Advance notice of a work in preparation! An extensive reference book covering the subject of scale colour in much greater detail than this brief guide. To be produced as a heavily illustrated full colour publication of about 160-200 pages, publication date dependent upon completion with more details to be posted on this site when known, expected retail price in the region of £20.

"Achieving realistic models is not about painting them the ‘correct’ colours but painting them whatever colour actually looks correct."

What is Scale Colour?

Now having read the title some of you will be thinking what on earth am I on about, whilst others will roll their eyes skyward thinking will that old chestnut never die. Nevertheless, let me chip in my tu’penny worth. For whilst my words are unlikely to be hailed as earth shattering pearls of wisdom, enough of you have been asking me about this topic when you have seen me at exhibitions for me to feel it may be of interest if I were to briefly outline what I mean by ‘Scale colour’. And, before you get the wrong impression, this is not necessarily the same as 'weathering' a model to simulate age and deterioration, although those modellers that can convincingly weather a model, tend to have an inate understanding of the basics of scaling down colour.

So what am I talking about? As model makers we are all familiar with the idea of scaling down (or up) dimensions, a tape measure and a spot of simple mathematics is all it takes to calculate the overall dimensions a finished model needs to have. The idea of scaling down colour is perhaps more abstract. However, when in real life we look at a large object in the distance it looks small, all fine detail is lost and we really only identify it by it's basic shape, that’s perspective for you. Atmospheric haze fades and alters our perception of colours until objects on the far horizon become difficult to focus on, and end up looking a washed out blurred mix of pale blues and greys regardless of what colour they actually are. Variations in lighting (natural or otherwise) can also alter our perceptions of colours which does a lot to exaggerate mood, atmosphere or character. Whilst at a distance gloss surfaces tend to lose their sheen to become a mild satin finish or ultimately matt in appearance. These are all things we insitinctively pick up upon and acknowledge in the subsconscious long before the conscious mind has begun to critically apraise a model based upon it's dimensional accuracy or inclusion of fine details. Consequently artificially manipulating our portrayal of colour can be by far and away the most emotive way of making a model feel more realsitic, much more so than the time consuming production of miniscule detailing parts or worrying over the last thousandth of an inch when measuring components.

By and large we only tend to make models of large things (ships, planes, trains, buildings etc). Consequently when we look at a small scale model train or building part of our brain is telling us we are looking at something that should be big, another part of the brain recognises that it actually looks very small. This incongruity is reconciled by the sub-conscious by assuming we are viewing from a distance. If we can help the subconscious in it’s assumptions by artificially fading our colours and introducing subtle variations and changes, all of which imply distance our models look more real. If we actually paint small scale models the same colours as their full size counterparts, maybe even using the very same paint as used on the real thing, the brain gets confused and can’t work out why it’s getting mixed messages of close proximity and distance at the same time. Brightly coloured or high gloss surfaces used on small models also hide most of the detail in a dazzling shiny glare, so scaled down colours can also bring out the detail in a model, which can only add to the realism of a model. Furthermore when viewing from a distance we don't expect to see very fine detail, so the use of scale colour can also trick the brain into not looking for such details, enabling us to more easily get away with not including them. Although few of us would specifically recognise all these as problems, this is why many models can start to look too much like models, albeit exquisitely made models but not at all like the real thing, which after all is what most of us are trying to achieve.

I therefore find it amusing the number of modellers who will debate for hours the exact colour of paint used by a particular company on a particular date for a particular locomotive, ship or aircraft. Even if they could get it right, it wouldn't look correct on their small scale models, and this is before you take into acount the effects of weathering and fading of old paintwork. Furthermore, whilst on this subject it is worth remarking on the startling variation in colour reproduction of various old film stocks and how changing lighting conditions can further vary this; Such that two different photographs of the same subject taken at the same time can still look quite different, consequently even photographic evidence of colours and liveries can itself be misleading. In short there is no such thing as the correct colour. You'll just have to decide what looks correct to you, but simply using a varying mix of pale drab matt paints instead of a single tin of gloss goes a long way to achieving a scaled down finish.

Another major aspect of scale colour is that of shadows. In the real world these help define the edges of features and give form to three dimensional shapes. Light refracts noticeably around the edges of tiny objects, therefore it is difficult if not impossible to create natural looking real shadows on small scale models. Although the strong exhibition lighting often seen at model shows creates shadows, those it does create are quite stark, and it fails to create the subtle shadows that help define fine features and details which add interest to models. Consequently we need to find methods to tone down the contrast of the real shadows and artificially paint in or exaggerate these missing shadows. What's more we also need to scale down the colour of these shadows so that these also look believable. Shadows are rarely black and should never be painted black on a model. Shadows occur where the light falling on a surface is restricted, it therefore reflects back less light, the surface looks a darker shade of what ever colour it is. It only looks black if no light reflects off it at all, and with multiple light sources reflecting of a multitude of surfaces some light usually reaches everywhere.

