US Army Helicopters Paint Set

Half a century of colors over the battlefield

The helicopters of the United States Army went through three basic finishes in seventy years, and this set covers all of them. From the 1950s to the end of the 1970s olive drab prevailed, worn by the machines in Vietnam. At the beginning of the 1980s it was replaced by a darker, less saturated shade that has stayed on the machines to this day. The third chapter consists of temporary desert finishes and the newest gray-green tone intended for deployment anywhere in the world.

An overview of the shades

• US Army Olive Drab, the standard from the 1950s to the end of the 1970s, that is the UH-1 and AH-1 machines in Vietnam
• US Army Helicopter Drab to FS34031, the standard from the beginning of the 1980s to this day, among others the AH-64, UH-60, CH-47 and UH-72
• US Army Desert Sand, the temporary desert camouflage in Operation Desert Storm, on the AH-1 and UH-60 for example
• Woodland Desert Sage to FS34201, the shade of the CH-47F machines, introduced for deployment in every theater
• Insignia Orange Yellow to FS13538, the bands on tail booms and on rotor blades
• Night Black to FS37038, anti-glare surfaces and non-standard finishes on UH-1 machines

The detail that makes the difference

You will get the most out of the set on the warning bands. The orange-yellow on the tips of the rotor blades and on the tail boom is exactly the element that brings a single-color machine to life and without which a model looks flat.

The desert layer of 1991 is just as rewarding. It was applied in haste and right at the units, so the original dark finish showed through at the edges and around the doors, a welcome opportunity for wear.