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YO-3A Colors


hsr

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Hi all,

 

I am working on a 1/72 YO-3A kit. Unfortunately the kit "instructions" give no instructions on the color scheme. It only includes so photos with color retention too poor to really be able to tell. The same is true with most pictures I can find on the internet. The best I can tell is it looks like the 2 SEA scheme greens with either a blue-gray, or light sand, but again I can't be sure.

 

Does anyone have any good data on what colors they were painted; FS or Humbrol numbers? Any help would be greatly appreciated?

 

Thanks

 

Howard

 

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There is this;

 

Lockheed YO-3A "Quiet Star"

 

These

 

http://www.skytamer.com/Lockheed_O-3A(YO).html

 

Even the one you show I can interpret as a dark green. My point is that all of these are open to interpretation. I was hoping for something like this

https://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/o-1/o-1_profile02.shtml

 

Thanks

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Here is a link to my picture of the YO-3A at Pima in October of 2009:

 

Pima_09_YO-3A_02

 

 To me, it definitely appears to be two different shades of gray.  Maybe something like FS 36320 and 36118 although at the time it was in operational use, I don't believe either one of those colors were around.  I know somebody who worked on them and I'll ask him about it.

Later,

Dave

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1 hour ago, e8n2 said:

 Maybe something like FS 36320 and 36118 although at the time it was in operational use, I don't believe either one of those colors were around.

 

FS36118 was definately used in Vietnam - some AC-130's were painted in it, hence the "Gunship Gray" moniker, and (from the top of my mind) the bottom of some USAF A-1 Sandies as well.

 

HTH,

 

Andre

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Hi HSR,

 

If Dave/e8n2 has no success, you may want to try contacting the folks at this website:-

 

http://www.yo-3a.com/home.html

 

If they can't help, I doubt if anyone can.

 

Personally, I have been looking at the photos taken in Vietnam, and of the restorations and frankly I am none the wiser. It could be dark grey/light grey, black/green or dark green/light green, there is just too much variation in the old photos to be certain.

 

In many ways it reminds me of the old black/green camo (I can't remember the FS numbers) used by the Special Ops. MC-130E's in the 1970's/1980's - the "green" in that scheme could look greyish or brownish/tan depending on the lighting at the time.

 

Anyway, hope you have success.

 

All the best,

Michael.

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12 minutes ago, Sky dancer said:

Personally, I have been looking at the photos taken in Vietnam, and of the restorations and frankly I am none the wiser. It could be dark grey/light grey, black/green or dark green/light green, there is just too much variation in the old photos to be certain.

That is the way I feel.

 

13 minutes ago, Sky dancer said:

If Dave/e8n2 has no success, you may want to try contacting the folks at this website:-

 

http://www.yo-3a.com/home.html

It looks like that group has been superceeded by

http://www.quietaircraft.org/

 

I will send off an e-mail to their historian

 

Thanks

 

 

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I got a reply from "Army Bob" about how he remembers them being painted.  Of course we are talking about over 45 years ago, "I remember the YO-3A as being one solid color, kind of a OD green and off grey color. Kind of green/grey or something like being in the forest at night with the trees and having a half bottom full moon. Remember, that it was in the air at night with little to no moon light."

 

The colors quoted earlier from the Quiet Aircraft Group also sound right based on what is at Pima.

Later,

Dave

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