Humbrol dark earth hu29

[MrPitotTube]

Have I missed something? My new pot (screw lid) of hu29 acrylic is very much darker than previous purchases. I hope this is not a reformulation as Humbrol's take on dark earth was one of my stock preferences.

[Black Knight]

Yes, it is a new issue. They're going back to the original formula. Over the years it had got lighter, and lighter.

[Max Headroom]

My concern with Humbrol's Dark Earth in the enamel range was that it would darken when varnished. Does the acrylic do the same?

Trevor

[Nick Millman]

I haven't seen the 'new' colour but FWIW full scale the best FS equivalent to Dark Earth in terms of hue is 33105 @ 3.91 - but that is a little darker.

Other FS equivalents sometimes given are:-

30219 @ 12.00 - too light and "pink"

30118 @ 3.97 - too dark and not "red" enough

30095 @ 5.37 - too dark and "chocolate"

all where less than 2.0 = a close match.

Original pigments for Dark Earth recorded by one manufacturer (Goodlass, Wall & Co. Ltd. of Liverpool) were brown precipitated iron oxide, yellow precipitated iron oxide, antimony oxide (white) and chromium oxide (green), the proportions being 2.25%, 2.25%, 6% and 5% with 2.5% China clay (aka Kaolin - also white). Note the significant proportions of white and green in the mix and also the relatively small proportion of pigment (15.5%) to binder and solvent. The paint would have been very prone to chalking resulting in a lighter, de-saturated appearance over time.

Nick

[Black Knight]

My concern with Humbrol's Dark Earth in the enamel range was that it would darken when varnished. Does the acrylic do the same?

Trevor

Yes, but it does depend on the varnish. Kleer/Future darkens it a bit, Humbrol varnishes darken it more. My own contrived mix darkens it only slightly.

Just say about how light Humbrol Earth had become; I found an old acylic 30ml pot of it and used on a Gladiator, the more recent shade was closer to 'Light Earth' compared to it. It was closer to US Mid-Tan.

[Seahawk]

This is getting confusing, at least for this bear of little brain. Some shades were originally introduced to match specific shades but have drifted so far that they are now being used as a match for others (eg Humbrol 120, introduced as a match for FSxxxxx Israeli LIght Green but now recommended on some (but not all!) Airfix kits as a match for MAP Interior Green). Humbrol 29 Dark Earth had drifted so far that it was apparently a useful match for MAP Light Earth - but Humbrol have now rematched it, so it will no longer be any use for that. So, even when buying paint in the new tins with the new scheme and Union Flag, one doesn't know what one will find in the tin. The exception seems to be 157 Azure Blue, where a helpful thread which I can't find at the mo shows that what's is the tin is now an accurate match to the MAP shade.

I did ask Humbrol for a list of all the colours they a. have already rematched and b. intend to rematch but only got a vague generic answer. if anyone else has been more successful, perhaps they'd post the reply. Personally I should be especially interested in any plans to bring out an accurate MAP Interior Green.

[MrPitotTube]

I quite liked hu29/ hu163 for dark earth/ dark green. The "new" hu29 looks a quite dirty brown compared with the older brew. I will see how it looks alongside dark green. I'll probably take to it and then find they've tweeked dark green also!

[Seahawk]

I'll probably take to it and then find they've tweeked dark green also!

They have, except that it's Humbrol 30 they've changed, not 163. I may not have got answers to my questions but I did get a free sample of "new formula" Humbrol 30. Haven't had a chance to brush it out yet.

[Test Graham]

Given the range of appearances of Dark Earth in colour photos (with all due caution) it probably won't hurt to get samples of both the old and the new formulations.

[Black Knight]

As an aside;

Not too long ago I was painting up a model vintage car. I wanted it besplattered with mud. So I used Humbrol 29 Earth. Now as it happened, soon after I was in the actual field where my model car was set and getting mudied. I brought home lots of samples of mud from that field; on me boots, hat, coat, trouser, cameras..........; I compared these examples with the Humbrol 29, and those with perfect colour vision could see no dfference in the shade. So Humbrol 29 is an exact match for earth in a field in county Down, - map reference available,

[Nick Millman]

Updated my post # 4 with more details about pigments used for Dark Earth.

