There were a range of colours one could chose from. The original NoNonsense pens were solid color navy blue and khaki with chrome trim and stainless steel nibs.
The first pens likely had hard rubber feeds, which were still being produced in the 1960s, this has since then changed to plastic. The pen gained wide acceptance, and Sheaffer was making the pens in numerous colors, solid and translucent, and special screen-printed models used by the promotions department, used as a gift pen. At least six patterns used on the cap and barrel: diamond, checkerboard, chevron, “Grecian border”, zig-zag, and “flame”.
After three decades of service, Sheaffer simplified the NoNonsense line, introducing a new and longer soft grip section, which resulted in the elimination of the section and cap threads, making the pen a snap off cap design. (This actually dates ante-dates my pen, as it still has the cap threads.) The new pen allows for few of the upscale flourishes that Sheaffer tried during the No Nonsense’s three decades of service. The Vintage, the fanciest of the all-plastic models, came with a gold plated insert in the cap-top.