RLM v hobby paint comparison charts

[pbhawkin]

I have compiled a colour chart of RLM paint chips taken from Merrick's book (Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945 Vol.2 2005) along with a couple from the Kookaburra book by J. Smith (The Modeller's Luftwaffe Painting Guide 1979) and their claimed hobby paint equivalents from Testor's Model Master enamels and acryl range, Humbrol Enamels, Tamiya acrylics, WEM enamels, Life color arcylics, Vallejo Model Air and Model Color acrylics, Polly Scale acrylic and JPS acrylic paints.

The small notations under some paint matches(2:34, 5:116) is firstly the ratio and secondly the paint number (for Tamiya and Humbrol mixes).

'HCS' refers to a mix as per the old Humbrol Colour Systems book.

JPS paint was included as Mr. Popp, who makes this paint in Germany, worked in conjunction with Mr. J. Kiroff, who was the paint technology advisor in Merrick's book, to make the JPS range of paints.

You will note a couple of alternate colour chips (2005 Merrick versus 1979 Smith) for RLM79 and 83 and that different manufacturers have made their matches to one colour but not the other (IE Model Master to the 1979 Smith version for RLM79 and 83 and JPS to the 2005 Merrick darker RLM83 colour).

I am missing the JPS RLM79 paint (can anyone point me to a bottle?).

Some of the information may be out of date as the sources I have used may not be current.
Please note that the Humbrol site makes NO claim that the names on their tins represent the same colour as the names of the camouflage used on the planes we are modelling (ie RLM colours)!!

You can download them from my site in the links section: http://www.petersplanes.com/links.htm

I have also produced a Excel sheet for Tamiya, Humbrol and other paint equivalents for (most) RLM, French, Italian, RAF/FAA and USA colours. This is available from my website for downloading in the links section http://www.petersplanes.com/RLM%20colour%20chart.xls (http://www.petersplanes.com/links.htm)

It now has 16 references of suggestions for various mixes to achieve (supposedly) a match to the actual WW2 colours.

Remember these are other peoples suggestions as to what they thought was a best match and I have only compiled them into this one spot.

I have added some notes about some of the paint suggestions and mixes in the RLM section as to what I have tried against the Merrick colour chips (some are way off!).

My aim was to include as many paint mixes from varied sources in ONE spot as I could so that a quick and easy comparison can be done. And allow you to see the variety that other people think is a good match and decide for yourself. Also RGB and CMYK numbers are given to allow you to do correct colours on computer generated images or even to take it to the local paint shop and get them to mix up a batch in acrylic or enamel paints!

For example looking at RLM 83 there are at least 8 'recipes' most of them different from each other.


I hope you find these useful and that it will allow you to decide what paint is the better match for your Luftwaffe paint schemes.

RLM v hobby paint comparison charts

and

RLM v hobby paint comparison charts

Peter H

[Sall]

Excellent comparison of color,and very useful! Thanks Peter!

[No.1]

You did a lot there mate and thanks for sharing No idea about the JPS colors as well I never seen it. Here you are digital chips I have made last year for one book...

[No.1]

Last set of chips. Note that there is some borrowed paints but anyway this is the one used on Luftwaffe machines. What miss is the Revell colors as well my personal opinion is they they deliver some of best shades.

[pbhawkin]

No.1 What book was that? I do seem to remember that you worked on a book but can't remember which one!
Your digital colours look very good. Did the book include these as a chart?
Unfortunetly the scanned in paints charts on the computer screen don't appear as bright or clear as they do on the page in front of me. A 300Dpi on umcompressed TIF format however is 38Mb a chart!!

[No.1]

This is French publisher but I don't know is this chip inside as well I never receive my authors sample. I know about the problem with large files scan, this is why I pick up sample color and use on small plain chips, single color does load much weight.

[Jicehem]

For example looking at RLM 83 there are at least 8 'recipes' most of them different from each other.
Peter H

Hi mates,  Hi Peter,

Peter, your job is very good and has surely been time consuming. Bravo !  
I think it will be very useful to any one using "authentic paints".
Personnally, I don't use "authentic paints" because they are generally inaccurate and far too dark for a good rendering in scale. It's the reason why I only use Humbrol paints and make mixes to obtain the different RLM colors.
I've studied for years (exactly to say : for decades !) the different camouflage colors (French Armée de l'air, Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF). Regarding the RLM colors, I've worked on copies of original documents (the same ones as Ken Merrick or Michael Ullmann), translating them and the result has been this extra issue of Aéro-Journal, the book of which No. 1 has spoken.
I've quoted the remark about RLM 83. It's absolutely normal there are "8 recipes different from each others" because NO ONE knows what it looked like... In the German texts (issued by the RLM), colors are never designed by their names but only by their numbers (i. e. 81, 82, 76, etc). So that we know only that RLM 83 (only one time found in the Sammelmiteilung Nr. 2 from 15.8.1944) was dark enough to receive markings in white but it's not said what color it was... No one knows if it was a grey, a green or something else. Regarding its use with camouflage schemes, this RLM 83 appears nowhere. All camouflage schemes issued by the manufacturers have only RLM 81 and RLM 82 colors for the uppersurfaces (Messerschmitt Me 262, Fw Ta 152, He 162, Do 335, etc.) And the name of colors were only given by the manufacturers on their OS-Listen.
Another point is that for "Desert camouflage" Germans used firstly Italian colors. The real desert colors by the RLM appeared only in Irak in 1941 (RLM 79 and RLM 78)

I also downloaded the color chart. I have to say there has been NO RLM 84 at all. This color seems to me to be only variations of RLM 76. In my files I have two different official manufacturer recipes of RLM 76, the same for RLM 65 and RLM 66.
During the time I made research upon colors I sudied the rendering of different colors on actual black and white films for the decade 1935-1945. I'm sure now that some renderings of RLM colors on Luftwaffe plane profiles are totally inaccurate, particularly the colors of letters, numbers and Reichsluftverteidigung bands...
By the way, I can assume the color chart of No. 1 is very good and far better than the different colors proposed for kits.

Peter, the rendering of your chart should be better on a neutral gray background. One more time, it's a very good reference chart. Any one can choose what is the best for him through his feelings.

Cheers,

Jicéhem      

[pbhawkin]

Jicehem,
Thank you for your information and comments  .
Is this "extra issue of Aéro-Journal" available to buy yet?

[Jicehem]

Peter,

Here is a link. You may buy directly. :

http://www.aero-journal.com/Camo-Luftwaffe.php

Cheers,

Jicéhem 

[draken35]

Thank you for your excellent work, Peter!