WW1 French Horizon Blue (1 Viewer)

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chalklands

Sergeant First Class
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Hi,
Can anybody recommend a paint shade and manufacturer that closely matches this?

Thanks

Pete
 
chalklands said:
Hi,
Can anybody recommend a paint shade and manufacturer that closely matches this?

Thanks

Pete
Click to expand...
Pete, while there may have been an official shade of HB, in reality there were many different shades of HB in use. Different manufacturers, different dye batches and differing rates of fading in the field meant the HB could vary greatly. No need to worry about an 'exact' match. I have seen actual uniforms that vary from a washed out sky blue to a very true blue, to a gray-blue. And any combination of shades could exist within one man's uniform (ie. coat, jacket, pants, puttees, all could be of different shades). -- Al
 
lancer said:
Pete, while there may have been an official shade of HB, in reality there were many different shades of HB in use. Different manufacturers, different dye batches and differing rates of fading in the field meant the HB could vary greatly. No need to worry about an 'exact' match. I have seen actual uniforms that vary from a washed out sky blue to a very true blue, to a gray-blue. And any combination of shades could exist within one man's uniform (ie. coat, jacket, pants, puttees, all could be of different shades). -- Al
Click to expand...

Thanks Al!

Can anybody recommend an acrylic colour by any manufacturer that is close? I only ask because I don't have a lot of different paints and it is hard to use colour charts on the web as they often turn out to be very different colours when you get them.

Pete
 
Pete,

What are you trying to do: touch up, painting a background or something else?

Brad
 
Pete. Humbrol Acrylic comes in a shade "French Blue". If you also buy Oxford Blue - and White - you will then have the opportunity to lighten the basic French Blue a bit (by using a touch of white) - or darken it down slightly by using the darker shade of Oxford Blue.

The other two colours can be used elsewhere - and are most useful additions for most painters.

As others have previously said - most uniforms/tunics etc, lighten with usage, exposure to light, washing etc, - so not ALL troops and equipment will always look EXACTLY the same - so some slight variation is to be expected. In fact, most veterans will have lighter coloured uniforms to the newer recruits - whose uniforms will often be naturally darker in shade. jb
 
johnnybach said:
Pete. Humbrol Acrylic comes in a shade "French Blue". If you also buy Oxford Blue - and White - you will then have the opportunity to lighten the basic French Blue a bit (by using a touch of white) - or darken it down slightly by using the darker shade of Oxford Blue.

The other two colours can be used elsewhere - and are most useful additions for most painters.

As others have previously said - most uniforms/tunics etc, lighten with usage, exposure to light, washing etc, - so not ALL troops and equipment will always look EXACTLY the same - so some slight variation is to be expected. In fact, most veterans will have lighter coloured uniforms to the newer recruits - whose uniforms will often be naturally darker in shade. jb
Click to expand...
A much better and more useful answer than mine. It actually answers Pete's question instead of creating more problems. -- Al
 
johnnybach said:
Pete. Humbrol Acrylic comes in a shade "French Blue". If you also buy Oxford Blue - and White - you will then have the opportunity to lighten the basic French Blue a bit (by using a touch of white) - or darken it down slightly by using the darker shade of Oxford Blue.

The other two colours can be used elsewhere - and are most useful additions for most painters.

As others have previously said - most uniforms/tunics etc, lighten with usage, exposure to light, washing etc, - so not ALL troops and equipment will always look EXACTLY the same - so some slight variation is to be expected. In fact, most veterans will have lighter coloured uniforms to the newer recruits - whose uniforms will often be naturally darker in shade. jb
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! I've come up with a passable colour I think. Unfortunately Humbrol only do French Blue in Gloss and I forgot to say I was after a matt finish. However, I've just been to my local hobby store and picked up a tinlet of Humbrol RAF Blue. When mixed with a touch of white it looks a passable Horizon Blue to my eyes.

Pete
 
chalklands said:
Thanks for the advice! I've come up with a passable colour I think. Unfortunately Humbrol only do French Blue in Gloss and I forgot to say I was after a matt finish. However, I've just been to my local hobby store and picked up a tinlet of Humbrol RAF Blue. When mixed with a touch of white it looks a passable Horizon Blue to my eyes.

Pete
Click to expand...

That's the way - never be afraid to experiment.

I usually use various mixtures of paint on something like a used piece of white plastic (inside of a margarine tub lid) to both mix paint - and paint small test squares of colour. They dry quickly - and give you a good idea of what the paint looks like when dry. You can dispose of the lids afterwards, once you're satisfied with the colour that you have achieved. Don't forget to keep a record of what you used - as if you want to paint something later in the same colour - you can get the same results later on. :D jb
 
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