Nick

[Work In Progress]

Thanks, Nick.

I find it extremely useful to know the original recipes for these paints and to have some insight into their vulnerabilities to exposure. The chalking aspect makes a lot of sense when you see pics of well-used airframes.

[Old Man]

I haven't seen the 'new' colour but FWIW full scale the best FS equivalent to Dark Earth in terms of hue is 33105 @ 3.91 - but that is a little darker.

Other FS equivalents sometimes given are:-

30219 @ 12.00 - too light and "pink"

30118 @ 3.97 - too dark and not "red" enough

30095 @ 5.37 - too dark and "chocolate"

all where less than 2.0 = a close match.

Original pigments for Dark Earth recorded by one manufacturer (Goodlass, Wall & Co. Ltd. of Liverpool) were brown precipitated iron oxide, yellow precipitated iron oxide, antimony oxide (white) and chromium oxide (green), the proportions being 2.25%, 2.25%, 6% and 5% with 2.5% China clay (aka Kaolin - also white). Note the significant proportions of white and green in the mix and also the relatively small proportion of pigment (15.5%) to binder and solvent. The paint would have been very prone to chalking resulting in a lighter, de-saturated appearance over time.

Nick

That list, Sir, is a great pointer towards trying a home-made mix, as well as variations for weathering. Looking up images of the pigment powders is worth the effort. In artist's terms, the brown oxide approximates burnt sienna or burnt umber (there does seem a range in color in the preparations offered commercially), while the yellow approximates yellow ocher, and the chrome oxide is startlingly green, about the look of a fresh lime's peel (though some seem to run a little blacker).

Very interesting....

[Nick Millman]

The range of colour of iron oxides is determined mainly by particle size and variance in chemical composition. The precipitation was the result of a carefully controlled process to produce the shades required, usually by the calcination of synthetic iron oxides, but there is a variance from source too. For example at the defunct Roussillon quarry in France there are as many as nineteen variations of iron oxide from bright pale yellow through dull reds to a brown which is near black.

The "test" for the manufacturer would be to visually match new paint to the colour standard but thereafter different compositions of Dark Earth from different manufacturers might travel in rather different directions. During the First World War the proportion of ferric oxide - or 'purity' - in the iron oxide was specified for the khaki-drab dopes of the RFC and this changed during the war from 30%, to 40% and ultimately to 60%, the increased amount pushing the base pigment from yellowish to more reddish in appearance and the resultant dope colour from green to brown. The same basic composition was adopted for the late war olive brown of the IJAAF (IJAAF paint colour Ohryoku nana go shoku 黄緑七号色 - "yellow green no.7 colour") but the proportion of ferric oxide was not specified and tolerance of the variance resulted in a range of olive drab hues from near khaki to dark green-brown (for example from approx FS 30118 for MItsubishi to approx FS 34083 for Tachikawa), which also weathered differently and significantly. This variance even extended to batch/factory differences from a single manufacturer as in the case of Kawasaki. The Japanese Army was ambivalent towards these variations and I suspect, although I have no evidence for it, that the RAF adopted a somewhat similar attitude towards minor variance in the appearance of Dark Earth, especially in service.

Nick

[Work In Progress]

The Japanese Army was ambivalent towards these variations and I suspect, although I have no evidence for it, that the RAF adopted a somewhat similar attitude towards minor variance in the appearance of Dark Earth, especially in service.

Makes sense, really. Reality is not uniform, but dappled. While you set various specifications for things when you order them, if the purpose of the product you are buying is to blend in with a variable reality, then there's no reason to object to certain types of variation in the appearance of the product. Against the ground it actually improves the camouflage, within certain variances.

On the other hand when the purpose *is* to be uniform and smart, like a Guardsman on parade or a row of Red Arrows, then you'll be a lot more picky about what you actually receive.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Work In Progress