Olive Drab,what's it all about?

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tonyb

Senior Airman
303
1
Apr 13, 2010
Melbourne
What is the deal with Olive Drab? Why are there so many variations of it?
I am struggling to find the right colour for the upper surfaces of my Memphis Belle model.
I don't own a spray gun so I have to rely on the old rattle cans.Of the 3 hobby shops I frequent,only 1 sells spray paint which is by Tamiya.
I have 2 different Olive Drab paints.1 is called Olive Drab 2 and the other is called Olive Drab (USAAF).
The 2nd one is the closest match but both seem a bit too green to me.
Can anyone recommend a spray that I can order online?What is the brownish looking Olive drab called?
I see Humbrol make a Light Olive which looks real close.
It's all very confusing and I'm pulling my hair out over it.If u saw my already receding hairline you'd know why this bothers me!
As always,any help will be most appreciated.
Cheers,
Tony.
 
On the real aircraft OD was fast to weather and fade with the sun so It doesn't surprise me that your paint looks too green. Without an air brush you're kinda stuck with the can colors, but you might be able to tone it down with earth tone pastels after the decals and dull coat. It will also give it a very weathered look.
 
Tony, T-Bolt hit it right on the head. Look at two white cars. White is not white is not white. And no one is that fussy about military equipment especially during a war. So pick one that you like, paint it. One of the reasons that I am not that concerned about "matching" paints or lightening and/or darkening to match scale size
 
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Thanks guys,I'll go with the paint I have and weather it down with some pastels then.
Cheers,
Tony.
 

Agree completely. Spending half of the modeling time running behind the perfect color makes it a little boring, and even nowadays colors become different with weathering!. Even if you make a diorama with a sunset picture as background, your model must look a bit reddish. Just paint it and enjoy!.
 
That's what i'd do but again I'm not that concerned about such things. There are many that are and they will debate as to whether Model Master RLM 70 is a true sample of actual German RLM 70 or should it be a shade lighter or darker
 
I feel your pain Tony. Recently I was having the same debate about what to do myself with some 1/144 bombers I'm working on. Some that I've seen look like (as everyone here has said) a weathered version of the original olive drab which tends to have a yellow-ish tint to it. The one that gets me is the ones that actually looks brown.

Not having a air brush doesn't have to limit your color choices. You could always try mixing your own colors and apply it with a brush. No doubt this will take more time as you will need to apply several thin coats to avoid that "Glopped on look" but it can be done and WAS done by all prior to the air brush becoming so available. I've seen tons of models that were painted by brush but if the modeler didn't tell you you wouldn't have known.
 
Brush-painted P38, slightly faded OD.
Brush-painted P47, fresher OD.
 

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