Colour psychology is a huge and specialist subject I cannot possibly do justice to here. One of particular interest to advertising agencies who can use colours to suggest or exaggerate moods and we as artists and model makers can also benefit from tinkering with our colour palette. Hues tending towards reds will often give a warm cosy feel to the whole model, blues usually add to the feeling of cold or still isolation. Consequently a mix of the two to give purples can create moody mixed feelings. Yellows can be a bit of a problem as they can look a little too intense. However, red/orange yellows can add a bit of energy to an otherwise lazy part of the spectrum, whilst Blue/yellows can give a slightly eerie green which many find unwelcoming. Surprisingly, despite green being a supposedly natural colour, it is actually small amounts of red in the mix that can make the foliage greens of plants look inviting, healthy and believable. Use of lots of different colours within a small space just ends up looking confused and fussy. So, if we can tweak the overall colour balance of a model or diorama in a single direction we can do much to suggest particular moods or evoke particular feelings, which is great for adding to the atmposhere of a model. If artificially forced away from their true colours through coloured lighting, such as these pictures here, the effects can be a bit extreme, yet if carefully planned from the start so that everything in a model or diorama is painted or naturally coloured a certain hue the effects can be quite impressive. Of course the extent you choose to scale down colours and play with the colour balance of your pallette is a question of scale and personal preference. (One of the most dramatic and yet believable models I ever saw was painted entirely in pale sepia tones)

In short then, we are trying to control contrasts across every aspect of a model; Not just the main feature but also background accessories, ground work, maybe even bases, plinths or framing for a display. Controling coloured surfaces and the effects of shadows and texture on those surfaces; Toning down those colours that appear too vibrant, strengthening those that appear too weak, and varying those that are too uniform until we have achieved the subtle variations, gentle contrasts and softened harmonious colour balance that simulates the effects of viewing from a great distance. We may also be trying to bring all the colours used into the same part of the colour spectrum, both to add to the overall harmony of the model and to add to the mood of the model. If we can achieve this then the whole model should work as a single entity with no single feature becoming more prominent than, or competing with another. Free from any such distraction, each viewer is at liberty to leisurely explore your work looking for that which interests them, and it is this that helps a model look real.

Can we achieve it?

It would be fantastic if I could give you a simple mathematical calculation which you could use to work out just how much you need to ‘scale down’ each colour on your model, but sadly I can’t. This is where we have to trust the artist in us all and make a subjective judgement. I will begin though by expressing a sentiment I’ve rarely seen in print; That is to say model making, sculpting, carving, painting, sketching and all other artistic creative processes are much more about learning to use your eyes, learning how to observe, not about learning to use your hands and learning a particular technique or how to manipulate a new material. We can all put a paintbrush in a pot of paint and transfer that to the surface of a model, but few people can reliably look at a subject and decide what colour of paint to use, or where to put it.

We can’t all be brilliant artists but if we can get away from the idea that there are special tricks and short cuts we can use to become brilliant, and instead just spend more time looking at the real world, then you will steadily improve. Realistic models don’t happen by accident they are made when we try to reproduce in them everything we can see in real life. The more we learn to consciously acknowledge everything we see in the world around us including the mundane and seemingly obvious the better our models will become. All too often people base their models not on actual observation of the real world but on assumptions made when sat at their workbench. This being heavily directed by reading the modelling press and what other modellers say they are doing (which is usually reproducing their assumptions and misconceptions about the real world recalled when sat at their workbenches). Consequently they are in danger of simply mass producing more and more models of each other’s models. It’s easy to see a proliferation of people studying and slavishly reprodicing the techniques and methods of other model makers, rather than studying and reproducing their chosen prototypes or real life. By all means try somebody elses methods and tehniques (even mine), but be your own judge as to their success, and never be afraid to experiment with something new in order to achieve a real looking model. Remember, when looking for a suitable colour, it's far easier to start out looking at the real thing and ask what colours can I actually see in this? Than ever it is to start by reading the labels on a manufacturers tins of paint. Starting with a metaphorically clean sheet means you are unhinderred by everybody elses failures, problems and misconceptions.

