GHQ Models Forums

As I struggle with coming up with the correct color matches for the USN in WWII, I was visiting Snyder & Short's ship camouflage website and was looking at the White Ensign line of paints they carry. This line looks very nice as they make specific colors based on what each navy used.

Now I've always used acrylic paints because they clean up easily with soap and water, but White Ensign is enamel. so my questions are:
1. I have to clean my airbrush in the kitchen sink, with acrylics its no big issue, but what does it take to clean an airbrush after it has had enamels in it? Can you just have it spray paint thinner through the airbrush into your paint box to clean it, or is it much more involved and something that you would only want to do outside or in the garage?
2. Has anyone ever used White Ensign paints? Are they as good as S&S make them out to be?
3. How are they as regards scale effect? How much if any lightening is required?

I hate to re-invest in a whole new line of paint, but I am at a decision point here, since I haven't built any US or Japanese ships yet, and I want them to be uniform as far as how each color comes out.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Chris

Chris,

I have used S&S colors for my IJN ships and really like them. They are very similar to Humbrol in their consistency, flow and coverage. As far as scaling with white can't really help you there. The reason I use them for IJN is I don't have good color photos and so I can't match the color myself so I use it right out of the jar. They have different colors for each of the refit bases and they have linoleum which was variously described as red brown to yellow ochre. To hard for me to figure out so I went with off the shelf S&S. So in a nutshell paint quality is good, scale effects unknown. Hope that helps.

Paul

I use them straight out of the tin. It probably makes them a bit dark... oh well.

The light colours can take an age to dry when left to their own devices. The dark ones aren't so bad.

They don't brush out as well as Humbrol do, IMO. However I can still use them on my 1:6000th (including disruptive patterns) with few issues, so they can't be all bad.

I'm not sure the coverage is quite as good, but that varies from colour to colour.

All that said, I'll continue to use them for the same reason you're looking at them. They provide a consistent colour that's PD close to any colour photos I've seen, without having to try to mix them myself. Sure, they might be a little more difficult than Humbrol. But they're easier than some I've used as well. So I give them a thumbs up. I'm also using or going to use them for my RN, KM and RM, Gulf War 1 US sand tan, MERDC khaki drab (but only because Humbrol dropped theirs), and Israeli sand grey.

The ships here are AP507B, straight from the tin.
http://www.ghqmodels.com/forum/viewtopi ... ght=#23096

Can't help with the air brushing - I'm still in the ark.

Mike