Jump to content

Could this be the most poorly applied Stencil?


N.O.S.

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 61
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I wonder if anyone has the nerve to restore a vehicle, paying particular attention to achieving a "crap" (according to some people representative of the period) finnish, i.e. poor paintwork, over spray and runs, unrepaired / damaged areas and topped off with a particularly poor stencil job (I know that some people do achieve this finnish, but not intentionally) I am of course writing this tongue in cheek, but I can just imagine the reception from friends and fellow enthusiasts when it first appears................. who`s going to be first?????

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I once spoke to a REME soldier who served in the Western Desert and was part of the massive inloading of lend lease vehicles arriving in theatre from the US to Port Said, Palestine etc. He said they all arrived OD green etc and used local labour to repaint sand/stone coloured as required - they had 45 gallon drums filled up with (mainly local purchased) paints in matt or similar. They used mainly hand brushes/rollers and spray when available but time was short and were given a quick coating until it looked right to dispatch (the receiving units finished off as required) and the 45 gallon drum was topped up during the day/week and was never consistent depending on what was available at time.

 

Stencils were the brass issue type or ones made locally out of lino or similar and hastily applied -no Quality Control as long as it could be read by the NCO i/c party -overspray/ghosting was common etc. A lot of further cam was put on by units as required and whatever the orders were for that period (caunter scheme, other patterns etc) that were published at the time. The LRDG for instance, as they progressed from the yellow sands of Egypt, Cyrenaica etc and into the deeper mustard /ochre coloured sands of Tripolitania and into areas (e.g. Tunisia) where some of the sand/ground was more red used oil or similar and made a mud up of the local sands and daubed them onto the vehicles to help cam - as a yellow sand vehicle stuck out against some of the deeper colours - the pink of SAS fame was also taken from similar mixes of dust and sand and this was best over a range of desert as becoming almost invisible in a heat shimmer, mirage like desert plain.

 

gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if anyone has the nerve to restore a vehicle, paying particular attention to achieving a "crap" (according to some people representative of the period) finnish, i.e. poor paintwork, over spray and runs, unrepaired / damaged areas and topped off with a particularly poor stencil job (I know that some people do achieve this finnish, but not intentionally) I am of course writing this tongue in cheek, but I can just imagine the reception from friends and fellow enthusiasts when it first appears................. who`s going to be first?????

 

ME ! see my Jeep at beltring .... a look achieved by ignorance and lack of ability on my part :laugh: if it had bullet holes then they would have been left in place as was the slightly wonky front fender.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ME ! see my Jeep at beltring .... a look achieved by ignorance and lack of ability on my part :laugh: if it had bullet holes then they would have been left in place as was the slightly wonky front fender.

 

Pictures Please, and no "touching up"............ does`nt really matter what they look like, this hobby is all about people and interaction, we all have much the same interest. I get more excited about shows etc, than I do about my (our) annual holiday.

Regards to all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have only take the GTB to three shows now, and at every one it gets pointed out to me that i haven't knocked the dents out of the front wings! funny i hadn't noticed!! cant wait to get the RNZAF markings on it...... and yes i know the markings on my Jeep are post war!!!! Aaargghhhh!

DSC00311.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have only take the GTB to three shows now, and at every one it gets pointed out to me that i haven't knocked the dents out of the front wings! funny i hadn't noticed!! cant wait to get the RNZAF markings on it...... and yes i know the markings on my Jeep are post war!!!! Aaargghhhh!

 

Dents or no dents, thats a fabulous piece of kit, well done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dents are good, they're a genuine part of the vehicles history. :D

 

So from what I can gather on this thread, you have two choices.

 

1) Restore to an immaculate standard that was never seen anywhere other than the glossy sales brochure.

 

2) Restore to a genuine standard that reflects the true appearance (and so is also more educational and I suppose less glorifying of war if you're that way inclined) of the vehicle as it was in service.

 

Personaly I'd go for option 2 every time.

 

Though before I upset anyone (particularly as I don't even own a vehicle yet) I can fully appreciate all the hard work that goes into making something pristine. It's a lot harder to straighten those dents out than to simply brush paints over them.

 

Just my tuppence worth. :angel:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When at the Bristol Classic Car Show this year (entry organised by John Wardle) someone came up to me and the Land Rover and asked when I was going to do it up, I said it was! I painted it myself in Berlin Brigade scheme from green / black camo, roller and brush which is the way it would have been done in service, unless in for a full overhaul when it might have had a full spray job. It still has all its orignal dents etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Note the allied star is not quite lined up. I don't think that my Dad who is at the wheel would be too concerned.

Those of you who are familiar with American vehicle used by the RASC; What is the wagon ?

