Posted by John M
on March 10, 2009, 4:50 pm, in reply to "Re: The colour of ship's decks"
82.29.20.24
I don't want to start yet another debate on the issue of "scale effect" but deck painting needs a bit of artistic licence. Len Jordan always recommends adding a few drops of white to whatever colour you've chosen and this method has always worked for me. Most colours used straight from the tin can look too vivid and overly bright. A ship in 1/1200 scale needs to look like the prototype as seen at the distance of one mile.
I like to really thin down the paint and let it flow around details and up against bulkheads but I often find that the painted decks dry patchy or streaky with irritating shiny areas. But apply too many coats and the situation just deteriorates. For this reason I always use acrylics on decks - they dry quickly and you can adjust the next coat as required.
Having got that off my chest, here's a list of my favourites.
Wood Decks. These can look almost white in bright sunshine and a dark chestnut brown when wet. I aim for something in between.
The "Hodder" recipe is Humbrol 121 Tan + Humbrol 90 Green mixed 50%/50%.
Tamiya Deck Tan XF-55 gives a nice even light colour.
Tamiya Desert Yellow XF-59 if you prefer a richer shade.
Games Workshop "Bleached Bone" is always consistent, but does dry with a slight sheen.
"Read Lead" decks
Humbrol 70 Matt Brick Red is a bit dark - Humbrol 100 gives a nicer deck colour.
Revell AquaColor 36183 Matt Rust is virtually the same as Humbrol 70 but I think gives a smoother finish.
Folk Art "Cinnamon" or "Terracotta" dries to a completely matt finish and is my current paint of choice.
Green decks
Folk Art "Xmas Green" for the same reason as above.
Grey Decks.
White Ensign deck colours are always accurate. I often use US02 US Navy WW2 #20 Standard Deck Gray as a default deck colour on all Jordans that specify grey decks.
Humbrol 106 Matt Ocean Grey is another reliable deck grey and is available as enamel or acryclic.
For very dark grey or black decks, Revell Aqua 36178 Panzergrau is dark but not TOO dark. I also use Panzer Grey for "black" funnel tops.
Just use colours that "look right" to you and don't fall into the trap of endlessly worrying if your paint choices are "correct".
For references, browse for aerial photos on the really useful Photoship website.
Photoship
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