Volume 2 specifically covers the tumultuous decade where the Navy went from biplanes to jets, from propellers to tailhooks, and from fragmented camouflage to a unified, global blue strategy.
5/5 Corsair wings. Essential reference. No shelf is complete without it. Have you used the Monogram guides for a build? Did you discover a weird variation in WWII Navy paint? Let me know in the comments below—especially if you’ve ever tried to mix "Intermediate Blue" from scratch.
For the plastic modeler, it will save you from the tragedy of painting your F4U-4 Corsair in the wrong shade of blue for the Korean War (spoiler: it’s slightly different than WWII). For the digital artist and flight simmer, it provides the hex-code and RGB approximations needed to make your textures bleed authenticity. For the historian, it is simply the final word on what color the war was.
If you want to paint an "average" Navy plane, go buy a hobby magazine. If you want to paint the Navy plane—the specific aircraft, on the specific day, from the specific squadron—you need Volume 2. Volume 2 specifically covers the tumultuous decade where
Enter of the seminal reference series: The Official Monogram U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide . If Volume 1 covered the pioneering yellow wings of the 1930s, Volume 2 is the bloody, salty, sun-bleached saga of WWII and the dawn of the Jet Age.
The book is structured not by aircraft type, but by time and specification . This is crucial. It forces the reader to understand that the color on an F4U-1D in 1944 is different from the color on an F4U-4 in 1946, even if both are called "Sea Blue." For the uninitiated, the Navy used a "Measure" system to designate camouflage schemes. Volume 2 breaks these down with an astonishing level of granularity. Here are the big takeaways: 1. Measure 11 (Sea Blue overall) We think we know this one: Non-Specular Sea Blue (ANA 607) over Non-Specular Sea Blue . But the guide shows the evolution. Early war Sea Blue had a distinct purple undertone (due to the specific aniline dyes available). By mid-1944, the formula shifted to a deeper, truer blue. The book provides actual FS595 (Federal Standard) matches and—most importantly—historic paint chips that show how this color faded to a chalky, almost lavender hue in the South Pacific sun. 2. The "Transitional" Headache: The Tri-Color Scheme Modelers love to hate the Tri-Color Scheme (Measure 22): Non-Specular Sea Blue (upper surfaces), Non-Specular Intermediate Blue (sides), and Non-Specular Insignia White (lower surfaces). Volume 2 reveals the secret war between Intermediate Blue and Semi-Gloss Sea Blue . The photographs in the book (many never before published) show that the demarcation line between these colors was rarely a hard, taped edge. Often, it was a soft, "blown" edge applied by overworked ground crews using spray guns. The guide includes a color plate of an SB2C Helldiver where the Intermediate Blue has turned a bizarre olive-green due to a bad batch of resin in 1945. 3. The "Glossy" Revolution (Measure 23) By 1945, the Navy realized that matte finishes created drag (rough surface = less speed). Volume 2 dedicates a full chapter to the shift to Glossy Sea Blue . But here is the twist: Early gloss finishes were terrible. They chipped, they orange-peeled, and they turned gray in salt spray. The guide tracks the chemistry of the paint month-by-month. For a scale modeler, this explains why a 1945 F6F-5 Hellcat might look slightly less glossy than a 1947 F8F Bearcat, even though both are "Glossy Sea Blue." The Marines: The Forgotten Mud-Movers While Navy carriers demanded high-visibility markings for safety, the Marine Corps operated from muddy, forward airstrips on Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Volume 2 does a heroic job separating USMC specific applications.
For decades, the period of 1940 to 1949 represented a kind of "Wild West" for U.S. naval aviation color schemes. We know the early war for the iconic Non-Specular Light Gray over Non-Specular Blue-Gray . We know the late war for the sweeping Glossy Sea Blue overall. But the nuance? The transitional schemes? The bizarre experimental colors of 1946? That knowledge has largely been locked away in dusty Navy procurement files—until now. No shelf is complete without it
If you have ever stood in front of a model shelf or stared at a grainy black-and-white photo of a Corsair on Okinawa, you know the pain. Is that blue Insignia Blue or Midnight Blue ? Is that interior Bronze Green or Dull Dark Green ? And what, in the name of Grumman’s ghost, is Squadron Blue ?
Yes, they are printed, but the color correction in this edition is legendary. Monogram used a five-color process to match the original BuAer lacquer chips. Compare the chip for Insignia Red (used on the national insignia) to any hobby paint—you will be shocked how "orange" the real red actually was.
When you hold this book, you are holding the actual standards that came out of the Bureau of Aeronautics. You are holding the directive that sent thousands of blue angels (lowercase 'a') screaming across the Pacific. Let me know in the comments below—especially if
There is a fold-out chart in the back that cross-references every Navy aircraft model (TBM, F4U, F6F, PBY, PBM, etc.) with the exact date a given Measure was authorized. If you are building a Hellcat from the USS Lexington in May 1944, you know exactly which blue was on the factory floor.
This is not just a paint chip book. It is a time machine. Let’s open the cover. First, a word on credibility. The "Official Monogram" series carries weight because it is built on primary source documents. Author John M. Elliott and the team at Monogram Aviation Publications didn’t guess by looking at faded warbirds at airshows. They went into the National Archives and pulled the actual BuAer specifications, drawing numbers, and color standards .
Also, the book assumes you know what a "BuNo" is. It is technical. It reads like a mechanic’s manual—because it is essentially a mechanic’s manual for historians. In the world of aviation color research, there is "guesswork" and there is "evidence." The Official Monogram U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide- Vol 2- 1940-1949 is the evidence.
Volume 2 doesn't just cover paint. It covers the font, size, and color of every stencil. "No Step." "Rescue Arrow." The "Meatball" insignia borders. The shift from the red center dot (pre-war) to the blue border (1943) to the red outline (1947—briefly, and then removed again). It’s all here. A Critique: Who is this NOT for? Honesty in reviewing: This is not a coffee table picture book. If you want glossy, full-page spreads of Mustangs in formation, look elsewhere. The images in Volume 2 are often grainy, black-and-white official Navy progress photos. They are chosen for detail , not drama. You will see close-ups of corroded cowling fasteners and peeling paint on a catapult hook.