Russian Tanker coveralls (Alpine)

[Simme]

Hello everyone, first time posting here but I have been reading and admiring all your work that you guys do for some time now. Im having a hard time replicating a correct color for the Russian WWII tanker coveralls (blue) in vallejo paints. Anyone have a recommendation on a good mix that I could use, also the winter jacket if available. I'm painting the Alpine tanker set and would look forward to your advice, ty.

 

[TWOMOONS]

This is not my period , so I offer no help...just what you wanted to read, I'm sure.
But I must tell you, this is just crackin' good figure painting. Beautiful.

 

[Einion]

Hi Ralph, welcome to pF. What mixtures have you tried so far and what about them didn't look right?

Like any uniform colour this will vary and with different wear, dirt and cleaning (if any!) over time two identical pieces can end up surprisingly different colours. So really just the right ballpark is generally good enough (except for too vivid a shade) and it then just because a matter of taste what yours looks like. You see how it's paler and greyer in one of the two images you posted, but it looks fine in both?

Einion

 

[Simme]

Thanks for the reply, I have used a combination of the Vallejo Medium Blue (963) and (965) Prussian Blue but it came out too dark. I tried to lighten it up a little and add some light grey to it but still doesnt seem right. I may have some time this weekend to keep experimenting with different combos to try and get it somewhat similar. The original painter is absolutly amazing and hopefull someday I can get to be as half as good as him.

 

[gordy]

Is the box art painter Man-jin Kim ?

Haven't heard from him lately...

 

[Einion]

Thanks for the reply, I have used a combination of the Vallejo Medium Blue (963) and (965) Prussian Blue but it came out too dark.

Don't be afraid to add in white if a colour is too dark. It might not work, but you don't know until you try; often white plus just a little of something else is just the ticket.

Here's something you might try: start with a simple mix of white and Prussian Blue until you get to around the right value for the midtone. Once you have that, if it doesn't look quite right to you see if you can spot what's wrong with it. Too dull? Too blueish (which probably will mean too vivid)? Not the 'right blue'?

If it's too dull then adding in a little more of a lighter blue like Medium Blue might be the way to go.
If it's too vivid then either use a little added grey or mix in a little of a reddish earth colour (possibly with a touch of white to compensate for the mix going darker). Be careful when you do this, it's very easy to go too far without realising it.
The last one might be an issue with hue (green-blue, blue, violet-blue etc.) which is also easy to compensate for generally. But I think you'll be in the right general vicinity with a tint of Prussian Blue.

This same general method can be used for mixing lots of colours - start with a simple mix, see what's wrong with it (if anything) and go from there. You'll generally want to keep the number of colours in any mix to four or less, including white if it's used.

The original painter is absolutly amazing and hopefull someday I can get to be as half as good as him.

Einion

 

[Simme]

Thanks again for the tips, I'll try those this night hopefully. I'll let you know how I make out, also the original painter is Jaume ortiz Fornes. He has a vBench on here and is an outstanding painter.

 

[gordy]

Ralph, you are correct, it is Jaume Ortiz!

My aplogies

 

[T50]

Jaume is the man!!!