Another Damne WW2 CMP paint colour question
 

I'm still trying to sort out the correct colour to paint my 1944 Chev HUW. I want to duplicate the scheme in this black and white photograph taken 'somewhere in England' just prior to the D-Day landings. The base colour is without question SCC2 (Brown No.2). The camouflage is either SCC14 Black or SCC1A Dark Brown. Both were authorized for the early 1944 period.

To try and determine what the camouflage colour was (or at least what it would look like) I colourized the WW2 photo and 'applied' both camouflage colours.

So to this learned group I ask the question: is the camouflage in the original photo dark brown or black?

I'd say it's black since it's way darker than the tires.,

Id say its the black as well. When I painted my Dodge I used Tremclad flat black mixed with some OD. It toned down the black just a bit and looked great.

just to throw a left field spanner in the works, why coudn't the base coat be SCC 15? My understanding is there is overlap between the use of SCC15 as a camouflage base colour and the "foliage" pattern. Its less likely but not out of the question, or is there something purely canadian like the adpotion of scc 15 that i am unaware of? (possible)

It is reasonable to presume the darker colour is scc 14. Nice to see an example of soft edge foliage pattern.

2 cents from a CMP Novice :no4: :giveup

Thanks everyone for your replies. The reason I am confident the base colour is Brown No.2 is first, that the truck has its original factory paint as shown by the W/T on the cab door and second, that this HUW lacks the radiator overflow can making it post 1942 and also is the three body door style instead of having the right body door replaced by the spare tire recess which happened in the spring of 1944. These details put it smartly within range for wearing a coat of brown.

The SCC14 Black is described by Stammer as equivalent to Revell (model paint) R9 which cross references to Tamiya XF63 German Grey. I had a look at my local hobby shop and see it is really a dark grey, easily duplicated by cutting a little lightener in Tremclad flat black as Jordan did.

Bruce

PM sent

Not sure if you have seen this one before. Not trying to thread jack this but Im curious to find out what the desk came from. It is a very odd design.

I'm not sure what that table is from. Certainly not HUW or HUP if it's even from a truck.

What is interesting is how a slightly different colour setting can turn khaki/black into brown/dark brown. About the only thing that you can use as a standard to set the colour in these two photographs is the battledress blouse. But even these change colour in real life depending on whether they are inside or outside in the sunlight.

I would say that it is black and personally speaking I think black looks right, model paints are ok but sometimes can be very misleading.

Jon

Also different manufactures and material was used on Battle Dress. I have about 10 sets and no two are the same colour, from slight shade variations to very dark and very light.

Huw
 

John Marchant in the UK owned a Canadian HUW that he had purchased after the war. His vehicle had seen service with the Toronto Scottish in NWE and was still pretty much in its original camouflage. Here is an image of the HUW after a run to Normandy in 1984.

Attachment 95971

Nice pic Ed, there's a lot of helpful detail in it.

A couple of thoughts: it is an early HUW as indicated by the rad overflow can and would most likely have been factory No.3 khaki, as it appears to be. It has been repainted as the CZ number, WT and bridge class sign are just slightly off size and location. I follows that these were applied after the whole truck got a spruce up paint job. The pattern of the cam looks like it was meant to duplicate the original (I hope!!).

Also it's interesting to hear it served with the Toronto Scottish. They were the machine gun battalion for the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division. Up to now I've been under the impression HUW's were more often issued to signals and artillery regiments and this opens up many more marking options. What I think may have happened is that towards the end of the war HUW's were being replaced by better, roomier wireless trucks. The surplus HUW's were then issued to alternate users as general purpose vans. One example is a HUW used by a chaplain and now possibly this Toronto Scottish one.

Bruce,

I agree that SCC2 "Service Brown" would be the correct colour for your HUP. Mike Starmer has an accurate paint mix listed in his books and online articles.

In addition to that, in a recent thread on FB, Steven Burvenich noted: Not sure if you can get paint mixed by RAL code in Canada? Otherwise that would be an easy recipe to have mixed by your favourite paint supplier.

Rcaf
 

Besides the Army the RCAF also employed HUPs, here is one that has just arrived on the Italian mainland.

Attachment 95976

If you want to convert a model paint to a more universally usable formula, use this Revell table to concert to RAL numbers: https://www.revell.com/support/paint-guide.html

HTH,
Hanno

A lot of people use current British Standard BS381c No 499 Service Brown as the modern substitute for SCC2, without recourse to paint matching to a half inch square colour chip or fleck of paint.

I used 499 on this restoration

Incidentally SCC paints were not named. There was just the number and vague descriptions like “the colour of coffee with milk”

Sk

One more, this time the same HUW from the front and colourized with a more grey black.