| Au pas de Charge | 30 Mar 2019 7:27 p.m. PST |
Painting shade/color for these 1840s/1850s French overcoats.
link
They seem to be lighter than the ones that they wore later. Is it a grey or a sort of azure or sky blue? Or, were they navy blue and just faded by the time those sketches were made? Is there a good authority for Italian Independence Wars and Crimean French uniforms? |
| de Ligne | 31 Mar 2019 2:00 a.m. PST |
I believe it is a colour called Turqui Blue. It has a lot of dark grey in it. |
rvandusen  | 31 Mar 2019 3:07 p.m. PST |
French Army overcoats from the Second Empire – 1914 were dyed "blued-iron grey." I wouldn't be too worried about the exact shade.
Get your hands on the book "World War 1 Infantry in Colour Photographs by Laurent Mirouze. There is a photo of a French Infantryman in 1914 wearing the standard 1877 coat, and another interesting picture of a Chasseur Alpins wearing blued-iron grey tunic and pantalons with the tunic lighter and grayer than the trousers. |
| Au pas de Charge | 31 Mar 2019 3:23 p.m. PST |
That's rather interesting info and thank you. But what paint on the market would approximate the color? |
| Lion in the Stars | 31 Mar 2019 9:10 p.m. PST |
I'd try Vallejo Model Color Luftwaffe Uniform, MiniPigs. Might be a bit too blue/not gray enough, but that's easy to adjust with black or white paint. |
| Chad47 | 02 Apr 2019 4:05 a.m. PST |
‘French Infantry of the Crimean War' by Anthony L Dawson is probably as good a source as any. |
| Au pas de Charge | 02 Apr 2019 5:52 p.m. PST |
Was the French overcoat always the same shade of grey-blue or did it become more blue from the Crimea onward? |
| de Ligne | 03 Apr 2019 1:10 a.m. PST |
I misspoke earlier. The colour is TURQUIN BLUE. A search will reveal this colour that seems to only exist in the French colour palette.
This colour was only used in the early to mid part of the century and, I think, by the Crimean war (and afterwards) it had become a darker blue that we are more familiar with. |
| Chad47 | 04 Apr 2019 5:46 a.m. PST |
Dawson's book gives Iron-Grey |
| Chad47 | 04 Apr 2019 5:51 a.m. PST |
You could also try the Crimean War Research Society website |
| Royal Marine | 04 Apr 2019 2:25 p.m. PST |
Once these coats had been in the sun, rain and wind the exact shade of blue becomes almost irrelevant; and this is true for any army from 3000BC to today. I've seen my own uniform change colour during intense periods. |
| Karl Grover | 09 Apr 2019 1:19 p.m. PST |
For 15mm scale I use Vallejo Royal Blue, which when weathered appears about the right shade at that scale. |
finds bridges to match the river sets.