- Joined
- Jan 11, 2014
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- 26
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- 579
- Location
- North Georgia
- Website
- marcstpierrephotography.com
Well, it's taken a lot of brain-power & pondering, but I've conjured a win-win compromise on my paint scheme; the paint scheme having been of major importance to me.
For a while now, I've planned (unwillingly) to deviate from the Toyota OEM colors. I'll instead utilize a United States Federal code color, which happens to be a hue of military camouflage, once called 'Aircraft Green,' but now called, 'Gray-black.' Was used commonly on Army Cobra attack helicopters from the mid 1970's until the mid 1980's. And for its color code number, I'm not aware of its use elsewhere.
I'm still planning on going this route. .... but there was a rub.
A couple weeks back, the rub was, I took a lady-friend out for margaritas & Mexican dinner. She & I shared a plate of Mexican food heaped upon itself under a blanket of some sort of sauce, but we together inhaled the ocean of margaritas. Well... not that much...
I happened to have my laptop computer with me, and while perusing through the library of vehicle colors on the computer, she stopped at a file folder titled, "Keswick Green - Land Rover." ... "What's this one ?", she asked. And as soon as she saw the gaggle of pictures of Keswick Green Land Rover Defenders, she instantly said to me, while still looking at the computer screen, "This is the one your Land Cruiser will be painted."
And for her, that was the immediate end of that subject.
Sooooooo... after much thought, I've decided to NOT paint the entire FJ40 solidly Keswick Green (although the entire vehicle as Keswick Green - would NOT look bad at all - would not at all be OEM, but would indeed look pleasing) ... It's the Aircraft Green that's perhaps the more-me. Those who know me fairly well think so too. My take (and those who know me) : the Aircraft Green is overly masculine; is rugged-looking; blends in with the forests; will do well in the desert; looks great in snow; is sparked from a Cobra helicopter that holds a near & dear intrinsic meaning to me; and interestingly, was a color that was commonly used on Cobra helicopters, at military bases in Japan, during the exact time period when my own '40 was built.
The compromise I've made to myself, and to my lady-friend, is that I'll incorporate BOTH colors onto the re-build of the vehicle !!
It was an instant thumbs-up.
To do this : the outside will have a 3-inch wide Keswick Green stripe along the upper rear of the tub; which will carry on forward to the horizontally protruding bar on each of the two large side doors. And at the rear of the vehicle, at the opening for the ambulance doors, I've already fabricated a steel gate (that will take place of barn doors). My gate looks somewhat along the lines of a cattle gate. It will be painted in the Aircraft Green, but will continue the Keswick Green line across it's topside.
And to tie the outside to the inside, the inside floorboard, including rear wheel wells, will be Keswick Green (either paint or tinted bedliner). Plus some other portions of the interior will be the Keswick Green - - Everything else in the interior will either be stock gray or Aircraft Green.
My concept of compromise :
The actual hue of Aircraft Green :
An example of Keswick Green :
For my 1979 : Instead of initially installing its hard top, I'm believing I'll acquire the Real Steal bows & a black, 5-window weather-proof top from either Trollhole or SOR (along the lines of the provided example picture above).
~Skydog
For a while now, I've planned (unwillingly) to deviate from the Toyota OEM colors. I'll instead utilize a United States Federal code color, which happens to be a hue of military camouflage, once called 'Aircraft Green,' but now called, 'Gray-black.' Was used commonly on Army Cobra attack helicopters from the mid 1970's until the mid 1980's. And for its color code number, I'm not aware of its use elsewhere.
I'm still planning on going this route. .... but there was a rub.
A couple weeks back, the rub was, I took a lady-friend out for margaritas & Mexican dinner. She & I shared a plate of Mexican food heaped upon itself under a blanket of some sort of sauce, but we together inhaled the ocean of margaritas. Well... not that much...
I happened to have my laptop computer with me, and while perusing through the library of vehicle colors on the computer, she stopped at a file folder titled, "Keswick Green - Land Rover." ... "What's this one ?", she asked. And as soon as she saw the gaggle of pictures of Keswick Green Land Rover Defenders, she instantly said to me, while still looking at the computer screen, "This is the one your Land Cruiser will be painted."And for her, that was the immediate end of that subject.
Sooooooo... after much thought, I've decided to NOT paint the entire FJ40 solidly Keswick Green (although the entire vehicle as Keswick Green - would NOT look bad at all - would not at all be OEM, but would indeed look pleasing) ... It's the Aircraft Green that's perhaps the more-me. Those who know me fairly well think so too. My take (and those who know me) : the Aircraft Green is overly masculine; is rugged-looking; blends in with the forests; will do well in the desert; looks great in snow; is sparked from a Cobra helicopter that holds a near & dear intrinsic meaning to me; and interestingly, was a color that was commonly used on Cobra helicopters, at military bases in Japan, during the exact time period when my own '40 was built.
The compromise I've made to myself, and to my lady-friend, is that I'll incorporate BOTH colors onto the re-build of the vehicle !!
It was an instant thumbs-up.
To do this : the outside will have a 3-inch wide Keswick Green stripe along the upper rear of the tub; which will carry on forward to the horizontally protruding bar on each of the two large side doors. And at the rear of the vehicle, at the opening for the ambulance doors, I've already fabricated a steel gate (that will take place of barn doors). My gate looks somewhat along the lines of a cattle gate. It will be painted in the Aircraft Green, but will continue the Keswick Green line across it's topside.
And to tie the outside to the inside, the inside floorboard, including rear wheel wells, will be Keswick Green (either paint or tinted bedliner). Plus some other portions of the interior will be the Keswick Green - - Everything else in the interior will either be stock gray or Aircraft Green.
My concept of compromise :
The actual hue of Aircraft Green :
An example of Keswick Green :
For my 1979 : Instead of initially installing its hard top, I'm believing I'll acquire the Real Steal bows & a black, 5-window weather-proof top from either Trollhole or SOR (along the lines of the provided example picture above).
~Skydog
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... hahahah... That RAF Blue sure does look similar to Arles Blue, but I can see this RAF is more gray. When you were selecting the color for your own rig, I can understand how you were considering this RAF in comparison to the Cadet Blue, and that of the hue that you ultimately conjured & ended-up with...
~Marc