If anybody asks me which tin of paint I used to paint a particular model I can't give them a single answer, but will explain to them how I would attempt to mix a similar colour again. All my paints are my own mixes and are decanted into unlabeled glass vials, many prepared long ago for now forgotten projects. Working in this way you are forced to actually look at your subject and the colours of your paints and mix from the most appropriate of them. Rather than relying on the manufacturer's label telling you what they think a particular tin should be used for. It is rare for me to use less than three different paints to mix even the simplest of colours, and I will occasionally work with more than a dozen different jars open. What's more if you do actually mix your own colours you can produce the subtle variations we desire by just varying the mix slightly or working in a little extra of a certain colour directly on the side if the model. If you are working solely from one colour you can't get any variation.

If I was asked to recommend a basic selection of paints to buy for model work, I could do no better than to list the dozen or so paints I keep as basics from which eveything else is blended. These being matt versions of; black, white and a mid tone grey, along with a large pot of cream or ivory, a dark brown, a sandy coloured light brown, and a natural green, along with the three primary colours, red, blue and yellow. Silver and Gold make up the last two although these are rarely used. None of these will be suitable for painting anything on their own, but odd as it might seem, this is the strength of such a small selection, it forces you to mix every colour you need rather than use something which is a poor match. The reason I recommend a large pot of the cream or ivory is that I use this to tone down most colours, adding more the smaller the scale of the model. The paint swatches below contrast manufacturers blends of paint with my 'scaled down' mixes showing the extent to which I fade colours, most of which has been achived with the addition of cream paint.

So, to some advice you can actually apply.

I could fill pages with notes and ideas but I feel my principles are best illustrated by the following few pictures and accompanying notes. None of what I have to say should be treated as 'gospel' but I hope it will give you some pointers and get you thinking about colour in a different way.

Perhaps my favourite photograph of some of my model work; A 1/43rd scale model brake van infront of some low relief model industrial buildings. I scale down most colours for model work by adding matt beige/cream to the basic mix and this was no exception, hence the black underframe becomes a pale brownish grey and the bauxite sides have also been 'knocked back' a bit by the addition of cream. What's more, it's very rare for colours to appear totally uniform, and so to introduce some natural variation, this cream paint was mixed into the bauxite directly on the side of the model whilst the bauxite was still wet. This being brushed up and down in the direction of the wood grain until the colours had blended and streaked to my satisfaction. The shadows around the edges of the guards ducket, wooden planking and rivet detail were all slighlty exaggerated by applying a wash of a slightly darker grey paint to the model, which capillary action will tend to encourage to settle in the crevices and cracks which is where we want it. Painting in this manner it's surprising just what you can get away with, as lack of detail tends to disappear into the general mid tones without being noticeably absent, whilst the detail that is there is shown to it's best advantage. I'll not talk about weathering here but suffice to say it was all applied by brush using the same three basic colours (cream, grey and bauxite) that the whole wagon was painted with. Similarly the backdrop of the buildings was mainly painted in just these same three colours, and the wooden plinth stained a tonally similar brown. In this way we continue to control and subdue the contrast of colours and tonal balance of the whole model by keeping all the colours generally within the same part of the spectrum. Lastly when taking the photograph, a natural light source (the sun) was used, as artificial light sources alter our perception of colours and would ruin the appearance which we have worked so hard to achieve.

Applying the opposite principles of scale colour, not to tone down a model to look more realistic, but to exaggerate the colours for extra impact. Strong primary colours in abundance, along with pure blacks and whites give this inch tall cartoon character real presence on the war-games table. The painted shadows have been overdone to further enhance the detail and features, and the use of coloured ink washes further strengthens the contrasts between each colour by giving each a rich warm glow. If I could have found an excuse for a splash of a strong yellow then the whole gaudy effect could have been further enhanced but sadly the uniform didn't permit this. I did however manage to get a hint of yellowy green into the base so as to complete the use of all three primary colours.

With this large 1/12th scale hand made model it was less necessary to scale down the colours. I did however slightly tweak the red from a shiny gloss pilar box red to a more orange based red which better complimented the natural brick colour of the surrrounding wall. I have an inate dislike of gloss finishes as they never look convincing on small models. However, I did require the red paintwork to have a slight hint of a sheen, and as I so often do, ended up burnishing a matt finsih to achieve the desired look. All manner of tools can be used for this, from a gentle polish with a glass fibre scratch brush, to a felt polishing mop in a mini-drill, each giving a slightly different finish. The reeded moulding around the edge was made to stand out by applying darker shadows along its length, and in this case, being a much larger scale, these shadows could be almost black without looking overdone. It was essential that the black stripe representing the opening reflected back no light at all, as this would spoil the effect. Consequently black chalk pastels were stippled into matt black paint to give the deadest finsih I could achieve, suggesting there is actually a large cavity inside the box, where in actual fact, there is no slot into which letters could be posted.

