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Awhile back I read an article written by an ophthalmologist who stated no two people see color exactly the same way. What looks like the correct shade of a color to me may not seem right to someone else. I live about 10 miles from the army's Tank Automotive Command Headquarters, they always have a few vehicles on display out in front of the building. One day a few years ago as I was driving by I noticed they had an M1( 105mm equipped), a Humvee and an Bradley. all were painted Sand and all were slightly but noticeably different hues. I no longer sweat what color is the perfect match for what I need, I build for fun and relaxation not to win the IPMS nationals and certainly not to please the guys at the club that never do anything but criticize others work. I've come to the conclusion that if it looks right to me I go with it. That said, lately I've been using Hataka lacquer HTK-C090 Sand for OIF and HTK-C238 Desert Tan for ODS vehicles. I am becoming a real fan of lacquers. The finish is much more durable than enamels or acrylics.
As far as what the ophthalmologist said, NOTHING COULD BE TRUER, PERIOD!
"Flat" military-spec paints, whatever their composition may be in real life, fade pretty quickly. Light colors become noticeably more filthy-looking for obvious reasons. Darker colors tend to take on a more "washed-out" look. Glossy or semi-matte colors tend to stay closer to their original hue for a comparatively longer time. There is no such thing as complete uniformity with flat military paints between any two vehicles that you may come across, even at the factories where they were just built a few minutes ago.
A couple of years ago, a deer ran into the left fender of my car. I needed a replacement fender and headlight assembly, which in New York State, is a "non-chargeable" as far as automobile insurance is concerned. This is because there are so many deer in rural New York State. New York State reimburses any bona-fide "deer-loss" claim to whichever automobile insurance company New York State residents/vehicle-owners carry on their cars. So, long-story short, in my own case there are FOUR DIFFERENT ALTERNATES for the color of my car, across the board from different auto paint manufacturers. Even then, the body shop had to "mix-and-match" the paint mixture in order to come up with an EXACT match for my car. On deer-loss claims in New York State, the insurance companies never quibble over the "Tint and Blend" charges that are a part of the estimates of said deer-loss claims...
Even though certain military FS-paint numbers are called out in the specs for any given vehicle, do you think that it really matters if the paint looks a little bit more pinkish or yellowish or greenish to the Motor Pool Sergeant??? Gimme A (expletive) BREAK!!!
And if this whole paint discussion is starting to wear on you, go read the nit-picking threads that the "Panzer-Heads" post about their German "Three-Color" camo schemes!
I NEVER use any paint "straight-out-of-the-bottle" for any of my military models, whether it may be my 1/48 aircraft, my 1/35 armor and/or vehicles, the various scales in my naval ships, or my figurines, which range from 1/48 on up to 120mm. And when it comes to my HO Steam Era locomotives and trains, my same "rules" apply. I pre and post shade my military and train stuff, and i go easy on the weathering, except on my "well-used" HO Steam Locomotives, so NOTHING winds up remaining in its original "factory-fresh" color, anyway. EXCEPT if i want to depict a "factory-fresh" project.
As several other contributors in this thread have said, "DON'T SWEAT IT"...
PS- I no longer build to please other people, either. As it turns out, a lot of the "know-it-alls" at the contests and clubs really don't know very much at all...