 

:rofl: OK, that's got to be the worst yet, Bob! In fact it makes you wonder if it was deliberatley done .....

 

And I know one of them is your dad, but by the mischievious grin on both their faces it wouldn't surprise me if it was the pair of them who'd done it :-D

 

The vehicle has got me completely beat :undecided:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Note the allied star is not quite lined up. I don't think that my Dad who is at the wheel would be too concerned.

Those of you who are familiar with American vehicle used by the RASC; What is the wagon ?

 

I seem to remember reading that at least some allied units did this deliberatley to differentiate from US units,maybe Hanno can add detail?.

 

On the subject of finish,there is at times I feel a tendency blame a poor finish on "oh they just used whatever was laying around",perhaps this was true in some cases but if that's the case why did most Armies go to the trouble of printing detailed instructions on the painting and marking of vehicles?. As for factory finish just look at the quality of the finish on NOS parts,is it any less than that of a civilian vehicle? most of the auto companies producing vehicles during WWII had a reputation for quality with the vehicles they produced for the civilian market,why would they cut corners for the military contracts?.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Germany we were issued new Bedford MKs in nice shiny deep bronze green. They went straight into the service bay where they were roughly masked up and sprayed NATO green matt, windscreen rubbers ect were painted along with bits of tyre ect. Then the black was painted by hand. 2 a day was quite normal. The only signage was a union flag, div signs and tyre pressures. You never see a restored one like that because that would not be 'authentic'.

Edited by retriever
typing error
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of our kit has just been for respray but the contract went out to a civilian paint shop, still came back the same over-spray on lights,reflectors, tyres,windscreen rubbers. Or in some cases they didn't bother to remove the masking tape, other wagons have bright silver or gloss black wings/doors etc for months after new panels have been fitted then its a quick slap of paint before they go on ex if the driver can be bothered more often than not you will see a land rover with a silver wing cutting around the harbor area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We own the vehicles so we can do exactly what we want!

 

In my view, restore to a high standard and then let the vehicle weather a little in use. It's human nature when looking at a number of similar items that the one that looks cleaner, sharper and dent free draws our attention rather the one that looks 'thrown together'. At the end of the day, who are you doing it for?

 

1960's sports cars (and everything else) had shut lines that were all over the place, to restore one to 'original' condition would look crap when judged by todays standards. Said 'original' restored car would be worth less and would get less attention at shows, the one restored to better then original finish would be the exact opposite, you takes your choice....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spent three years restoring my jeep, and to some it's well over restored, to others it's beautiful. I don't mind either way. I'm fully aware that a military vehicle never left the factory looking perfect, and even less so after time in the field. I love to see vehicles that are 'true' to how they would have looked in reality, even more so if they are completely original. Restoring a really original vehicle would be sacrilage, but I like my jeep the way it is, plus with modern paint with a slight sheen it's very easy to remove the remains of toffee apple and Candy floss that will always be deposited at shows.

 

I did let a little overspray weep from the stencils just so they did'nt look like stickers!

 

In the twelve years that it has been done I'm pleased to say it still looks good, and has developed a nice patina. I must add that although it took a long time to rebuild, in the first few weeks of it being finished, it did get up to its axles in mud much to the disbelief of those that saw me do it. Some U.S. Navy Veterns wanted to see some old buildings at Dunkeswell. It was a very wet day, and the route to them was via a very muddy track, but who was I to refuse them.

 

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Matt,

I did'nt know what kind of reply, if any, re my comments would elicit, yours is most appreciated. Obviousely we all have different opinions, which is a good thing otherwise this excellent site would'nt exist. Although I own a jeep, I would find it soooo boring to walk down the line of vehicles at a show and have them all identical in the way they are marked and finished. Even Joe public would soon wander off to the hot dog stand, and that would be awful even though they can ask what to us sounds like incredibly stupid questions, I love to chat about my vehicle.

 

 

My apologies for wandering off topic, though when I stripped the paint off of my jeep, the stars on the tub looked like they'd been done by a five year old. There were odd sized ones on the tub just behind the front wings. That was new to me. I don't think they were applied too late in its life as they were on top of what looked like the original olive drab.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My mate who sometimes helps me in the shed is an Ex REME chally man. He often chuckles when he sees the care and attention we put into our various vehicles....

 

I went to a Light Dragoons Regimental Association weekend a few years ago. I walked down a line of vehicles and soaked it all up.

 

I didn't even register that Scorpion had been out of the line for over a decade until I realised it was clean and loved and civilian owned (02FD21: coincidentally if you buy an Airfix Scorpion, its VRN is 02FD21).

 

All the Scimitars, Sultans, Panthers, Jackals, etc had been cleaned but still had a certain in-service grubbiness about them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...