Need help with colours : US infantry uniform WWII

[Johan]

Hello,

can anyone help me with colour mixes for the U.S. infantry uniform from 1942 - 1943 ?

OD wool trousers, OD flannel shirt (seems a lighter shade than the trousers), khaki gaiters, M1941 field jacket, khaki webbing (belt with ammo pouches for M1 garand rifle) (all khaki items seem of different colours), and M1 OD helmet.

Which Vallejo colours should I use ? And are there any good oil paint mixes ?

These U.S. OD and Khaki colours are damn hard to get correct - finding colours to shade and highlight is even harder !

... Am I correct in saying that Vallejo English Uniform 921 is a good colour for the OD woollen trousers ?

... Oh and by the way : can I use exactly the same colours for a U.S. infantryman of 1917 ? (= the uniform with the Montana hat)

All suggestions are welcome,

thank you very much in advance,

Johan

 

[Johan]

... ??

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Johan,

It's important to remember that uniforms don't stay their original colour for very long after they are issued. Almost as soon as a soldier puts on his uniform for the first time the colours begin to fade and become ingrained with the dirt and grime of his surroundings.

If you're painting an infantryman, consider that he eats, sleeps and fights out in the open 24/7 wearing his uniform almost the entire time. His uniform might last a month or two before it needs to be replaced. Generally a soldier will wear out two pairs of trousers for every shirt, because of the extra wear and tear the lower half of the body experiences. Therefore you need to consider if he is wearing a new uniform or an old one, or a combination of new and old.

OD can vary widely from "English Uniform" to Dark Brown (Burnt Umber) to Olive Green. The seat of the pants, the knees and the thigh area will generally wear thin quickly because these areas have the most contact with the ground and vegetation. The fabric in these parts of the uniform will therefore become faded and worn much faster than other parts. I usually add some flesh colour to my OD colours when painting the high wear and tear areas.

Khaki webbing becomes a brown/ grey khaki as soon as it gets wet and muddy. It doesn't stay khaki very long in combat conditions. If you start with khaki as your base colour, add some olive green tomake it look aged.

Also you need to consider the climate and time of year that your figure is supposed to be in. If you look at Saving Private Ryan, notice how the khaki webbing gradually gets dirtier and dirtier over just a 2 week period after D Day. If you then extend that process over another 12 months, you get some idea how the uniform colours would change between ETO US uniforms in 1944 and 1945.

I hope this helps mate.

 

[ScottS.]

Here are some colors to get you started try 873 US field Drab for the shirt and pants but mix it up with lighter colors for the shirt, or use 873 for the shirt and English uniform for the pants. Follow Tony's advice and really you can't go wrong, close is good enough. For the "Parsons" try 988 Khaki, add od to it for a newer look. For webbing try 886 green grey or 914 green ochre. For the helmet I use Tamyia XF-62 and weather it like I do my armor. Yes these colors would work for WWI. If you want I made an xcel spread sheet that covers all kinds of nations and uniforms using Vallejo colors, I’ll send it to you via e-mail if you like.

 

[Johan]

Tony, Scott, a big THANK YOU !

@ Tony : guess you're right, much depends on how much action a uniform has seen ... so it's important first to figure that out for the figure you're going to paint. Well, in case of the figures I'm painting it's a U.S. GI in July 1943, who has been 1 month in Tunesia, and has just got of the boat in Sicily - I guess that would be a relatively new uniform then ? Also, I have a 54mm U.S. Doughboy of 1917 to paint who has just got off the boat in St. Nazaire, so that would be a very "new" uniform.

@ Scott : thanks, that's a start ! I had already more or less figured out the 921 English Uniform for the "trousers, OD, wool", and indeed the "shirt, OD, flannel" seems a shade lighter in all pictures. Well, that excel sheet with all uniform colours sounds VERY interesting, yes, please I'd like to see that !! Thanks !!
I'll send you a PM with my e-mail address,


kindest regards,

Johan