"Colours for US GI`S European Theatre 44-45 (vallejo)" Topic

Hi,
I need some input about how to paint US troops (ETO 44-45) with Vallejo colours.
Any suggestion??

Thanks
Ayé

Aye:

Vallejo has a US paint set – I think with "instructions"; I actually used the German paint set for my US troops, as I already had the set and the bottles were still pretty much full. I just mixed colors as saw fit.

Here's a guide from the FOW site
link
Happy painting, Dean

This is the list I work off of. It constantly changes, but this is the current version.

Mid-war, North Africa

Helmet 887 Brown Violet
Jacket and Waders 988 Khaki
Jackets 837 Pale Sand
Pants 873 US Field Drab
Belt and Webbing 886 Green Grey
882 Middlestone
Boots 984 Mahogany Bro
818 Red Leather
HBT shirt 893 Dark Green

NW Europe, D-Day and Beyond

Helmets 887 Brown Violet
Uniform 893 US Dark Green
Mackinaw Jacket 874 US Tan Earth
Webbing 914 Green Ochre
886 Green Grey
Boots and Scarves 846 Mahogany Brown Trousers 846 Mahogany Shoecaps Black

Tankers

Windjacket 988
HBT overalls 893 US Dark Green
Helmet 887 Brown Violet
Goggles 872

Airborne

Uniform 80% 882 Middlestone + 20% 893 US Dark Green
Webbing 886 Green Grey
Helmet 897 Brown Violet
Jump Boots 984 Flat Brown

Airborne Midwar and DDay

Uniform 977 Yellow
Jump Boots 879 Brown
Webbing 819 Iraqi Sand
Helmet 896 Dark Green
Buckles 790 Silver
Wood 879 Brown
Scabbard 968 Green
Elbow/Knee Patches 879 Green
Spade cover 819 Iraqi Sand
Holster 879 Brown
Gas Mask Bag Black, HL 994 Grey

Glider Troops

Jacket/Leggings 988 Khaki
Trousers 973 US Field Drab
Webbing 914 Green Ochre
886 Green Grey
Helmet 887 Brown Violet
Boots 984 Flat Brown

Camo Suit

Base 821 German Camo beige
Camo 984
893

Vehicles 887 Brown Violet

Probert, I readily admit I have very limited experience with Vallejo (what experiences I did have, turned me in favour of other paints actually). So maybe it's just a matter of some Vallejo paints having a name which doesn't reflect their actual colour (?), but I am very puzzled why someone would use a paint called "Brown Violet" for a helmet which was a shade of green in real life. Can you help? Thanks.

You also have take into consideration of the translation from Spanish – English.

But on the other hand maybe they ran out of colours so made some up :P

Napoleon III

Do not fear the brown violet color is a very green/olive drab color that is picture perfect. I have an old WWII helmet that is the exact color of the paint in the tub.

Brown violet is the correct shade, despite the strange title. Also keep in mind that the US uniforms tended to fade rapidly on campaign.

I've mixed Vallejo German Camo Green with some Burnt Sienna and a very small bit of blue and used it for my US M1 helmets. I was prompted to add a little blue mainly due to the term brown-"violet" mentioned Incidentally, we had an old WW2 M1 helmet when I was a kid and recalled that it was a very dark color – kind of with a brownish tint, more than a straight green color.

probert
You list almost exactly the colours I use for 44-45 ETO.
I am in the process of creating a painting guide here…
link
it's a long process….

regards
SI@BoltAction

Probert, Bolt Action,
Thank you very much for the input.
Appreciate
Ayé

Probert, that list is in line with mine too – minor variations that boil down to taste.

I built mine starting with the Vallejo guide and modifying it where it really didn't fit (their boot color is the same as their gun color, for example).

Like yours, mine gets tweaked often, but it's pretty much down to the finish at this point.

Interestingly, I have two bottles of khaki that are two different shades – never seen that before in Vallejo. I prefer the darker one over the lighter one for US Jackets. In fact, I paint with the darker one and dry-brush the lighter one :-).

Don.

I also use primarily those colors for my GIs preferring the M41 style jacket for a nice color contrast. That uniform could be found through 45 though steadily replaced by the M43.

I prefer Tamiya XF-57 buff for the jacket over the Vallejo color however.

bolt action,

Some of the stuff on my list is probably cribbed from yours. I cribbed most of the list from other sources in an attempt to make one I could uses as a reference.

If you need some colors for other WWII forces slide me a PM and I will email you all the info I have put together. I have lists for most of the major WWII nations.

GM,

I feel your pain. My list is always changing. I was doing some WWII Russians last night and totally revamped the color I painted the uniforms (which I refuse to repaint all my other little commies with due to laziness). Found a better shade for Russian and German canteens as well.

Brown Violet is a German Luftwaffe camo color from late WWII, and Vallejo is just carrying over that name. It was used on the ME-262 among other fighters. In German it's "Brunviolet" (also known as RLM 81) and it is a brown color with an olive-greenish tinge. I don't know how the Germans originally came up with the name, it's never made much sense.

Cosmotiger:

That's enlightening – I bought US Dark Green & Brown Violet yesterday to paint some US Paratroopers in M43 (late-war) uniform. I love the Dark Green – just what I wanted; but the Brown Violet wasn't what I expected (you can never tell from the bottle or chip). I ended up painting their helmets with a mixture of Reflective Green & Burnt Sienna instead (a darker color). Dean

Sometimes I'm amazed at all the worthless trivia I know. :)

One man's 'worthless trivia' another's TMP goldmine!

Probert

Have you updated your German listing? The last version I fund is from 2005.

Probert;

What colors you using for your Russians? I am doing a bunch using Vallejo Russian Uniform 924 to model the late war green uniforms. In retrospect would have done better with the 880 green khaki I think.

Marc,

Great minds think alike. I did my last batch with 880 Khaki Grey, and I think they look much better than using 924 or GW Graveyard Earth.

DukeWacon,

My current German listing is three pages long and heavily in need of editing. I will endevor to fix it up, and post it here.

I've gone with a different style with my 15mm.

I think there were 14 officially sanctioned hues of 'Olive' in the US army for acceptable uniforms during WWII. The difference was due to different factories not being about to colour match to one single standard.

Plus the items weathered at different rates, and two men in the same squad could end up wearing diifent hue based upon when they joined the unit.

So there is no definative answer….

For me, I went with painting a batches of a few figs identically, and then another (but add a slight colour variation on an item (eg Trousers)). After I've finish the army, I mix them up and get a fairly 'standard' looking army but with shade variations that better match the photographs I've seen of the period.

I don't think there is a definative answer, for example black, grey, or white undercoats with shift the hue greatly.

So I'd go with 'whatever looks good to you'

PS did the same with Russians and it looks GREAT