"License to Fade" Topic

Thing is, until the advent of aniline dyes and computer matching,you will NEVER be able to get accurate colors for historical models,as there was no such thing.

Coloring of any fabric (and most leathers) was dependent upon not just the dye stuff itself, but of the type of wool used, the amount of lanolin in the wool, the water, the type of vessel used to create the dye (copper, bronze, iron, stone) the vessel used to actually soak the material in (copper, bronze, iron, stone, etc) and the mordant used to set the dye.

As a result, color matching was limited to how ever much fabric could be soaked in that particular dye lot. Any follow-on lots might be close, but if they were used along with other remnants of fabric to piece together a uniform, they'd be noticeable.

The other problem is using actual modern military paint colors on models: it won't work because it will appear to dark. Although you would be using the correct color, the surface area of your 15mm/28mm/54mm vehicle or aircraft is much smaller than the real item and will not reflect sufficient light to give the proper appearance. It's why you need to lighten it to get the correct "look" on tanks, planes, etc.

My Navy-issue flight suit, when new, was a dark sage green. After just 6 months of wear, though, it had lightened considerably due to exposure to the sun on the flightline, with extra "fading" on the arms where it wasn't covered by my survival vest when that was worn. I ket an unworn, newy-issued flight suit in it's issue plastic bag for use at inspections, and wore my other two constantly. Laid side-by-side the fading from exposure was noticeable.

I've seen this done lots on vehicles, but, despite a lot of talk, I don't recall seeing any significant amount of truly WEATHERED uniforms.

Fade and stain are a function of fabric, dye and environment. The fade on my woodland camo BDU's was so extreme that every now and then I'd find myself thinking they'd changed the actual colors. I've seen descriptions of the Afrika Korps as bad or sores. But I never saw anything that bad on Air Force and Army olive green.

But for miniature painting purposes I try to be "regulation accurate" if you will: the uniforms are what they ought to have looked like at distance, and if the regiments had distinctive features, I make sure my castings do. A wargame figure is the image of a soldier, but it's also how I tell sides and units apart.

I don't consider the effects of fading.

Who asked this joker
+1

I try to be accurate but not ridiculous – I weather my ACW and WWII troops but my SYW troops are in their glorious lace-lined finery

I wish I did more of this than I do.

From being in the US Navy, I can tell you definitively – new, weathered, washed, chorine doused, whatever – there is no such thing as two khaki uniform parts that are the same colour.

Since not all lots of paints produce uniform colors, in my experience, or the manufacturers will change their formulas without warning, or a range of paints goes out of production and I have to find alternate paints to replace what I can no longer buy but still need, over time my uniforms can only be semi-uniform anyway, no matter what I do. So in a way, this real world inconsistency is built in to my painting process.

You could also get into the parade dress vs. field dress dichotomy, where there's a choice.

I went with 10.
I do try to be as accurate as possible given available information.
If I don't match the same shade between units in my army it is written off as due to different dye lots of fading etc.

I paint whatever shade or color I think looks best on the miniature.

Lighten up Francis.

COL Scott ret +1000