"Vietnam: a plethora of uniform designs" Topic

Recently I've been reading up on the Vietnam War a bit and what I found interesting is that the uniforms weren't as static as I thought previously (NVA combat fatigues changing from khaki to olive drab in '66 while the movie Rambo 2 has them in khaki in the mid '80s for example)

So I am curious, for those who have built armies, how did you choose to paint your armies and why?

I will be honest, I mix the uniforms up abit! I reckon they look better IMHO

Black Pajama style for VC and khaki for the NVA. Some various shades of khaki

If you read enough personal accounts by participants, you will find khaki throughout the sixties. Green would predominate by then, but it was not exclusive.

Occasionally I have read of a mixture on the same soldier. SOG accounts are good for this as they were supposed to report that information.

So, take your choice, khaki, green or both. I have some squads in green, some in khaki.

Main Force VC units (as opposed to locals) more commonly had a mixture of khaki and black in the same unit. Again there would be some soldiers with one piece in black and the other in khaki.

Tom

I have three major grouping with three different uniforms.

PAVN regulars (North Vietnamese) – full green uniform mostly in sun helmets (West Wind figures). Sapper company with floppy hats or bare headed/scarf.

Vietcong – black pajamas with floppy hat and some with rice paddy hat (not that they normally wear them, but because nothing says VC like a paddy hat).

NLF main force – total mix of green/tan/black with floppy hats.

I just started painting up some US forces and trying to figure out colors of fatigues, webbing, and flak jackets is daunting.