Uss Missouri tamiya 1/350 measure22 paint availability

[jacobew]

I am in the process of trying to get some paint for my new Tamiya Missouri 1/350, and I want to paint it in measure 22.

I am having an incredibly hard time finding paint, namely NAVY BLUE, HAZE GRAY and DECK BLUE. I looked at both Testor, Polly Scale, Tamiya, etc, but its so odd that such a common paint for that era of US ships is so hard to find.

I can find Tamiya Navy Blue in Acrylic 3oz spray can but not in bottle (not even in enamel bottle).
I can find Tamiya Haze Gray in Acrylic 3oz spray can but not in bottle (not even in enamel bottle).

Deck Blue is nowhere to be found whatsoever.

Do these 3 colors go by any other name?

Also, I can get Tamiya Hull Red, which I used on a Lindberg 1/125 Fletcher, but I was wondering if that is in fact a good color for these US warships hulls? The manual says "BOTTOM COLOR=Flat Red(x2)+Flat brown".

The manual for this Tamiya 1/350 USS Missouri reads as if I am supposed to mix paints to get the colors NAVY BLUE, HAZE GRAY, DECK BLUE, and "BOTTOM COLOR=Flat Red(x2)+Flat brown".

Am I reading this manual right? Any premade acrylics or enamel paint available? I have used enamels most of my 20+years of modeling and the acrylics are something new to me, though I have played with them a bit in the past.
BTW, I know I am supposed to mix acrylics with water, and not paint thinner ...
Thanks...Jacob

[Timmy C]

If you prefer enamels, then you have it easy - WEM (White Ensign Models) produce a line of authentically-matched enamel paints in their Colorcoats line. Their website can be accessed from the front page.

Note that asides from Colorcoats, PollyScale, and the now non-unavailable Model Masters Marine Acryls, none of the other paints labeled "Haze Grey" or "Navy Blue" are actually meant to reflect the actual colour used on WWII USN vessels. Even with the PollyScale line of acrylics, their matches aren't as accurate as Colorcoats. However, Pollyscale is the only remaining acrylic (some exceptions - Badger makes a line, but unsure how they compare) that has WWII USN colours.

[David Griffith]

Dear Jacob,

Don't bother with the Badger colours. They don't look anything like what they are pretending to be. Navy Blue and Deck Blue are both extremely dark and intense blues with a very distinct greenish cast to them, more like an artist's prussian blue. The Haze Gray again has a green cast to it. It looks as though it would make a pretty good RLM grau 02 for the Luftwaffe guys, but it isn't a purplish Haze Gray.

Kind regards,

David Griffith

[jacobew]

I dont mind getting acrylic paint. I just mentioned enamel simply because its something I have used in the past, but I am open to just about any type of paint that is durable, long lasting and fairly accurate. I am mostly building these for fun, and am wanting to make em more for pounding around on the pool/lake in a RC conversion. Just trying to figure out some paint "close" to what the colors should be... thanks.

[Timmy C]

Then definitely go for Colorcoats - familiar old enamels and the most accurate paints on the market, so you don't have to worry about what's "good enough".

[jacobew]

Ok so White Ensin paint is what I should be looking for..

Is there any USA dealers that sell this paint?

[Timmy C]

Snyder & Shorts Enterprises does:
http://www.shipcamouflage.com/colourcoats.htm

However, I heard that the stock of 20b (Deck Blue) is running low or out (both retailers and at WEM), so it might be a while before that will be instock.

[Tracy White]

Another wrinkle: the Pollyscale line is being discontinued.

WEM Deck blue has been out due to production problems for a couple of months. Randy from ShipCamouflage may have mixing ratios for you, and he also sells paint chips so you can mix & match your own.

[Russ2146]

You can also try http://www.warshiphobbies.com/

[jacobew]

I have been doing a lot of research, and from what I have seen, I ended up searching by the FS number. So this is what I got according to what I see in a model paint conversion chart I downloaded.