Detail from a scratch built 1/43rd scale building. As with the brake van and industrial building earlier, the secret, if there is one, is toning down the colours through adding varying amounts of cream. Hence, the white woodwork, the whitewashed walls, the corner stones and even the red bricks and the grey roofing felt all have cream added. Not only does this scale down the colours, but by adding the same cream to everything we begin to achive a tonal harmony across the whole model making it work as one piece rather than several unrelated details. Pale shadows (grey mixed with cream) brushed around all the recesess of the woodwork enhance the mouldings which took so long to make. Again the weathering is applied from the same few basic colours that the whole model was painted with, keeping all the colours nicely subdued and generally within the red part of the spectrum, so as to hint at the pleasant feel of a lazy sunny afternoon at a quiet country location.

Most people would describe this as an exercise in weathering, but there is still a lot to say about scale colour. Much of the foliage used in this diorama comes from commercial sources of chopped foam products and various artificial fibres and so these greens and browns were used as inspiration for the colour scheme for the model and it's weathering. In this case I needed to portray faded paint work, and, so (you've guessed it) I added lots of cream to the green of the panneling, and particularly to the red couplings and oil drums to tone them down to more of a pinkish brown colour. Primary colours need scaling down more than most even when not faded. (However, if you study real examples of faded paints you'll see that the blue component of greens fade faster than the yellow, leaving faded green paints more yellow than their original colour, and consequently yellow was also added to the green. (Conversley the opposite is true of dyes leaving most medieval tapestrys with blue trees but I don't suppose you needed to know that.)) Here I've deliberately restricted the number of colours used across the whole diorama so as to reduce the contrasts between colours and achieve a better tonal balance. This time however, it is the green part of the spectrum that is allowed to predominate, and by restricting myself to slighlty sickly washed out yellow greens without any warmth to them the feeling of neglect is enhanced.

Although over popular to the point of being clicheed, there is no denying that the blues and greys of German World War II uniforms work well with the whites, blues, purples and greys of a winter landscape. Whereas normally I would scale down most colours through the addition of cream, in this instance every colour was toned down through the copious use of pale blue/grey so as to maintain the winter theme, and achieve a balanced harmony across the whole diorama. The use of reds, yellows and greens was avoided, even the flesh colours have been toned right down to a quite unhealthy shade to avoid too great a use of pink. Military vehicles would usually be heavily weathered, but in order to avoid using red or brown all traces of rust were kept to a minimum, weathering was just subtle variations in the greys used. Whereas we would usually think of snow as white, it has actually been painted a pale silvery blue, with many of the shadows painted in quite a deep blue. Avoiding the use of pure white should cut down some of the strong glare from a small model, whilst the metallic tints of the silver adds to the sparkle of the snow. I'm not sure I've got the balance exactly as I would have liked it, but the model certainly has atmosphere. Overall then the plan right from the start was to maintain every colour and tone tightly within the purple end of the blue part of the spectrum, and in doing so forceably exaggerate the feeling of a brooding cold winters day.

In this particular commission scale colour was to play a significant part. My client wanted a 1/43rd scale diorama to use as a backdrop for photographing his collection of 'O'gauge model railway locomotives. As such all of my work had to disappear somewhat anonymously into the background so as not to distract from his models. In light of the fact this diorama was to include a wide slection of reds, oranges and browns in the brick work along with a wide selection of greens, yellows, reds and blues within the foliage and flowers the model had the potential to end up looking a little like a multi-coloured fairground attraction. Never desirable at any time, but certainly not when the model had to form a subtle background. I therefore decided to adopt what I could loosely call a soft focus approach to colouring. Rather than making an isolated decission about the desired colour of a particular feature. I took the colour it should have been in real life and averaged it with all the colours immediately adjacent to it before scaling down with a touch of cream. This has the immediate effect of greatly softening contrasts and does not have to be a complicated mental exercise, more just a cursory nod in the right direction when choosing colours. This should go someway towards preventing any individual feature becoming more prominent than another. The effect was further enhanced by applying a pale creamy biege using the airbrush to mist a very thin layer of paint over everything when the model was complete. This should not be sufficient to obscure any colour but will soften and harmonise all the the colours into one coherent colour palette. (Link to a fully illustrated write up of this diorama.)

"Achieving realistic models is not about painting them the ‘correct’ colour but painting them whichever mix of colours actually looks correct. Get into the habit of looking back to your prototype and real life for your points of reference, for after all not every paint does exactly what it says on the tin!"