the colour "vellum"

Don Stauffer

I've always thought of "vellum" as an off-white or antique white, a greyish to cream color.  One use is to duplicate clear doped linen on very old (pre-WW1) aircraft. 

I can see, after reading it carefully, how my reply could easily be mis-interpreted.  I meant the vellum color is often used to represent doped linen, not that vellum itself was used as a covering fabric.

natural raw vellum is cream colored ...however((looking up the definition) vellum was often stained to many different colors.

I always thought vellum was the crinkly fishpaper used for the old envelope windows....eheh

I've always thought of "vellum" as an off-white or antique white, a greyish to cream color.  One use is to duplicate clear doped linen on very old (pre-WW1) aircraft. 

I don't know how well it would work for airbrushing, but what about Cream, in Testor's line of gloss enamels?  I use it for a number of subjects when I paint my 18th Century toy soldiers (old Staddens, Imrie-Risley, eg). It stands in for linen paper, doeskin, and also Caucasian skin tone.  I also use Wood from the same line, for darker shades of leather, like gauntlets.

I apply them with the brush, but I suppose they could be thinned for airbrush use, and then hit with a matte lacquer afterwards.

Hello,

I  too, have been seeking this colour from the long defunct Airfix range.

 I just turned up an old comparative colour chart which lists Airfix M16 Vellum matched by Humbrol Matt 23.

Humbrol call this Duck Egg Blue, which was a widely used underside colour for British WW II aircraft in the early years, while the top colours were Dark Earth and Dark Green.

 When the Grey and Green topsurface colours were introduced, about 1942, the undersides were painted Light Aircraft Grey.

This response is probably too late for your needs, but I hope that it helps others.

Point of clarification on Vellum, as it is a word that is often used incorrectly.

The original vellum was the untanned skin of unborn calfs, soaked in lime and carefully scraped for use in rolled manuscripts. However the lack of unborn calfs allowed for the introduction of other animal skins to be used: Sheep, horses, pigs & deer. Vellum is often confused with parchment which is also skin, but which was split into even thinner sheets for use in bound books. Vellum being too expensive to be used in that manner.

Today vellum and parchment are mis-used to describe papers that are translucent and can be made from a variety of materials, including cellulose. The best imitation Vellums are made from cotton or flax (which is what linen is made from). Vellum is also used incorrectly as a form of "toothy" finish to ordinary paper. Real uterine vellum is still available, but is extremely expensive and difficult to find.

Actual uterine vellum can last for centuries, and a recent discovery of the "Irish Bog Psalter found last year in Irish bog, has been dated to 1,000 to 1,200 years old. Even today the official British Acts of Parliament are printed on uterine vellum for posterity.

Now back to reality!

Humbrol Authentic has sadly been discontinued for over a decade now, and there is no cross reference for it on the IPMS Stockholm charts. It is equivilent to FS 33617 which may help you find a close match. Humbrol Gloss #41 Ivory "looks" to be similar, based on my monitor. Your results may vary. EdGrune's reference to old tablecloths is a very good one! 

You probably should be looking at the Humbrol Authentic line of paints.

According to the IPMS Stockholm paint database; HA16 is Clear Doped Linen

http://ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_humbrolauthentic.htm

Vellum is an expensive paper,  manufactured with a high linen fiber content.  Linen is a creamy white color.   Think of your mother's best tablecloths, brought out only for the holidays.