DECK BLUE (FS36081)
Testors=Euro I Gray (FS36081) spray can#1988
Mr Colour=Dark Grey (FS36081) US NAVY 20B Revised Deck Blue
PollyScale=Grimy Black (FS36081) and Panzer Dark Gray (FS36081)

It appears that there is several names for this color.

HAZE GREY (FS36270)
It is a tougher one to know because it seems to have 2 different sheens but this one seems to be the right one.

Testors=Neutral gray (FS36270)
Testors Model master acrylic=Neutral gray #4757 (FS36270)
Xtracolor=RAF Medium Sea Grey BS637 or 1003 (FS36270)
aka Medium Sea Grey
White Ensign/Mr Colour=Medium Sea Grey (BS637)/Mid grey (FS36270) AC RN 04

NAVY BLUE (FS15042) AKA 5-N

PollyScale=Navy Blue US Navy 5-N (FS15042)
Testors=Neutral Gray 1725 bottle or
Testors Model Master acrylic=Neutral Gray 4757 bottle
Testors model master=Dark Sea Blue 1717 bottle and spray can 1917
Testors Model Master acrylic=Dark Sea Blue 4686

So by my estimation, I think I can get:
Testors Dark Sea Blue 1717/1917
Testors Neutral Gray
Testors Modelmaster Euro Gray I 1988spray/4750bottle

So maybe I can use Testors paints without having to search for the it with another brand?... Am I correct in this color choices? thanks.

[Tracy White]

FS NUMBERS ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO WWII PAINTS

The FS system came about AFTER these paints were out of circulation, so the FS numbers you give above are what someone has determined to be the CLOSEST that is available. They are not exact matches.

I blame Squadron/Signal for causing this confusion.

[Russ2146]

Sorry, I feel compelled to chime in. ANYTHING with an FS number WILL NOT match true WWII colors Period, end of discussion.
I researched almost a year and Tracy is right. Believe me, ship modelers wish it were otherwise, but it just isn't.

[Tracy White]

Ship modelers aren't the only ones... we've learned a lot about colors in the last decade or so.

[Patrick J McCarthy]

I too have had difficulty finding WWII paints. Thank you guys for pointing me in the right direction. One question: So is there ANY acrylic alternative out there for WWII paints?

[Tracy White]

Not yet, but Randy Short of ShipCamouflage is working towards selling some re-mixed and matched MM acryllics in USN WWII colors.

[Rob-UK]

Oh dear, I abandoned enamels years ago and only touch acrylics. But it looks like it has to be WEM colours for my BB63 in Measure 22.

I presume we need WEM refs: US28 for Haze Grey, US08 for Navy Blue, and US10 for Deck Blue.

I wonder how many of their little tins would be needed to cover a 1:350 Iowa class BB ?

One question; does anyone know if the Deck Blue would appear exactly the same when applied on wooden deck planks as on steel deck plates? I read somewhere that a different paint type was used to make the paint on wooden decks temporary to be scrubbed off after combat had ceased, so could it perhaps appear different?

[Tracy White]

It would look the same when fresh, but would wear a little differently.

The Navy originally tried stains on decks, but determined the stain penetrated too deeply into the wood to be quickly removed once the war was over, and switched to paint. This was in 1941, well before Missouri's time.

[Rob-UK]

Ok, thanks for your advice

[Rob-UK]

One more quesion if anyone can help, do we know when she received her Measure 22 scheme?
Was it when she was in San Fransisco in December '44 while having the final fit out ready to sail west to Pearl Harbour?

[Guest]

FS NUMBERS ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO WWII PAINTS

The FS system came about AFTER these paints were out of circulation, so the FS numbers you give above are what someone has determined to be the CLOSEST that is available. They are not exact matches.

I blame Squadron/Signal for causing this confusion.

light grey1+neutral grey2 im confused