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I am ready to paint the large star.on the hood of my 1952 M38A1...the problem is I don't know what direction to paint the star. Are there any specs on how to paint it? Standing front the front of the jeep, does the center point of the star point forward or does the center point head towards the rear? I have seen pics of both direction. And am unsure of the proper direction.

Thanks

The Army published regulations and tech bulletins on their vehicle markings rules. Fot our M38's and the period in time we are concerned with AR 850-5 with changes through 1953 applies to your issue as does TB 746-93-1 dated 1964 since many M38's were still in service then. You should find no problem locating on line PDF files of these two pubs to download copies and simply follow their rules for the period we are concerned with. As for the national star on the hood that was only used on the order of the local authority/Theater commander at overseas locations. When a M38 returned stateside they were painted off the hood at the earliest convenience.

The confusion comes from these two pubs differing in the star placement. Basically the AR 850-5 dated 1954 rule shows the point facing the base of the windshield and the 1960 on TB's show the point facing the front bumper.

Google AR 850-5 and download a 1954 copy: https://www.google.com/search?q=AR+850- ... nt=gws-wiz

Google TB 746-93-1: https://www.google.com/search?q=tb+746+ ... s-wiz-serp