khaki"
(the traditional khaki, as opposed to "Dockers Jeans
light tan khaki"). O+B gives you that brownish-green,
similar to that great Humbrol color of old, "RFC Green".

Signature
Greg Heilers
Registered Linux User #328317 - SlackWare 10.1
.....
"The way I see it, I figure the YANKEES had
something to do with it."
- Maj. Gen. George Pickett, when asked
where the fault lie for the Confederacy's
loss at Gettysburg