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EA-6B Cockpit Color


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I'm starting the Monogram 1/48 EA-6B, and was wondering what an approximate scale color "out of the bottle" (i.e. not lightening the full-scale color) would be good for the overall cockpit color.  The cockpit will be getting a raw umber wash and some weathering, so a good approximation is sufficient.  Thanks.

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FS36231 Dark Gull Gray (with semi-gloss black panels)…available from many model paint producers. Some modelers prefer to go lighter than spec, especially if the finish is subject to filters and washes.

 

One example:

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Edited by RichB63
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22 minutes ago, ElectroSoldier said:

Halford grey primer is about equal to Tamiya XF-19 which is about equal to FS36622, which is ever so slightly lighter in colour that the pot of H317 shown above.

IMHO 36622 is WAY lighter than 36231. If I want to go lighter than the official standard, I usually use 36270, also widely available.

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14 hours ago, seawinder said:

IMHO 36622 is WAY lighter than 36231. If I want to go lighter than the official standard, I usually use 36270, also widely available.

Youre right, but once I put a wash over it then layer it up with something darker like 36231 then do the edge highlights with it again you would be surprised how a much lighter colour can be much better than going with the actual colour first off.
 

If you start with the right colour you have nowhere to highlight up to.

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18 hours ago, ElectroSoldier said:

Halford grey primer is about equal to Tamiya XF-19 which is about equal to FS36622, which is ever so slightly lighter in colour that the pot of H317 shown above.

 

XF-19 is nowhere pale enough to be FS36622.

 

Jens

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4 hours ago, JEN722 said:

 

XF-19 is nowhere pale enough to be FS36622.

 

Jens

In and by itself no its not.

The darker colour takes a wash better.

Start dark for the base colour then you can layer up to the proper colour and then highlight with oils.

If you use a darker but similar grey when you wash over it you can use a dirty colour rather than a dark colour in order to get the dark colour you want but still have a hue that looks dirty.

 

If you look at something that is dirty like an airplane that dirty isnt black, its never black it has some colour to it, be it redish brown to brown or sandy or what ever... its never black.

If you want to get a dirt that is dark but still have colour in it then you need to darken the surface its on, then they layering of paint around it will fool the eye into thinking the area that is dirty is the same colour but tinted with dirt, then you can edge highlight to get the highlights you would get from being in the sunlight (if there is any)

Edited by ElectroSoldier
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4 hours ago, ElectroSoldier said:

In and by itself no its not.

The darker colour takes a wash better.

Start dark for the base colour then you can layer up to the proper colour and then highlight with oils.

If you use a darker but similar grey when you wash over it you can use a dirty colour rather than a dark colour in order to get the dark colour you want but still have a hue that looks dirty.

 

If you look at something that is dirty like an airplane that dirty isnt black, its never black it has some colour to it, be it redish brown to brown or sandy or what ever... its never black.

If you want to get a dirt that is dark but still have colour in it then you need to darken the surface its on, then they layering of paint around it will fool the eye into thinking the area that is dirty is the same colour but tinted with dirt, then you can edge highlight to get the highlights you would get from being in the sunlight (if there is any)

 

I am not sure what you are trying to tell me. Also, I'm pretty sure I don't need to know.

Fact is, XF-19 is too dark to be similar to FS36622.

 

Jens

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6 hours ago, JEN722 said:

 

I am not sure what you are trying to tell me. Also, I'm pretty sure I don't need to know.

Fact is, XF-19 is too dark to be similar to FS36622.

 

Jens

Thats because you dont know what Im talking about, and dont want to know what Im talking about so will never understand it.

Which is fair enough, we dont all paint the same way.

 

Looking at the conversion chart the direct colour is XF-55 for FS36622

 

Edited by ElectroSoldier
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7 hours ago, ElectroSoldier said:

Thats because you dont know what Im talking about, and dont want to know what Im talking about so will never understand it.

Which is fair enough, we dont all paint the same way.

 

Looking at the conversion chart the direct colour is XF-55 for FS36622

 

 

I don't know why you keep going on about FS36622. It's pale grey, almost dirty white, and it's nowhere near FS36231 in which the real cockpits are painted.

Your best suggestion has been XF-19 which, although lighter than FS36231, is fairly good for a scale effect cockpit grey.

 

Jens

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On 11/22/2021 at 12:17 AM, Paul Boyer said:

There are a few exceptions, but in general, cockpit interiors of U.S. military aircraft have been painted in "Dark Gull Gray" FS 36231 since the mid-late 1950s.

Here's your answer arg.

Steve

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8 hours ago, JEN722 said:

 

I don't know why you keep going on about FS36622. It's pale grey, almost dirty white, and it's nowhere near FS36231 in which the real cockpits are painted.

Your best suggestion has been XF-19 which, although lighter than FS36231, is fairly good for a scale effect cockpit grey.

 

Jens

Yeah sorry I was reading across two rows of a conversion chart there.

 

I use Halfords Grey primer, once its finished its pretty close which is what was actually asked for in the first post.

Once you add a wash or oils etc to the real colour of 36231 it ends up being way to dark.

 

 

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While Dark Gull Gray is the "real" color, my thinking was along the lines of ElectroSoldier, i.e. adding a wash and dirtying it up might make it look WAY dark.  Lots of good thoughts and insights - I will try Halfords primer, and maybe a couple other color tests.  One that just came to mind was 'regular' Gull Gray, and see if it can be darkened with a wash to approach Dark Gull Gray.

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It does make it look way to dark.
If you take a photo of you well painted colour accurate model and then using colour balancing compare it with a photo of the real thing once you have added all the washes and things to "liven it up" then its to dark compared to the real thing.
Ive some to what I have come to over about 40 years of model making.

 

I like Halfords Grey primer, but XF-19 will do pretty much the same (im sure you can convert that to any colour you like) then using that much lighter colour your shadows will look darker but you will get nautral highlights when you layer it up with XF-19 and some edge highlights on the sharp edges.

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