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US WWII Neutral Grey (gray)


spitfire

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Help,

Nice simple paint scheme for my P-39D, Olive Drab 41 over Neutral Gray 43 I thought, BUT I've just sprayed the undersides with WEM colourcoats Neutral Grey 41 and it seems awfully dark when compared with my usual paint Xtracolor X133 (FS16270). Mind you most of the models I build have Sky undersides !

My IPMS colour cross reference guide states FS36173, which matches the Colourcoats paint colour, but most of the WW2 US aircraft models that I have seen have the lighter colour. Any words of wisdom out there ?

Cheers

Den

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The "original" Neutral Gray was quite dark, often showing darker than the Olive Drab uppersurfaces, it was replaced by a lighter gray, I have not got my references to hand so cannot give you the specs/date's at the moment.

Regards

Phil

Help,

Nice simple paint scheme for my P-39D, Olive Drab 41 over Neutral Gray 43 I thought, BUT I've just sprayed the undersides with WEM colourcoats Neutral Grey 41 and it seems awfully dark when compared with my usual paint Xtracolor X133 (FS16270). Mind you most of the models I build have Sky undersides !

My IPMS colour cross reference guide states FS36173, which matches the Colourcoats paint colour, but most of the WW2 US aircraft models that I have seen have the lighter colour. Any words of wisdom out there ?

Cheers

Den

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Neutral Gray ANA 43 matches 36173

Neutral Gray FS is defined as FS36270 (eg same as 16270) and is lighter

Looks as though in August 1942, colours were defined as ANA colours, but it took a while for existing paint to be used up.

http://www.us-aircraft.com/research_topicswingedflight.htm

has some information.

Though if the explanation is correct, it should have STARTED OUT as the lighter FS colour, and then become the darker ANA colour...

bestest,

M.

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Polyscale ANA Neutral Gray is close to modern Gunship Gray (36118) or topside RAF gray (Sea Gray). I freely admit using modern Neutral Gray as my underside color on early USAAF aircraft despite seeing a few color pics where the dark gray is right, it just doesn't look 'right' on my models. It could be something to do with the dreaded 'scale effect' where model colors should look lighter than the 'correct' colors to properly portray what the plane would look like to the human eye at 50-100 feet (a foot or two for a 48th or 72nd build). Considering that I am getting away somewhat from the exact color thinking especially where cockpit and other colors that weather badly are concerned.

My last one was a pre-war Carolina Wargames P-39D, my couple since have been 36270.

Now start worrying about Olive Drabs! :lol:

Matt

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Seems like a can of worms here (again), I think I'll go with the paint I have already sprayed as there appears to be a greater than evens chance that it is right.

The link to us-aircraft.com certainly has some good info.

Thanks for the input guys.

Cheers

Den

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The can of worms is the model paints. Why should White Ensign or any one be the "standard".

Neutral Gray 43 was not made lighter, it was Neutral Gray 43. It is allegedly 50% Black and 50% white.

ANA 603 Sea gray was to replace NG and be acceptable to the British as Ocean Gray and Extra Dark Sea Gray. The USAAF never adopted the use of ANA 603, it continued with NG 43. The P-47 and Corsair I, II, III for the British wore it.

The Klaus IPMS paint guide give NG 43 an FS approximation of 36173. ANA 603 has an FS approximation of 36118.

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Tell U wot gets me Steve, (not to hijack the thread), is this 'scale effect' business. Now If you apply this 'scale effect' when painting, then, surely you are not going to have the right colour at the end of the day yes?

Plus, if I take a photo of a plane and the result looks like about say 1/72, how come the colours don't change to take account of 'scale effect'?

If you stand at the appropriate distance from a plane, so that it looks about the right size for the scale your doing, the colour doesn't change does it?

Strange---

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Scale effect! Arrrgggghhhh. Another can o'worms. Again variables are at play. The model paint itself, light in the room, one's personal preference.

If you use Xtracrylics, then the 70/71 has a proper low contrast. But from a couple feet away, it looks like one color. Well that may be correct, but there is an artistic issue in modeling. You don't want the high contrast of the Model Master 70/71, but you do want some contrast, just to indicate two colors are used on the model. So one may need to lighten the 71 with a touch of light gray.

No one knows what the color really looked like, so at the end of the day it is all subjective. We have an idea of what a color was supposed to be.

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Xtracolor X133 (FS16270)... My IPMS colour cross reference guide states FS36173, which matches the Colourcoats paint colour, but most of the WW2 US aircraft models that I have seen have the lighter colour.

You just hit the nail on head. Somehow Xtracolor got the basic color of Neutral Gray 43 wrong a long time ago, and it's snowballed since. NG 43 (fresh, to spec) is, as you say, a very dark color. Depending on lighting, weathering, film, exposure, etc, it can appear lighter, darker, or the same value as OD in b&w photos. But out of the can, fresh from the factory, NG 43 is a pretty dark color.

J

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I have a copy of a book "United States Camouflage WWII," produced in 1964, by the IPMS(US, I presume,) which comes complete with a set of (claimed to be original) colour chips, for the USAAF & USN, which are stated to be "the ones actually used to mix the official camouflage paints." Is it any use, or has it been discredited?

Edgar

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