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Scale Model colours, vary with size?


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Hi folks,

I have just noted a post regarding the accuracy of various manufacturers colours with regard to the FS colour for the stealth aircraft.

 

This got me thinking do colours change given the scale of the aircraft/model? If this is the case, do paint manufactures take this into account when they design/mix their colours?

 

I know lighting plays a part in perceived colour as does an individual's own eyesight but if say I was viewing a full-size Spitfire at a distance where it appeared to be the same size as a 1/48 scale model under the same lighting conditions would the colours be the same? So should manufacturers produce different ranges for different scales?

Is there perhaps some rule of thumb i'm not aware of such as perhaps add a drop of white or black for every 10 scale points to the original colour? 

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2 hours ago, Delanie said:

viewing a full-size Spitfire at a distance where it appeared to be the same size as a 1/48 scale model under the same lighting conditions would the colours be the same?

 

That could depend on whether the model's paint sat outdoors in as many freezing winters and 40 C summers as the real Spitfire's paint did & had the same cumulative time having its paint surface exposed to flight speed air friction.

Edited by southwestforests
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2 hours ago, Delanie said:

So should manufacturers produce different ranges for different scales?

I'm pretty sure that would both drive up production and distribution costs, but mostly create headaches and heartburn in gambling on, umm I mean, guessing, well, forecasting, a year ahead of time while negotiating raw material purchases for how much of which scale formula to produce.

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You are talking about an established concept called 'scale effect'. I don't think there is a defined ratio but in principle, you go for lighter shades as the scale gets smaller to match the visual impression of viewing the real thing from further away.

 

There are those that argue in favour of it and others who dispute its validity. Personally, I tend to lighten the manufacturers' colours with a touch of white when I'm building smaller scales.

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Thanks guys,

I was only posing a hypothetical question  btw

17 hours ago, southwestforests said:

I'm pretty sure that would both drive up production and distribution costs, but mostly create headaches and heartburn in gambling on, umm I mean, guessing, well, forecasting, a year ahead of time while negotiating raw material purchases for how much of which scale formula to produce.

John that is a very useful idea, the idea of scale effect has always intrigued me for instance a flight line consisting of say a 1/444, 1/72 and a 1/48 scale to give perspective the same with different scale figures.

 

I remember years ago (early 90's) building a Hasegawa F16 (the one with the lion on the tail) and scouring the shelves to get the correct fs colours (Humbrol), but then after reading the thread about the F35 FS colour and the fact that several different manufactures had differing takes on the colour chip, I got to wonder if maybe if they were all correct depending on the distance away and the scale of the model. Which in turn got me thinking that if for instance i made a diorama or vignette of an airfield using the above differing scales to 'force' the perspective, would I have to vary the 'accurate' 1:1 scale FS colour as well? hence my original question.

 

It would be interesting to know if there was an actual theory for this a bit like the golden section or the 'polygon face' in art. 

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