The first few episodes of the anime that depicted Vegeta were animated prior to his first colored appearance within the manga, and Toriyama had yet to give Toei Animation the color schemes for either him or Nappa. Reportedly, there were no officially published color images of Vegeta at the time, as Akira Toriyama's original Dragon Ball Z manga was published only in black and white. Toei's red-haired Vegeta stuck around for a few early episodes of DBZ's "Raditz" saga before being replaced with the character's current and best.
During his early cameo, debut, and filler appearances in the Dragon Ball Z anime, Vegeta originally appeared with a totally different color scheme from his usual one, being depicted with reddish-brown hair, a light green and orange armor with guard plates, a navy-blue jumpsuit, orange gloves and dark brown boots with orange uppers. Back when Vegeta first appeared in the saiyan saga, Toei miscolored his armor and hair, giving him a green armor with orange details, plus orange gloves and orange/brown boots. This is corroborated by the Wikia trivia for the episode, which states: This episode marks the debut appearance of Vegeta and Nappa in the anime.
They are shown in colors quite different from their later ones, especially Vegeta. This is because Toei guessed their colors, as the corresponding Manga volume was not in color. Vegeta Color Palette This Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z Series has Black, Blue, Brown, Gray, Skin & Yellow Colors.
Recolor mod to make Vegeta Z-Scouter with the colors from the anime prior to him and Nappa arriving on Earth. Red hair, green/orange armor, dark blue jumpsuit, and red scouter. Yes, if you watched the original Z (and not Kai), Vegeta always had this color scheme.
This was the color palette that Vegeta (and Nappa, as his armor isn't quite the same color as it was depicted with when they reached Earth) were originally depicted when first shown, as those first episodes were animated prior to the first full. Early Anime Color Scheme: Before his official colors were established, the anime depicted Vegeta with red hair and a khaki green and orange armor ensemble. This temporary design was replaced with his iconic look once his colors were confirmed in the manga.
These days, Vegeta's look is instantly recognizable. With his black hair, blue suit, and white and gold armor, his look is iconic. However, in the anime's early days, Vegeta's color scheme was almost completely different, having light brown hair, a dark blue suit with a green and orange set of armor.