Jump to content

Harrier


Recommended Posts

If you're doing an RAF jet the paints used will be to British Standards and an accurate match to anything in FS (or RAL for that matter) will be a lucky coincidence: if you're doing an American jet the obverse will apply.  That said I was fortunate, in my former day job, to meet a man who supplies paints to the automotive trade and who deals extensively with colours matched to BS381C.  He told me that there is a 10% tolerance on BS381C (so whither now is the "what colour is Olive Drab/Mixed Grey/whatever other colour" discussion?).  A number of companies produce paints matched to BS381C, Xtracolour/Xtracrylix and Sovereign Models' Colourcoats for example, but I appreciate that you may not be able to obtain these where you live.  Perhaps someone on this site might be able to point ou in the direction of othe suppliers.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That IPMS Stockholm colour chart is pretty much the best conversion reference out there - that I have found, anyway.  @stever219 is dead right, though; the degree of tolerance allowed in the real thing makes a mockery of sone people's obsession with getting exactly "the right colour"... and that's before you start factoring in scale effect, fading paint as the (real) finish ages, ambient light, the screen / print that reproduces your reference photos, etc.  In the end you just have to pick something that looks right to you.  

 

Often the mix is counter-intuitive, too; the home-mixed RAF Blue Grey for my Sea King build only really came together when I added a little green to the mix, even though I didn't (& still don't) think that RAF BG "looks" green in the slightest. If you have an iPhone, I thoroughly recommend iModelKit, too.  It has lots of good features, but the paint mixing part of the app is superb; it was iModelKit that prompted the green addition to my RAF BG; I'd never have thought of it on my own.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Vitaliy said:

Good evening to everybody!

Question to experts  please  help translate BS into FS

BS381C-629  by  FS-

BS381C-637  by  FS-

BS381C-638  by  FS-

 

Many thanks !!!

 

you maybe better off saying what model paint you can get,  and asking for matches for those, as there are people here who be able to tell you those

 

BS is British standard, FS595 is US paint standard, while FS595 is commonly referred to for paint, it is not a comprehensive colour guide,  so as has been said, BS to FS595 will an approximation.

 

this place has a converter though, for BS381C-629, Dark Camouflage Grey

http://www.e-paint.co.uk/Colour_alternatives.asp?filter2=Federal+Standard+595&cRange=BS+381C&cRef=BS381+629

 

note the star rating, it rates FS 36173 as being "Distinguishable to the practiced eye"

 

BS381C-637 Medium Sea Grey

http://www.e-paint.co.uk/Colour_alternatives.asp?filter2=Federal+Standard+595&cRange=BS+381C&cRef=BS381+637

BS381C-638 Dark Sea Grey

http://www.e-paint.co.uk/Colour_alternatives.asp?filter2=Federal+Standard+595&cRange=BS+381C&cRef=BS381+638

the linked place is a specialist paint manufacturer.

 

but the colour by the names listed, not the BS code are available in many model paint ranges

 

33 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

That IPMS Stockholm colour chart is pretty much the best conversion reference out there - that I have found, anyway.  @stever219 is dead right, though; the degree of tolerance allowed in the real thing makes a mockery of sone people's obsession with getting exactly "the right colour"... and that's before you start factoring in scale effect, fading paint as the (real) finish ages, ambient light, the screen / print that reproduces your reference photos, etc.  In the end you just have to pick something that looks right to you.  

 

Often the mix is counter-intuitive, too; the home-mixed RAF Blue Grey for my Sea King build only really came together when I added a little green to the mix, even though I didn't (& still don't) think that RAF BG "looks" green in the slightest. If you have an iPhone, I thoroughly recommend iModelKit, too.  It has lots of good features, but the paint mixing part of the app is superb; it was iModelKit that prompted the green addition to my RAF BG; I'd never have thought of it on my own.

 

The IPMS list is old, while it's useful,  it can have mistakes, being approximate matches.

 

the 'if it look OK' is fine, but there are paint standards to start with, and knowing what those are is useful, as well is what pigments are in the real paint and how it weathers.

 

there is also how good a person colour perception is, as opposed to colourimeters, which are not subjective.

 

Getting it looking right on a model though is 'the art'  of modelling

 

as for adding green. model paints are often a complex mix of pigments,  and these can have a surprising effect on mixes, so while RAF BG may well not appear green,  that may what was required to shift the final colour.

 

A brief aside, I once looked at the pigment ratios of commercial paint,  I was after very pure blue-purple for a shop front,  the mix for 'Oxford blue' on the paint mix machine was something like 50 parts blue, 30 parts black, 3 parts red and 1 part yellow.

 

I ended up with a paint that I mixed that was like 80 parts of the blue in the blue paint base, and while a lovely colour, it had very poor covering qualities (took about 4 coats to get a solid colour),  which I think is why in many the cases the pigment mix is more complex than may thought.

 

HTH

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...