Greenshirt Modeler

RAF Dark Green: a good hobby paint match?

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by

Greenshirt
in

5 May 2013

Edit: I’ve completed my switch to acrylics, and have looked at more paints to match RAF Dark Green.

I’ve also acquired a copy of British Aviation Colours of World War Two, Crown Copyright, 1976.  My edition has the color chips in a fold-out in the back.
I checked my acrylic paint samples, against a similar white background and compared each.  The colors I looked at are:
  • Humbrol 116
  • Humbrol 163
  • PollyScale 5250
  • Tamiya XF81
  • Model Master 4849
  • Vallejo 892
  • Vallejo 893
Hu 116 is a perfect match.  Hu 163 is darker but only slightly so and could be an acceptable substitute.  PS 5250 is darker still than Hu 163.  XF81 is darker and slightly greener.  MM 4849 is very much greener.  Vallejo’s 892 is very much greener and a close match to MM 4849, while 893 is a perfect match.
I also compared FS34079 to the swatch; it is greener and darker than the swatch.  Interestingly, PS 5250 is a near perfect match to FS34079, yet against the Dark Green swatch does not look as far off.
My last test was to compare to FS14056, a suggested FS color for DuPont T1-013, the US equivalent color to Dark Green that was used on the P-40 and some other US built aircraft.  Of note, I do not have a swatch of DuPont T1-013 for comparison.  Vallejo’s 892 was a near match with MM 4849 being close enough to be the same.
Summary
Having a reference swatch for comparison, versus a generally accepted paint, is very informative.
Humbrol’s enamel 116 is a perfect match to FS34079, which is NOT a match to RAF Dark Green.
Humbrol’s acrylic 116 and Vallejo’s 893 are both a perfect match to RAF Dark Green.
If modeling a US build aircraft in DuPont T1-013 Dark Green, and if FS14056 is the correct match, then Vallejo’s 892 or Model Master 4849 are good matches.

Original – 18 August 2011

There is plenty of debate over which dark green hobby paint most closely matches RAF Dark Green. The IPMS Stockholm site (here) recommends Humbrol (Hu) 116 for the WWII timeframe and Hu 163 for post war (after the High Speed Silver phase, IMHO). That site is getting dated, but most folks swear by the cross reference as still fairly useful.
Tamiya XF-81 is supposed to be a pretty good match and some folks swear by any FS34079 match. I’ve yet to use Tamiya XF-81 but it looks the same to my eye as Hu 116. Hu 163 looks darker and bluer to my eye than Hu 116, but only ever so slightly and that could be due to its satin sheen versus the matte sheen of Hu 116. FS34079 seems too olive when compared to Hu 116 and even more so next to Hu 163.
Model Master RAF Dark Green looks more like just another FS34079. Pollyscale Dark Green (5250) is identical to Hu 116.
Some day I may try the Vallejo line as I do like the consistency of the paint and the color choices are extensive. Unfortunately they are not readily available as I don’t have a local hobby shop.
Until my Hu 116 is depleted, I’ll stick with it.  After that I’m shifting to Tamiya XF-81 because it’s a) a near match, and b) acrylic.

Thanks for looking…

Comments

4 responses to “RAF Dark Green: a good hobby paint match?”

  1. TheElear Avatar
    TheElear

    Tim,

    Many thanks for your time Sir. Your comments regarding the OG looking too blue on the model reflect exactly my impressions. Vallejo 71048 looks exactly that next to the DG. Although this is not what I expected to see, this is obviously how colours work when seen together. Yet another factor to be taken into account when trying to achieve acceptable realistic look.

    Just one more question regarding swatches you mentioned. Aren't they an approximation of a real colour too?

    Regarding equivalencies I have some not so orderly thoughts too. I will post them when I arrive at some conclusions.

    Many thanks again,

    Kind regards,
    Peter

    Reply
  2. Tim Holland Avatar
    Tim Holland

    Hi Peter,

    First, Ocean Grey. I did something similar, but not as rigorous. Most OG labeled paints seem too blue when applied, even though they may appear correct against the chip. I understand that to be metemerization (I think I spelled that properly). Said another way, Dark Green or OG, when painted separately look right, but when together the OG tends to look more like a blue-gray.

    To be fair, OG should look like a blue-gray when applied, but compared to photos, modern model paints seem too blue-gray to me; and to a greater extent have that blue-gray look out of the bottle (when applied alone and not next to DG).

    The swatch has a very slight blue-ish ness to it. Given OG contains Night, which contains ultramarine pigment, I would expect it to have a blue-ishness. But it should NOT be blue.

    I've found most model paints claiming to be OG look right if held next to a properly painted model, but when applied take on a bluer look. The only one that hasn't is Humbrol's Hu106 acrylic; it matches the color chip perfectly and has the right look once applied.

    Equivalencies — that's a topic itself, and I'm still trying to figure that one out!

    Regards,
    Tim

    Reply
  3. TheElear Avatar
    TheElear

    Any thought on equivalencies?

    Reply
  4. TheElear Avatar
    TheElear

    Hi Tim,

    I read the above post about RAF Dark Green with great interest. Have you had similar journey (and a post) about RAF Ocean Grey?

    THe reason I am asking is that I am in the middle of the build of RAF plane with upper camo: Dark Green/Ocean Grey.

    Last time I build this camo RAF plane was probably about 5 years ago and I used Vallejo Model Air 71012 (FS34079) for green and FS36187 for ocean grey – I do not remember which grey paint though. The looks is pretty much like a lot of models on the internet. kind of medium bright grey with darkish green.

    NOw this time I used VAllejo recommended RAF colours 71016 for green (wee bit lighter than 71012) and 71048 for OG – much darker.
    The final result although might be close to real RAF camo is so different to what I am used to that it prompted all sorts of questions.

    So here I am – what is your experience? I have been using Vallejo and now slowly converting to Gunze Aqueous so any tips are welcome as to which are respective producers RAF recommended colours and separately in relation to FS colours?

    kind regards,
    Peter

    Reply

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