British Naval Camouflage Colors

[RNfanDan]

For what it's worth....



And it wasn't worth it.....



Lesson learned.

[Ron Smith]

...

[John Snyder]

Besides being generally inaccurate equivalents, the other problem you'll have is that those references are now about 7 years old. Chances are that many of those Dutch Boy colors no longer exist under those names. Commercial paint companies revise their colors/names almost annually. As Ron said, get the Snyder & Short paint chips, which are matched to actual samples of RN WW2 camouflage paint supplied by author Alan Raven, or to original Admiralty colour cards.

And beyond that, you'll find the RN paints available in our Colourcoats enamels, which were matched to the S&S chips.

[RNfanDan]

Chances are that many of those Dutch Boy colors no longer exist under those names.

The paint names I listed are current, as of the date of posting.

My intent was simply to provide an updated list of Dutch Boy identifiers and paint names for those who, like me, read the other list and found it to be totally outdated. I implied NO other meaning or intent in doing so...

Of course, there are many other resources, including those mentioned in "response" to my post.

[Ron Smith]

...

[les]

If you want nearer the correct colors, have them match a color swatch.

[John Snyder]

Hi Les,

At that point, why bother? If you've got the swatches to match against, that means you'll have the Snyder & Short paint chips. Why would you want to have house paint matched to them?

[Ron Smith]

...

[les]

Depends on how big the model is. Those tinlets are sooo small and some of us are soooo cheap.

[RNfanDan]

Why would you want to have house paint matched to them?

One reason I went looking for a local resource, is that I cannot seem to find acrylic paints anywhere, labelled in the RN standard colors. I'd not have bothered with the whole effort if, for example, WEM offered their excellent and accurate paints in acrylic, not enamel. Unfortunately, I cannot use petroleum-based enamels inside my home, for reasons beyond the purview of this post, so latex or alcohol-based is my only option.

I 'd hoped to obtain reasonably accurate, locally available resources to mix my own matching colors in latex or other non petroleum-based media, but since doing this Dutch Boy research, I've come to see just what you have all warned me about (colors way off base). I have since been made aware of a few equivalent paint colors that match closely, thanks to PM's and off-site advice, especially the "easy" colors of the RN Western Approaches blue/green/white schemes.

What I'd like to see, is an accurate cross-reference to RN colors that can be translated into current acrylic paint sources (for example, Brand X Ocean Gray = 507A, etc.), or even a "recipe" for making 507A from 2 parts Brand X and 1 part Brand Y.

While I have found many suppliers of acrylic colors---among them PolyScale, Model Master, Tamiya, etc.---none are labeled in the RN standard. Why this situation exists, I cannot say---I have found numerous examples of "official" colors in acrylic, including German, US, and even Japanese standards, as well as aircraft, armor and even clothing/uniform colors---but no MS2, 507A, etc. (It's ANGLOPHOBIA, I believe! )

Anyone with such information would be a welcome source. Thanks!

[John Snyder]

Hi Dan,

I can't help with the cross-reference to existing acrylics, but I would suggest strongly that you obtain the RN paint chip sets from Snyder & Short. All of those are accurately matched to the originals, and will then let you do your own mixing and matching using existing acrylics of your choice.

There are 3 separate sets, and you may not need all three. Have a look on http://www.shipcamouflage.com and you'll be able to see which colors are included in each set. You can order them directly from Randy Short at S&S, or from us or any of a number of other vendors.

[Ron Smith]

...

[RNfanDan]

You can also use artists' colors, not the tube type but the liquid type, and add some airbrush medium.

Does this (adding the medium) give the artist paints the "bite" needed for plastic? I have acquired some totally useless "ceramic" acrylic paints, which promptly flaked right off the styrene!

[Ron Smith]

...