Federal Standard Color Fan and chips

Echo, don't "retire and replace" your old set of chips until after you get your new set

If your service time was before 1984, and you got the set then,,,,,,you will be able to actually see the change in the colors live, when the GSA changed the way they provide to the end users

before 1984, you can see three different yellows on the "33538" line,,,,after 1984, there is only one yellow, with three different sheens, the same thing happened on the "31136" red line,,,,,just to give two quick examples

it is only important if you are trying to actually model from that time period of 1955 to 1983,,,,after that, the current thinking of "one color on each line" applies (it is not retroactive, though, how could it be?)

Thank you for the fan deck info and link Herc. Those paint chips do come in handy from time to time.

I took the liberty of sharing said info with my local club members. I shared a link to this post as well.

My set is old.  I got it back when I was in the service and it needs to be retired and replaced.

I do not see ANY value in digital format paint cards. As some have stated, they are useless because of screen monitor settings/quality.

Some users of very specialized computer graphic systems might benefit from them, I suppose.

Another tool falls victim to the digital age.  I am making an assumption here.  They just can’t get rid of them completely, can they?

Digital color varies to much but I guess it is better than nothing.  I have found myself using completed model pics online to compare hues.

One thing for sure.  It is great for starting debates on the correct  shade of Russian green. I found that the hard way.

Understanding that the color you see on your screen, for the most part,  is not accurate, seems to be a problem for many.

Challenging others on the colors of  their models is pretty popular around here.

Herc, thank you again for sharing this and everything else you’ve posted over the years.

Enjoy your break/time off, whatever it is…   I know you and you will be back sooner than later.

Focusing on different pursuits has let me wondering.... Useless as these cards may be to some. Could they be moving into the digital age? Kalmbach is doing it with the FSM so why not the GSA. You just never know what they might me up to. Ostensibly it may be done to save money in the long run. Ultimately it may be better if they do go digital. To me it just might make sense no? I am all about saving money so I would get it if it came that way. Maybe it would make it easier to match colors on the go. Maybe not but it never hurt. Ya’ll be good and take it easy!

Thanks, Herc.

Sorry about your decision, but I definitely understand.

I have a 1989 vintage paint chip version, but may yet send for the current version

it will work out okay,,,,,,,the companies that sell the reprints of the the older versions will still have a demand for those

that means we can still get the versions that match our actual time period of modeling, and the version that was used to make the IPMS color guide

as long as we can get the "old full versions" and the "different colors used for the guide",,,,,we can still match up paints the way we want to

sorry to see you leave Herc, I have always read your posts when I see them in a thread

Rex

edited: after looking at his link,,,,,,Folks, get the booklets, that is one step more accurate than the fandecks,,,,,the booklets are made of paint chips glued on the pages, so they are somewhat closer to the large color chips,,,,,,,fan decks have always been printed using inks, so they don't exactly match the cards or the chips in the booklets (the fan deck is the 4th most accurate method of using the FS system,,,,,"last place in the lineup")

No!!!  Por que????????????