USS Forrest Sherman Colors

If you are needing to get your paint from a local hobby shop and don't want to take the plunge to order the White Ensign colors, 

here are Testors Modelmaster colors:

sides:  Exact match Neutral gray FS 36270

good looking match because it is a bit lighter: Dark Ghost Gray 

decks: Gunship gray: FS 36118

bottom: sorry - I don't have a bottle on my bench as I build waterline ships  :-) 

Rick 

Thanks guys, this helps!

Steve

Surface_Line wrote:

If you are needing to get your paint from a local hobby shop and don't want to take the plunge to order the White Ensign colors,  <<< SNIP>>> bottom: sorry - I don't have a bottle on my bench as I build waterline ships  :-)

For hull bottoms check ValSpar's American Tradition Red Primer from the local Lowes hardware store.  In the jumbo economy-sized rattlecan.    Or check the model railroad side of the hobby shop for the PollyScale Red Zinc Chromate

Thanks, Ed, I've got a bottle of Tamiya hull red to use up, then I'm switching.

Steve

To my eye, Tamiya's Hull Red is too brown for wartime/post-war US Navy applications.  It may be acceptable for IJN 'tho.

This is the former USS Aulick in German service and shows a typical USN hull red.   It has a defininate orange tone.   Note too the width of the boot.

Hi Ed,

I see what you mean - looks like the Tamiya is going to stay in the bottle! I sprayed MM Neutral Gray on the deck and superstructure parts. Sprayed a wide swath of black on the hull, so I'll be able to do the wide bootstrap. The pics of the ship I've seen show the deck and hull color as the same.

BTW, do you know the scale of this model? I was hoping to use 1/350 PE rails/ladders but the model looks too big. I've removed the molded railings from the main deck.

Steve

I believe that the old Revell Forrest Sherman is about 1:324 scale.   Its your choice to use 1:350 scale PE.   I calculate the difference in scales to be on the order of 7%, which puts it within  my personal scale difference limits  (10%) .

When not maintained, the darker deck weathered to almost a Haze Gray tone.   Another approach you may consider is painting the deck in Gunship gray -- then overspraying with your Neutral Gray to blend it all together.  This will help avoid the monotone mass, giving the impression that the decks were once a different color.

That scale is close enough to 1/350. I'll try dry brushing the deck and see how it looks. If it's not good, I'll repaint. Although the color photos I've seen are not high quality, the deck and hull colors really look close. The neutral grey looks good on the hull and superstructure.

Steve