WWI Guards Division Forum

Jerry Lee at WHat price Glory is now selling the Tarrago Shoe cream directly for a blanco substitute. Here is what he says:

"Blanco (Substitute). After years of searching for more Blanco, or trying to get it made, I have settled on Tarrago Shoe Cream as the best substitute for Blanco in the world. Rubs in with your fingers, doesn't rub off, no mess. Colors available are light khaki green for WWI to early WWII, and dark khaki or olive drab (KG no. 3) for Northwest Europe and Burma. One 50 ml jar should treat a complete set of webbing equipment. Subsequent applications require less. $3 Add to Cart
Options: Light Khaki Green or Olive Drab"

http://www.whatpriceglory.com/uklist.htm

Has to beat the whole paint option.

Cheers,

---Scott

Hey Scott,
Great find! The light color is the one I got, and it turned out a lot lighter than I thought it should be. The Quippy that I was comparing it too is darker. Somewhere between the two shades Jerry Lee is offering is what we want. I think the darker shade is correct for WWI, but who knows.

Any thoughts anyone?

Jim

The light green almost looks white. That looks too white IMO. I've got an original small pack with a strap and the green is darker than WPG, but not as dark as the olive color. Granted, it might have aged, but I don't think that much.

Hey John,
I think you are right on the money with your post.

Looking at the following Tarrago color chart, which one would you go with?

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/shoeshinekit_1983_191938

I went with "Antelope" which is even darker than the Shade 48 "Willow Green" that WPG recommends. That "Antelope" even turned out to be way too light.

"Khaki" maybe, or "Spinach Green"? What do you guys think who have seen the correct color?

Jim

Jim,

Do you think there is a way to combine this paste? Maybe mix 2 colours together to get the right shade? I wasn't sure what its consistancy is like. I was wondering if you could heat slightly and mix in another shade. Just curious.

---Scott

That is a good idea Scott.

It is about the consistency of pudding. I bet it could be mixed. Blended enough it should work. I may order the darker color and if that is too dark, mix the two like you mention.

Good thinking.

Jim

You guys might think I'm nuts, but the original small pack and strap are closest to the Spinach green color...maybe not quite as "fluorescent", but it's definitely brighter than you would expect.

I just put in an order for the Spinach Green paste for test two. I'll let you know how it goes. If it turns out too dark, I will try mixing a bit of the other paste with it.

Thanks guys. We will solve this problem. Once we do, we will authenticate our impression that much more.

Jim

Okay Gentlemen,
Here is the latest update. The inside of my P08 webbing looks like Joseph's multicolored coat! I applied the Spinach green and it drys to a neon color/yellowish color. I tried combining them and it made it a slightly lighter neon color! I just placed an order for 4 separate colors that all seem close. I figure I have already put this much time into it, I could spend 10 bucks to get it right. Once they show up I will see what works, try to mix them if necessary, and post the results.

Jim

yo Jim,

While you're buying all those simular colors, you might consider buying some blood red.
Splatter a few drops on the outside of the webbing to make it look like it was "recycled."(As in, the previous owner no longer needed it.)
Dave Hughes had some photos showing just this at a "tea" depot.
Piles of blood stained webbing waiting to be reused.

Just a thought...
Might actually start a trend for "realism."
Then again, the Guards were known for their "spit and polish."
Then again, we aren't "on parade" but "in the field" at Newville.
It could be argued both ways.
Perhaps it is something that could be earned after coming out for
5 to 6 events.

Drop a line with your thoughts.

Quis Seperatus,

Corporal Walsh

Clever idea Steve

I am going to stick with the blanco, because I plan on going to some events outside of Newville that may call for a spit and polish look. Maybe if someone has an old set of the old WPG repop that is falling apart, they could hit it with some "blood" and either spread it around in NML with our collection of "trench trash" or pile it by the dressing station.

Maybe even do that to a set of loaner gear to create a "first person" experience of loaning out gear.

Jim

Okay...the latest on the Blanco tests and I have had some good results.

First, here is my sample belt.



Except for number 2, they are all Tarrago shoe pastes.
They are as follows:
1. Antelope
2. Quippy's Khaki No 3. (THIS IS THE COLOR WE ARE TRYING TO MATCH)
3. Spinach Green
4. Spinach Green/Antelope 50/50
5. Sponge
6. Buckskin
7. Olive
8. Khaki
9. Buckskin/Olive 50/50
10. Spinach Green/Olive 50/50
11. Khaki/Olive 50/50
12. Antelope/Olive 50/50

Of all of the samples the last Antelope/Olive 50/50 mix came out almost identical to the Quippy Blanco I was trying to match. The lighting in the photo doesn't do it justice, but here is a close up of the two. In reality they are almost indistinguishable.



I am going to mix them evenly and use it to blanco all my webbing before MTA. I recommend going to the Tarrago website and ordering 2 tins of Antelope and 2 tins of Olive since there is a $10 minimum, mix them together and you should have enough to do at least 2 full sets of webgear.

Maybe some of you could pair up and share an order.

I am going to blanco my whole set of webbing by MTA and I hope all of us can have our webbing properly blancoed by the April Newville!

Drop me a line if you have any questions or comments on doing this. It is really quite simple and adds a lot to our impression.

Jim

Hey Scott,
I have noticed that the Coldstream Guards wear the light khaki shade blanco for WWII instead of the darker OD green. I was wondering if you could enlighten me on that. I have a set of P37 gear I wanted to blanco properly for WWI Grenadier Guards.

Thanks!

Jim

I shall have to get myself some of this, Anyone know of a good modern tin container, or a period label to slap on it so we can bring it to events?

Hey Jay,
I found a tin blanco jar that probably dates to WWI or WWII at an antique store for about $3. Keep your eye open and you may find one too.

The jars it comes in is a nice glass jar with a black metal lid that says tarrago. If you wanted to you could peal off the label and repaint the lid and bring it out. I really wouldn't worry too much about it.

I have been going through a lot. I have been blancoing all of my webbing and polishing all of the brass at the rate of about one or two pieces a night. It really is looking good. We will be really looking sharp.

Jim