Mr. Color - olivová (1)

The basic green of American equipment

The olive coat accompanied American ground and air equipment from the 1930s, through the whole of the Second World War, until the Korean War. In reality it was not a single tone: the composition changed from one production batch to another, sunshine pulled it toward brown and rain with dust shifted it further still. That is exactly why the brand keeps two versions, and this is the first, darker one of them.

Where the shade belongs

It sits on the hulls and turrets of armored vehicles, on trucks and on artillery pieces; it stays away from the undersides of carrier aircraft, but it covers the upper surfaces of Army air force machines well. It is also useful on crates, jerrycans, helmets and the rest of the equipment lying around a vehicle on a diorama.

Working with the paint

The carrier of the pigment is a solvent lacquer, so it cannot be thinned with water. The recommended ratio lies between 1:1 and 2:1 according to the thickness and it is applied with an airbrush. On the large uniform areas that armored vehicles have, it pays to thin the paint further and build the shade up in thin coats, because uneven coverage shows up immediately on a flat surface.

A dried layer is hard and will take oil lightening and enamel washes, which is used with this shade all the time – tonal modulation is technique number one with an olive. Brushing it on calls for adding a retarder at roughly a quarter of the volume. The pack holds 10 ml.

Where the color is used

• American ground equipment of the Second World War, where the olive tone is the basic camouflage color
• Postwar production vehicles, on which the shade stays within a similar range
• Crates, jerrycans and small gear on a diorama
• A base under lightened and darkened shades when modulating surfaces

Stir the bottle gently before pouring, the pigment settles to the bottom.