Scale Effect. Anybody really use it?

Hm, scale effect.

Personally I must admit I find the general concept not very convincing. It is correct that sometimes the "1:1" colours don't look right on a model, but to claim this could be rectified by mixing exact amounts of white into any colour seems to be quite a bold statement to me for a number of reasons.

One, if you start mixing around a little bit you'll notice that there are colours that are not simply made "lighter" by adding white, they actually change. Add enough white to red and you end up with a distinct shade of pink, which looks like anything but not a "scale effect"-red.

Two, if I had to follow some of the guidelines out there for adding white paint I'd have to paint my 1/3000 ships white. I actually tried this once, it looks simply silly.

Three, the whole theory is based on the fact that the object is much smaller than the original which is obviously right. Unfortunately, it's not only the size of the object that changes, but also pretty much everything else too - the angle of the observer, the way we look at the model and last but not least the light source. I usually say that unless I get a 1/700 sun in my display cabin I won't think about scale effect.

So, the bottom line is, I don't really buy into it.

Jorit

Scale effect is not just adding white paint to your black paint, the best demonstration of scale effect we have is with tanks and AFVs models.  Imagine the models painted a single color, they would not look so convincing, your goal when applying scale effect must be to add some depth and highlights to your models.  Black is, of course, a special color, you must add some blue or brown to it with the white paint, to highlight the hull, but, of course, some parts of the hull must still be black.

I paint some figures too, but, to have a good scale effect, on a face, some parts of the face must be almost white, and some parts must be almost black, otherwise your model would not be convincing. 

It is true, that we do not see often scale effect on model ships, but, carefully applied, it would be a bonus for your model.

Take a look at my icon, Nelson's face and hat, you see his black hat is not all black.

Michel

 

I agree with the last two posts.  I believe firmly that there is a relationship between color and scale; I'm not convinced that said relationship can be quantified in any useful way.  I've never thought that the "best" color to paint a part on a model was necessarily the exact color of the prototype.  (That's why I've never believed in FS numbers as the "solution" to the "problem" of scale accuracy.)  But I also don't believe there's any golden rule about adding white, black, or any other color to the "real" color in order to achieve "the scale effect."  Frankly, I 'm glad that's the case.  The day when there's a universally agreed-upon "right" color for models is the day I'll get out of the hobby.

I've never much agreed with the scale effect in terms of adding white because most colors do seem to change rather than simply lightening up.  There is also the problem of viewing distance, i.e. what scale viewing distance are you trying to achieve.  That said, most ships are quite often viewed in real life at a bit of a distance and under intense sunlight, and as a result they do have a tendency to look lighter from a distance compared to when you are standing on board.  On the other hand, for my observations, black hulled ships don't seem to visually wash out as much as a typical navy gray ship seems to, so maybe for 1/400 an extremely dark grey may give a good effect.  The bottom line I think is to pick up colors that "look" right and to blazes with the official FS color numbers.

Andy

 

Thanks all for the above answers. I agree with all of them. As I look at my model, in ambient indoor light it looks fine. In a little brighter light it has a nice warm dark charcoal color. The trouble is, I just can't get my mind's eye past the idea it's supposed to be BLACK. I've also been looking at color photos of real ships with black hulls and no matter what lighting conditions they are in, or how far away they are, they all look black.

So I think I'll split the difference and repaint with a shade darker, maybe trying to shade some into the present color to give some contrast as Michel suggested, though I think that will be pushing the limits of my skill and equipement.

Fred

Here's your black hull,  the M/V APL Panama, aground in Mexico the end of last year.    The black sure looks charcoal gray to me 

Flat black sucks in light.  Details disappear.  Go with something on the order of aircraft interior black and drybrush/weather/dull coat to a charcoal gray.   

Go with something on the order of aircraft interior black and drybrush/weather/dull coat to a charcoal gray.

For the most part, "scale effect" is more a perception issue, than  a color issue. The further away something is, the more faded it looks. Our brains, therefore, equate fade with distance, and vice versa. The smaller the scale, the further away our brains percieve it, and we expect the colors to be less sharp. The trick, then, is to make the colors appear far away. Mixing white with the color will only change the color. An overall, very light, overspray of white, or light grey, will be more effective in creating "fade". A model, in a "familiar scene", will stand out far more than one standing alone. Size alone isn't quite enough to cause the brain to "percieve distance", and the colors are acceptable without fade. Put that same model in a diorama, where distance becomes part of the scene, and the sharp colors will stand out as "not right". For my own purposes, when I can build, and install an exact scale 2" shackle, in 1/700 scale, I'll begin to worry about "scale effect" color.