iambrb
Well-known member
OK, so more than a week ago, Swordsman had asked about the actual color of Russian Green. I have seen this hotly debated on other modeling forum sites, but by chance I have something that is definitive proof of the actual color!
Allow me a brief preface. Back in the late 80's thru early 90's, when I was single and had things like no mortgagae and a spendable income galore, I did ALOT of trading and selling of surplus firearms and militaria. When the wall fell, I had a trading buddy who promptly hopped a plane, and flew to what was then still the USSR. he spent a month plus buying stuff, a whole shipping container's worth, brought it back to the US, and sold it to get another family member here. One of the things I bought from the guy was a lot of 12.7mm Russian Ammo Cans. To hear this guy tell it, he bought this literally right off of a T-72. At that time during Glastnost, this guy would drive thru the countryside, find a Russian military unit, and as he was fluent, would make deals, and this is one of the deals he made. This guy had stuff like boots, patches, jackets, medals, gunstocks, ammo cans, you name it. Since they were imported, then have not been in any way painted, and that is important to remember as you look at this. Note that in the pics, the two boxes that are signifigantly larger are the Russian ammo cans. Note also they are two distinct shades of green! One is lighter, and is an obvious re-paint in the field, as it is poorly done - you can see the brush marks on it and the info is mostly filled in. It also has no topcoat, and the number of chips in the paint are heavier than the darker green unit (Sorry about my terrible handwriting on the lighter can!). On one side it was stamped "PRODUCT OF USSR". this was the top one in the bundle and appears that it was stamped this way by customs.
The Darker green item appears to the original, as this has alot of info in black, and the paint has a topcoat. it is also worth noting that the lighter green can is likely of a different manufacturer, as it has a star embossed in one side of it, and the darker green lacks this. Unlike the US cans, neither are anywhere close to water or weather proof. Note that there is a larger print of a cartridge on one side, and when you open it, the inside is anodized aluminium (was this way prior to paint), there is a cutout on the side of the can for the belt feed, and there is a neat little 'roller' to aid in feeding of the belt!
Lastly, those smaller cans you see there are a US .50 Caliber and a US .30 Caliber can, in order to give you a size comparison. Hope this helps to answer questions that anyone may have had as it relates to the proper shade of Russian green, and enjoy the pics!
Allow me a brief preface. Back in the late 80's thru early 90's, when I was single and had things like no mortgagae and a spendable income galore, I did ALOT of trading and selling of surplus firearms and militaria. When the wall fell, I had a trading buddy who promptly hopped a plane, and flew to what was then still the USSR. he spent a month plus buying stuff, a whole shipping container's worth, brought it back to the US, and sold it to get another family member here. One of the things I bought from the guy was a lot of 12.7mm Russian Ammo Cans. To hear this guy tell it, he bought this literally right off of a T-72. At that time during Glastnost, this guy would drive thru the countryside, find a Russian military unit, and as he was fluent, would make deals, and this is one of the deals he made. This guy had stuff like boots, patches, jackets, medals, gunstocks, ammo cans, you name it. Since they were imported, then have not been in any way painted, and that is important to remember as you look at this. Note that in the pics, the two boxes that are signifigantly larger are the Russian ammo cans. Note also they are two distinct shades of green! One is lighter, and is an obvious re-paint in the field, as it is poorly done - you can see the brush marks on it and the info is mostly filled in. It also has no topcoat, and the number of chips in the paint are heavier than the darker green unit (Sorry about my terrible handwriting on the lighter can!). On one side it was stamped "PRODUCT OF USSR". this was the top one in the bundle and appears that it was stamped this way by customs.
The Darker green item appears to the original, as this has alot of info in black, and the paint has a topcoat. it is also worth noting that the lighter green can is likely of a different manufacturer, as it has a star embossed in one side of it, and the darker green lacks this. Unlike the US cans, neither are anywhere close to water or weather proof. Note that there is a larger print of a cartridge on one side, and when you open it, the inside is anodized aluminium (was this way prior to paint), there is a cutout on the side of the can for the belt feed, and there is a neat little 'roller' to aid in feeding of the belt!
Lastly, those smaller cans you see there are a US .50 Caliber and a US .30 Caliber can, in order to give you a size comparison. Hope this helps to answer questions that anyone may have had as it relates to the proper shade of Russian green, and enjoy the pics!
