nnascati | 29 Oct 2019 12:07 p.m. PST |
All, I've seen a lot of painted NVA with khaki headgear and jacket and greenish pants. Most of the images I've seen seem to show an all greenish khaki uniform. Which is more correct? |
deadhead | 29 Oct 2019 12:35 p.m. PST |
Can you imagine the wear and tear those outfits must have taken by the time the wearers had walked from NV along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and into RVN? Cheap and nasty outfits anyway, with poor quality dyes, UV light, dust and possibly washing….. At the fall of Saigon they were head to toe in matching tops and pants in a greenish khaki indeed. In their Sunday best riding on that tank through the gates. Not too many colour images of NVA from Tet…what is odd is that when you do Google the countless videos, all of US of course, the bodies or the occasional captive look nothing like the archetypal NVA seen in an Osprey book and I do mean the ones dragged out of spider holes with weaponry, not the less obviously "enemy" KIA. My hunch would be more towards dusty khaki head to toe (with a very light greenish wash), representing a very faded green version of the original. But mix and match for variety freely. |
nnascati | 29 Oct 2019 12:41 p.m. PST |
Thanks Liam, so maybe most in a uniform dusty khaki and a couple with the greener trousers. |
Garryowen | 29 Oct 2019 12:42 p.m. PST |
My research has indicated that earlier in the war khaki was the predominate color. Later in the war green became the dominate. However, U.S. recon troops who reported uniform colors reported khaki as well as green all the way through. Photographs of actual uniforms in collections show both colors. I realize that there are many fake original items from NVA stuff floating around. Tom |
The Nigerian Lead Minister | 29 Oct 2019 12:48 p.m. PST |
I paint mine in Vallejo Japanese Uniform, which is a khaki with a light shade of green. Looks okay to me based on pictures I've seen. |
deadhead | 29 Oct 2019 1:55 p.m. PST |
That last sounds a great idea. Japanese were meant to start out in greenish khaki but I defy anyone to show me an example of that in practice (other than higher ranking officers). But I would be tempted to also mix and match as you originally suggested. You do not want this scruffy lot looking too "uniform". |
Col Durnford | 29 Oct 2019 6:12 p.m. PST |
My mix is as follows: NVA – green uniform Main Force VC – green/black/tan mixed pants and shirts VC local force – black PJ As I recall the NVA used the Khaki uniform as a export. |
nnascati | 29 Oct 2019 6:32 p.m. PST |
I did my Empress NVA (which I now have for sale), in a light greenish color, then washed brown and drybrushed beige. I like the way they look, but they are just too small next to the Gringo Marines. |
deadhead | 30 Oct 2019 2:23 a.m. PST |
The old does size matter question….. The story goes that NVA were not the puny characters of VC….We did discuss this recently when one of the Gringos40 guys came out looking like a UFC fighter rather than NVA. TMP link OK, we all know Japanese could be well over six foot tall and built like a brick outhouse. But equally when we do see photos of NVA from Hue (usually dead or captive) they are remarkably puny guys. (True, that might be selection bias, the bigger guys got away?).
I strongly suspect the Gringos and Empress NVA could not be mixed, or at least not on the same bases. The snag might be (stress might, I have no idea) that the weaponry may show a huge disparity in size. I would imagine your figures would prove very "saleable" though. |
jammy four | 30 Oct 2019 2:31 a.m. PST |
Liam and Nick Ref Size for the NVA.one a general note they were large men .many of normal stature up to five foot ten,,ex farm hands, Many of the deceased NVA photos from Hue are actually main force VC smaller on average,,Some very short. some of the really "bigger" NVA were the odd Chinese troops sent into the Nam, regards Ged gringo40s.com |
deadhead | 30 Oct 2019 2:36 a.m. PST |
I can well imagine, then, selection bias might apply. VC more likely to be killed/captured than Regular well-organised NVA, who possibly had more sense? The great thing about slightly bigger figures (I love scale creep to be honest…but I like a range to start out that way as yours) is that you can pack in more detail…. |
jammy four | 31 Oct 2019 5:46 p.m. PST |
Liam…the NVA were known for their fire discipline..eg when jungle encampments were discovered they would hold their fire..say a loach chopper discovered an obvious NVA/VC stronghold…if held by VC they would tend to open up early.then all hell would break loose.In town fighting the NVA were rather clever ..for example US Marines would say come under fire from a couple of house across a street and would return fire with M16s and LAWS.in actual fact the NVA were hidden in between the two house under some garbage,,/spiderholes..deception was all for them. cheers Ged gringo40s.com gringo40s.blogspot.com |