101st Airborne uniform colours

[Johan]

Hello everybody,

I ordered an S&T 120mm 101st AB figure from Red Lancers - it's the one with the M1 Carbine with folding stock, in Normandy June 6th 1944; guess most of you know this beautiful figure, I think it looks like the best US para that is available in 120mm.

He wears the M1942 paratrooper jacket and trousers, which were a sand or tan light khaki colour. Now, which Vallejo colours are a good match for this colour ?
I have both VC 988 "Khaki" and VC 880 "Khaki Grey" which might be good to start with ... but here I am confused too, as the Khaki Grey is actually more brown than the Khaki 988 . Is that normal ??

Well, I'm keen to hear your suggestions; I don't know yet if I'll paint it in Vallejo's only, or in Oils over a Vallejo undercoat . I guess in oils you start with Raw Sienna and then add some other colours (White, Naples yellow , .. ?)... I don't know.

Thank you,

Johan

 

[Anders Heintz]

Hola Johan!

Unfortunately I dont have the exact colors that could be used for this kit. I am about to start painting a 75mm para I scultped and its something I would be interested in hearing opinions on as well.

I would suggest getting some nice color photographs of an Original M-42 Jump Suit, take the color that is closest to it and then add other colors to match it. Thats how I usually mix when Im trying to get something to look like something.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Johan]

Hello Anders,

Well I have dug up a reference book which seems quite good to start with, although I'm sure there are better references on the subject :

"D-Day : Operation Overlord: from the landing at Normandy to the liberation of Paris" (Salamander Books, 1993)

This book has a very nice large colour photo of complete uniforms, weapons and other gear of US Airborne (para and glider) troops. (also pics of British and German uniforms)
From what I can see, the VC988 "Khaki" is a pretty good match for the colour of the M41 Field Jacket (as worn by Infantry and Glider troops), but the M42 Paratrooper uniform seems to be a different colour - more brown or tan, perhaps also a bit lighter.

I'm now going through my Vallejo colours, I'll let you know when I find a good colour match.

A 75mm figure of a US Para ? Sounds good, is it a one off, or one for a manufacturor ? 75mm is a nice scale (I just can't get myself to start on a 54mm anymore these days, too small for me )

 

[Anders Heintz]

Hola Johan,

Yes, it was for production and should be available soon by a new company based in the US.

Im looking forward to the mix you come up with and I will share mine as well when I get to it.

 

[John Long]

Johan,

I use Khaki as an undercoat. I usually mix the basecoat from Lamp Black, Mars Yellow, and Titanium White. You can vary this a bit by adding a bit Naples Yellow or Sepia into the mix. When you mix the Lamp Black and Mars Yellow leave a little back for the shadow color. Start adding white until you get the tone you're after. Take a bit of this mixture and add more white and/or naples yellow for the highlight. Adding only white will have a tendency toward making the uniform appear faded.

 

[Johan]

Thank you very much John ! That makes sense, I'll give that a try, although I might have to substitute another colour for the mars yellow ... can't get that anywhere near where I live ; ... is Mars Yellow close to Gold Ochre ?

Anders, I look forward to see the release of that figure announced on this forum!

Meanwhile, I have not received the figure yet, but I've been messing around with the Vallejo Colours !

A pretty close match to the large colour photos I have is : VC912 Tan Yellow + VC873 US Field Drab; add Field Drab to Tan Yellow until you get the right shade, and that's it basically. Highlighting can be done by adding VC976 Buff to base mix. Shadows : add more US Field Drab. I'm also thinking about adding a touch of Violet to the deepest shadow mix to give depth and contrast.

What do you guys think?

Now of course that is just what I see in those pictures - I'm sure there are a 100 better ways to get that US Airborne uniform colour right, and I am really a rookie in matters of WWII uniform colours ... so I'm open to other suggestions.