[Jacques Reed]

Hi Gina,

This is information I along with many others have sought for a long time too. There would be Australian standards of that era but without the relevant colour chips, that haven't faded it is all a lot of speculation.

Paint colours can always be room for interpretation and contention. Ask any model builder.

I have painted my F15A with current Australian Army Olive Drab which can be obtained from any Wattyl Trade depot but usually has to be ordered in. It is only available in 20 Lt drums but I decanted mine into 5 x 4 lt tins to preserve it and for convenience. It is a single pack alkyd enamel so easy to work with and clean up. It is semi-gloss too which again is not technically correct but I had painted some of my earlier parts with Croda Paints Australian Army lusterless Olive Drab which looked good but you only had to touch it to get a mark on it. In time the SG paint will loose some of its sheen anyway.

I have compared the Wattyl paint to patches of pristine paint on my vehicle where it was out of weather and sunlight and basically I believe the WW2 version was a bit more muddy brown in colour compared to the more greenish current olive drab.

If I was redoing my paint I would take a 4 lt can of the current colour to a paint shop with a sample of the original colour such as under the instrument panel or the voltage regulator panel and see if they could throw a bit of brown tint in it to more closely match the WW2 sample. Once the formula was established I would write it down for future use.

Although I know my truck's colour is not technically correct it looks reasonable and presentable. Even a WW2 veteran who drove CMP trucks in the war and has followed my restoration progress could not really shed any light in whether my trucks paint was "correct". He thought it looked "bloody good" and was glad someone was restoring one. Unfortunately like many he is no longer with us. At least by preserving these vehicles their legacy lives on.

Cheers,