Carrier Moto-tug driver colors....

[F-16]

I am ready to paint my Tamiya Moto-tug driver, but I'm not sure of what colors to use.

Tamiya has you mix colors but I'm not into that.

What would be the MM equivalent for the uniform colors for the Moto-tug driver?





Also, what color would the wheel chocks be? They are definitely not yellow. Perhaps a dark brown? I can't really tell from the pic.

Thanks.
Scott
CNJC-IPMS

[eraucubsfan]

i just picked a light blue color.  I don't know if there is a right answer.  They probably faded and got stained pretty bad.  Probably no two the same.  

 

Probably the same with the chocks.  I did mine yellow and just stained them really bad.  

[Slartibartfast]

Gray.  Everthing is gray.  Except the planes and deck.

[southwestforests]

While this link primarily deals with officers, at some point during WW2 the USN went to primarily grey uniforms so as to not negate the ship's camouflage paint.

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/uniforms-and-personal-equipment/uniforms-1943-1944.html

Although a 1970s article on ship camouflage in US Naval Institute Proceedings, by Robert F. Sumrall, mentions that as well as, quote "a medium shade of grey/gray" being adopted for uniforms (I no longer have the magazine and don't know which spelling of grey/gray was used) the 'dungaree Navy' of the Destroyer crews spread topside to other styles of ship.

So, it may be permissible to go with dungarees or greys depending on when that person was issued their uniforms.

And whether the bright blue dungaree shirts were ordered to be dyed grey to reduce how much they stood out against the background.

Tractor driver in picture appears to have blue pants with his grey shirt.

Actually, the more I look at that picture the more he appears to have a grey smock over a (potentially blue but most likely grey like the other fellow) shirt.

Edited November 19, 2018 by southwestforests

[Air Pirate]

I profess expertise on this, but many WW II carriers were painted blue 5-S Sea Blue or 5-N Navy Blue, with the decks in 20-B Deck Blue, either paint or stain as needed. Others were (usually) multi-shades of gray or black, but still with blue decks.  As a guess, I'd say the tractors would have been something akin to deck blue. Deck crew wore colored, soft helmets coded by job assignment, with matching shirts or vests (see yellow shirts at lower left in first picture).  As I recall, plane hanlers were blue shirts, so I would go with those colors for a tug crew.     Gray uniforms were authorized for officers (and probably chiefs, if they would have worn khaki) to make them less visible on deck.  Note that in the plate linked above, the gray uniformed officers are surface warfare officers, "black shoe", while the khaki officer is an aviator, "brown shoe".  It is said that Halsey forbid the gray uniforms on ships he commanded.  I don't believe any color change was authorized for EMs. I believe the tug crew's clothes are badly faded dungaree blue.  Wish I had sources handy, but I don't. 

[Air Pirate]

I meant No expertise, sorry.

[RCAFFAN]

1 hour ago, Air Pirate said:

Gray uniforms were authorized for officers (and probably chiefs, if they would have worn khaki) to make them less visible on deck.  Note that in the plate linked above, the gray uniformed officers are surface warfare officers, "black shoe", while the khaki officer is an aviator, "brown shoe". . 

Funny....the guy on the far right (labeled Captain Aviator) with the wings is in gray with black shoes while the guy in khaki is labeled "civil engineer corps" (maybe land based?)

[southwestforests]

28 minutes ago, RCAFFAN said:

Funny....the guy on the far right (labeled Captain Aviator) with the wings is in gray with black shoes while the guy in khaki is labeled "civil engineer corps" (maybe land based?)

"This change carried itself through World War II to 1944 while logistically, the brown shoes were not in production due to priority war efforts. However, in stock supply would be issued and the wearing of same was still authorized. At the end of the war in 1945, production of brown shoes was again continued and issued until July 1976."

http://thebrownshoes.org/whence-term-brown-shoes

[RCAFFAN]

I have certainly heard of the black/brown shoes distinction and don't dispute it, I was just noting the picture was not illustrative of that...... 

[Air Pirate]

As I said, no expert, just remembering things I learned decades ago. I never heard of Brown shoes being worn by non-aviators, learned something new. In WW II, I don't think Captains flew operationally, that could explain aviator with black shoes. Always something new to learn.

[southwestforests]

There is a clue within this plate & an explicit statement in the previous plate.

 

this plate:

Quote

In 1941, either black or brown shoes could be worn with khakis.

 

previous plate: https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/uniforms-and-personal-equipment/uniforms-1942-1943.html

Quote

Officers and chiefs wore white shoes with the white tropical uniform and black with the khakis. Officers, however, were permitted to wear tan shoes with khakis. Enlisted men wore black shoes with both white and khaki dress.