Kriegsmarine colourmixes

[Islandern]

Good day,


I wanted to hear with you how you mix your colours to get them as close to the real as possible.


I mainly airbrush paint with Tamiya and I use the following mix to get there:

• Dunkelgrau 51 (XF-54 85% + XF-2 15%)
• Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau (XF-24 70% + XF-1 30%)
• Hellgrau 50 Baltic (XF-54 70% + XF-2 30%)
• Hellgrau 50 Alternative (XF-66 100%)

The problem is that I have never seen them (ofcourse) in reality so it is hard to say what is corect.


How do you mix yours? Any good Ideas?


Best regards,


Anders


Ps. If any moderator think this thread is missplaced just tell me, and I am sorry if that's the case. Ds.

[GlennCauley]

Personally, I hate mixing paints.

For my DKM colours, I would first go to WEM ColourCoats enamel paints (from Sovereign Hobbies), or get the DKM set from LifeColor acrylics.

https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/collections/kriegsmarine-german-navy
http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/lfccs12.htm

[dougie47]

Hi folks,

Using other ranges would save hassle, as Glenn, says, but if you really want to go with Tamiya paints then here are my comments -

•Dunkelgrau 51 (XF-54 85% + XF-2 15%)
Looks about right as XF-54 is slightly darker than RAL7000. RAL7000 also has a slight touch of blue in there as well.

•Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau (XF-24 70% + XF-1 30%)
According to IPMS Stockholm, XF-24 is FS36118. You are right to add black but I couldn't say how much. Try 20% first to see how it goes. If you are doing a weathered boat then don't add in any black as the anti-fouling paint soon lightened as the particles leeched out.

•Hellgrau 50 Baltic (XF-54 70% + XF-2 30%)
IPMS Stockholm gives FS36231 for XF-54. This needs lightened a lot to make it the traditional Hellgrau 50 colour. 30% white might work but you may need more.

•Hellgrau 50 Alternative (XF-66 100%)
XF-66 is FS36329, which is pretty close to RAL7001, the traditional Hellgrau 50 colour. To make it as light as the Alternative Hellgrau 50 you need to get a very light grey like a RAL7038. Perhaps XF-19 would be a better starting point?

Please note that I am relying solely on the IPMS Stockholm codes (which I hope are accurate) rather than the online paint charts.

Cheers,

Dougie

[Islandern]

Thank you for your input!


So far I have not been using pre-mixed paints (I have to say I am a very new modeller also - beginners level) but I accually bought AKs Kriegsmarine colours. Hope they are good? Atleast as reference?


I found the colours from LifeColor were I normally buy model related stuffs online but it seems that they never get it in stock...


I am not so familiar with IPMS Stockholm, but will check that up! Thank you

[dougie47]

Hello Islandern,

I am not familiar with the AK range, they are new to me. Going by one link I found they have Dunkelgrau 51 as RAL7037 rather than RAL7001. 7037 does not have the blue tinge that 7001 does. But precise adherence to paint colours might not matter so much. There was quite a lot of variance in the colours, as discussed in my colours article.

What boat are you thinking of building?

Cheers,

Dougie

[Islandern]

This is true fifty shades of grey - my brain is pretty confused by now...


I take one step back, this is as what I have in my notes,

• Hellgrau 50 Baltic  - RAL 7001 / FS 36375
• Hellgrau 50 Altern - RAL 7038 / FS 36492
• Dunkelgrau 51      - RAL 7000 / FS 35237
• Dunkelgrau 52      - RAL 7024 / FS 36076

What do you think?


For the moment I am building a Seehund. See my previous post regarding Colours on the seehund. I am a beginner for sure and my first boat was a type VIIC which took its time with all PE and upgrade parts but it was fun and good for learning.

[dougie47]

Hi Anders,

Yes, those codes are applicable to the KM paints, as per page 17 of the Wolf Pack pdf.

The one point I would like to make is in relation to Hellgrau 50.

The Snyder and Short paint cards use RAL7038 for the Hellgrau 50 under their "Baltic Scheme Colors" section. When I came to writing my U-boat colours article I did not use the "Baltic" term for RAL7038 because this very light grey was used on U-boats serving in the Atlantic theatre of operations as well as the Baltic. Instead I came up with the term "Hellgrau 50 (alternative)" for RAL7038 because this light grey was not exclusive to the Baltic.

Therefore I would suggest a slight change in the terms to the following -

•Hellgrau 50 (normal) - RAL 7001 / FS 36375
•Hellgrau 50 (alternative) - RAL 7038 / FS 36492

If you read pages 19 and 20 of the Wolf Pack this will give you more information on Hellgrau 50. As a conclusion, which is supported by Falk Pletscher, who also looked at this subject, I think Hellgrau 50 was a naval paint which, in practice, varied greatly in colour from RAL7001 to RAL7038.

Cheers,

Dougie

[Islandern]

Dougie, thank you! Starts to get clearer for me about the colours.