Ocean Base Colour

[Marty]

Hello guys

I'm looking for some advice for a North Atlantic colour scheme for my sea base. I'm building an orange hobby 1/350 Stereguschy class corvette, and my intention is to mount the model on a tamiya ocean effect plate.

Last week I bought myself an iwata airbrush and tomorrow I hope to purchase some Vallejo acrylics. Can anyone give me some tips on which colours of the Vallejo range to mix to create a greyish/green North Atlantic colour scheme for my sea base, something authentic looking. My intention is to use Akan baltic fleet colours for the model and I think a nice greyish moody looking sea would really finish the model of well.

Thanks for looking guys.

Marty

[biggles2]

Maybe greenish-gray? I don't think 100% gray would look realistic.

[Marty]

Biggles

Any suggestion as to which of the vallejo range might be best for this scenario?

Marty

[David Griffith]

Rather than using model paints matched to naval colours, I'd suggest getting some bottles of cheapo-cheapo craft type acrylic paints. Any kind of rubbishy brand will do, no need to spend vast amounts on high quality artist's paints.

The problem with using model paints is that starting off with naval colours will make it difficult to achieve a water colour that is a markedly different hue. I find it much easier to get to the appropriate hue by starting off with rather more pure colours. You will be able to get to the bright aquamarine of the disturbed water in a ship's wake much more easily with these paaints. I'd suggest getting some white, black (maybe), payne's grey, darkish blue, and green. It will take some trial and error so cheap paints won't break the bank too much.

Apply the paint with a brush, as it will not go through an airbrush, and try to work different tones and hues into the base by painting wet into wet.

Have fun, and start thinking that you are a bit of an artist!

David Griffith

[wefalck]

You don't nee large quantities of paint in an airbrush and I prefer acrylics readily diluted for spraying, either from the graphical artists or modellers ranges - in fact Vallejo started off as a Spanish artists paint manufacturer and then branched out into catering for modellers, I believe. I also very rarely mix my own colours.

I would start off with spray-painting the sea. Rather than spraying perpendicular to the surface, I would spray at an angle and in the direction of the waves. With one colour in one direction and another in the opposite direction. I have never done a 'leaden' sea, but for a deep ocean I would use a deep blue sprayed from the direction the waves come from and a turquoise in the opposite direction. As the paint collects differently on different faces of the waves, it makes for a vivid pattern. This gives you the basic pattern, which you then can detail further with washes and streaks of white.

[Marty]

David & Wefalck

thank you for your advice, sorry I didn't reply sooner, I was away in London for a few days. I was experimenting last night and came across a jar of Tamiya medium blue that i'm using for measure 21 on 1/700 USS Hornet that i'm in the middle of building.

I've attached a couple of shots with the primed model sat on the Tamiya ocean effect plate. Personally I think this has worked quite well but, I'd love to hear your comments.

David, I downloaded your book on building models from kits and i must say its a fantastic read!! Great job mate, I've learned so much.

Thanks for looking guys.

Marty