Standard Colours

[flart1943]

Hi All
I posted a German WW1 figure on pF the other day and someone commented on the uniform colour (in this case the colour was distorted by the photographic process) but it got me thinking, is there a standard Field Grey (or Olive Drab or Khaki) colour? In my mind these colours range from almost white, in a desert or tropical context, to a dark green or brown in other places. I know that you can paint your own figures however you like but would say a judge in a competition mark a figure down because it was not the standard or accepted shade? Also is there such a thing as scale colour? I.e. should a colour get lighter (or darker) the smaller the figure?
Pete

 

[billyturnip]

Very interesting post Pete.
I can't really comment on the opinions of judges or "scale colour" but I'm sure someone more qualified than me can comment on that. However from the research I have done and experience, field grey, khaki et al come in many varying shades and I bet if you looked hard enough you would find a German M1910 tunic looking exactly like the one you painted wether it be the the painted figure itself or the way it turned out in the photo.
Having served in the forces, as a few here on the forum have, I know you could stand a dozen men next to each other in the same trousers and everyone of them would be a different shade.
Looking forward to what others have to say.

Roger.

 

[Dani A.]

Shades of colours

Hello,

Do not worry about that... inside limits, of course. WW1 Feldgrau can be found in a number of shades, accounting for different batches of cloth, availability of raw materials, fading and weathering effects, plus use of private purchase uniforms (mainly by officers), etc. I have seen garments tending to green, grey, even with a bluish tinge. This is extrapolable to other uniforms colours as well, as may be noticed if, for instance, you compare the multiple variations of Confederate grey (gray!), or the varying shades of the US M42 paratrooper uniform, ranging from khaki to green.

With "inside limits" I mean that the colour should be reasonably within the range of possibilities and adjusted to circumstances. A very faded-looking colour would be hard to explain in a parade uniform, for instance, but could well be right for a campaign uniform.

Of course, looking for well illustrated sources is always advisable. A US Army "Parsons" jacket will allow for a wider range of olive drab possibilities than a than will a dark blue frock jacket from the ACW period. If you depart too much from what can be expected you will need to explain why, and in some instances it can be still correct - there are eyewitness references to the British Rifle Green Napoleonic-era uniforms bein made with bad quality dyes which faded to sickly-looking colours. But one thing is to portray an exception and be able to support it, and quite a different thing is being questioned about such an unusual variation and making justifications like "you were not there to see it" and similar pearls... ;-) This usually just evidences insufficient, bad, or inexistent research.

On the other hand, THERE ARE individuals which believe in the "only one right standard colour" chimera, unrealistic as it is. No need to argue with them - it is improductive. Bad luck if they happen to judge your figure in a show... :-O

There is a existing tendence, followed by some painters, to alter colours to suit personal preference, making recourse to a so-called "artistic license right", even if changing them too much from the reasonable range. I personally do not think this is really allowable, it being a distorted use of what I understand as artistic license, but then it is just my opinion.

Regards,

Dani

 

[Normo]

Hi Pete
I had my eyes opened when I watched the colour documentary called "D-Day to Berlin" the first colour film taken during WW2
Watching he first five minutes of this and you can throw all your paints out of the window!!
I thought all GI's were dressed in olive drab but the troops were dressed in very shade of colour under the sun
Ranging from A sandy colour to the very dark olive drab, so who can say if a figures colour is accurate
This is not counting of course the wear and tear and weather conditions that will fade and bleach uniforms
I myself paint ancient and medieval so my boundries stretch even more
but I still smile when someone comments on one of my figures re the colour
How do they know, have they a time machine!
Paint what suits you and most of all ENJOY it and hang what others think
Rock on tommy
Cheers
John

 

[billyturnip]

Well put Dani.
I, like most others, always try to put my figures in a certain set of circumstances. For example the 1/4 Hampshire Regiment Lewis gunner I have just completed. He is in the harsh, hot enviroment of Mesopotamia, his clothing is dirty, dusty and worn. I can justify the colour of his KD shorts to anyone who asks.
Having seen first hand soldiers who are serving there helps!

Roger.