Colour for bottom half of Lancaster

[thecornflake]

In the instructions for my Revell 1:72 Lancaster it has the colour for the bottom half of the plane not as plain matt black, but 95% black mixed with 5% light grey. However in most of the pics I've seen of both real planes and models it looks like it's just a regular matt black. This is the dambusters edition so I'm wondering if they had slightly different colouring, or is there another reason why I can't just use matt black?

[Graham Boak]

The true colour was Night, which was black with a small amount of ultramarine, but I don't think that's the reason why Revell tell you to do this. I think it is because pure black looks too stark on a small model, and a model will look better if the black is toned down slightly. This is normal practice for artists. For similar aircraft I have used black mixed approx. equally with a very dark grey. It is possible that the 617 Sq used Smooth Night, which had a satin finish, but this may be a little early. However, even the standard Night was not as matt as the matt paint: to what extent you represent that is rather up to you.

[avro683]

Pure Matt black on a 1/72 model is too stark. I use Tamiya NATO Black, others have their own choice.

[Truro Model Builder]

Tamiya XF-85 rubber black is fast becoming my colour of choice.

[Miggers]

I used Revell 8 and 9 mixed 50-50 on mine.

[Flankerman]

I might bring down the wrath of the colour police, but I recommended a rattle can of Halfords Volvo Dark Grey to a friend for his Tamiya Lancaster - and he was chuffed to bits with the results.

It is a very dark grey - almost black, but just toned down enough to take off the starkness of pure black.

And it sprays on beautifully - it's acrylic, so put a barrier coat on any underlying enamels - Kleer is perfect.

Ken

[sloegin57]

I might bring down the wrath of the colour police, but I recommended a rattle can of Halfords Volvo Dark Grey to a friend for his Tamiya Lancaster - and he was chuffed to bits with the results.

It is a very dark grey - almost black, but just toned down enough to take off the starkness of pure black.

And it sprays on beautifully - it's acrylic, so put a barrier coat on any underlying enamels - Kleer is perfect.

Ken

Ken,

Is that the "Dark Grey 228"?

Dennis

[Paul A H]

Tamiya XF-85 rubber black is fast becoming my colour of choice.

Mine too. The only problem is that I have to use NATO Black for rubber tyres just so they end up a different shade!

[Flankerman]

Ken,

Is that the "Dark Grey 228"?

Dennis

Hmm..... I was just going to reply 'Dunno - it just says 'Volvo Dark Grey' on my can....

But I just did a search on Halfords website for 'Volvo Dark Grey' - and it returns the same 'Dark Grey 228' that you mention.

So I guess its the same - the only thing I can see on my can is 'Item Code 454892'

The colour band around the can top looks black - but it is actually a very dark grey.

HTH

Ken

[pigsty]

Mine too. The only problem is that I have to use NATO Black for rubber tyres just so they end up a different shade!

For that period I use Panzer Grey. A funny thing about tyres is that they've got progressively darker over the years - WWI tyres can be as light as dove grey. Even a near-black like those mentioned can be too dark, but Panzer Grey looks convincing near a black underside while it's still dark enough to look OK against something lighter. I'd still use something like NATO Black for a modern aircraft, though.

[occa]

Nick Millman has a color chip on his blog that reveals Night is actually a very dark black-blue.

Edit:

Color description corrected ^^

[thecornflake]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I'm thinking about mixing a small amount of dark blue with black and maybe testing it on a bit of sprue alongside regular black and then the 5% grey mix (already made as its used a lot elsewhere in the plane) to see how they compare.