denison smock

[Rusty74]

as the title says what paint do people use to do there's???never been happy with mine thanks for all feedback....

[DaveC]

I think the key is to not overthink the scheme - it is not printed - the colours were applied with a mop so very imprecise.
The colours vary a lot as does the ration as you'd expect given the production method - very cheap easy and low tech. Remember there was a war on!

The camo scheme is NOT matched across seams and is often partly covered by arms (OK they're camo'd), belt order or other kit.

Relax and have fun with it. Some of the most effect painters of Denison produce look great looking figures but don't put them alongside the real thing.

[Rusty74]

thanks for that but it is the actual paint numbers that people use ie humbrol tamiya etc...

[Adler]

Basically same scheme for Dinison and WP
http://home.clara.net/adlermin/PAINTING ... 0BRITS.PDF
Humbrol colours used
250 base
26 BD
113 brown, darkend and lightened
159 green
93 webbing
L

[NTM]

I used craft paints for these numbers are rough Vallejo equivalent

Butter pecan - 988
Light cinnamon - 825
Hunter Green - 895

[wargameroz]

From Tamiya I use no 60 as the smock

Then Cammo, all Humbrol I use
29
86 includes the elastic cuffs
160

[John Green]

Gunbird's Blog shares Piers' Denison recipe.

[mausmann]

Gunbird's Blog shares Piers' Denison recipe.

Thanx John...

[Rusty74]

thanks for all the replies

[Tony Barton]

My suggestions for Denisons , if you want to use Vallejo acrylics:

Denison smocks : Khaki 988, with overpatterning of 823 Luftwaffe camo green and 846 Mahogany Sand.


By the by, the camo for Windproofs was not the same as the Denison.
While both were hand-painted with big brushes by women at the fabric factory, the colour schemes were different..
Denisons had a pale khaki base for the first issues , with a slightly darker base for the later one but both essentially yellow in tone. Green and red brown overpainted in varying amounts, every smock being different.

Windproofs used a pink ochre colour as the base , like a dark flesh ( try 70874 Tan Earth) , with a very purplish red-brown and a light fresh green overpaint, which where it overlapped created a burnt umber colour. The intensity of the red-brown and green varies quite a lot in survivors : some are quite dull and subdued, some really rather garish , especially as the plum red could be rather vivid.

It's very easy to find colour pics if you Search.

[Rusty74]

thanks tony i have quite a few of your excellent brit airbourne in the stash but always wanted to get the smock colours right before i painted them

[DaveC]

Following Tony's advice I searched.
Two observations
1/ they are bright
2/ the pattern on the WP for want of a better description is huge.

[Adler]

I know there is always a search for the definitive version of most things like camo but its not something its easy to definitive about. Will depend on original/repro, condition colour quality of the pictures and what screen/print they are being shown on. Add to that the original patterns/materials varied a good deal and its tricky. Then or course you are miniaturising it anyhow, (try looking at a camo from say for example 70 foot away and see how 'clear' the pattern is) cluttering it with webbing etc , let alone battlefield dirt, its all a bit 'approximate'.
Thats why I said 'Basically same scheme for Denison and WP' as an aproximation, the key word is 'basically'. Certainly the WP can look a lot more red brown/plum coloured and the Denison has a much more green look to me.
All you can really do is fine tune the colours/patterns until it looks right to your eyes, more artistic than scientific.
Fun hobby aint it? lol
L

[Smoking gun]

Back in the 1980's I used to colour match dye lots in a clothing factory, there were variations then. Each sample was compared to a "standard" and were passed as acceptable or sent back for rework, the sample was then added to a card with all the samples on and it was only looking at the samples over a few months you realised how great the variation was.

This was for customers who had a reputation for quality.

Colour matching is more art than science.

Coupled with these variations and the subsequent storage conditions, wear, washing and further treatments, anti gas or water proofing will affect the colour so don't get hung up on exact shades.

So as Leon said it's more about creating an impression than exactly recreating a colour combination and pattern.


Martin

[ray]

I just use what looks correct. I was working on a commission yesterday painting these smocks and just used what matched,it works every time.

[Powermonger]

My suggestions for Denisons , if you want to use Vallejo acrylics:

Denison smocks : Khaki 988, with overpatterning of 823 Luftwaffe camo green and 846 Mahogany Sand.


By the by, the camo for Windproofs was not the same as the Denison.
While both were hand-painted with big brushes by women at the fabric factory, the colour schemes were different..
Denisons had a pale khaki base for the first issues , with a slightly darker base for the later one but both essentially yellow in tone. Green and red brown overpainted in varying amounts, every smock being different.

Windproofs used a pink ochre colour as the base , like a dark flesh ( try 70874 Tan Earth) , with a very purplish red-brown and a light fresh green overpaint, which where it overlapped created a burnt umber colour. The intensity of the red-brown and green varies quite a lot in survivors : some are quite dull and subdued, some really rather garish , especially as the plum red could be rather vivid.

It's very easy to find colour pics if you Search.

Tony: Thanks a lot! that´s most helpful!
Can you give your vallejo color suggestions for the Windproofs then?

Thanks a lot,

Diego

[Tony Barton]

For the Windproofs, these are the closest I can get from the standard Vallejo range.
I made a set of colour matches to an original smock,in very good unissued condition, dated 1943. Windproof garments, as I said above , can vary quite a bit in the shades, particularly in the red-brown and the green, and some are really quite garish , and others quite subdued. They don't reproduce very well on screen, and if you Google Windproofs you will see all sorts of shades, depending on the lighting and quality of the camera, and whether the image was scanned from a magazine , etc, etc.. They were also used widely post-war , particularly by the French in Vietnam, and in very faded versions by the SAS in Oman : you might well come across images from those eras.There are quite a lot of Repros around as well: avoid.

But from a real garment, in the hand, in my daylight-lit studio:~

The base fabric is what you might call a dark flesh colour, a pink ochre : Brown Sand no.70876
The Red-brown is near to Flat Brown 70984, but can be more purple than that, with a faint air of blackcurrant juice.
The Pale Green is Golden Olive 70857,but can be a little darker and more neutral.
The crossover colour , where red-brown and pale green overlap to create a Dark Burnt Umber shade , is Leather Brown 70871.

Those can be successfully used for painting small models.

[Stephen Casement]

Alternatively you could try this for an early washed out version,

Khaki Grey (Vallejo 880): Denison Smock basecoat
Khaki Grey (Vallejo 880): Iraqui Sand (Vallejo 819) 50:50 1st highlight
Khaki Grey (Vallejo 880): Iraqui Sand (Vallejo 819) 25:75 2nd highlight
Cam Olive Green (Vallejo 894): Denison Smock camouflage: Vallejo Glaze medium, 50:50, go easy until your happy, you may decide to dilute more to get a more faded effect.
Denison Smock camouflage: Flat Brown (Vallejo 984): Denison Smock camouflage: Vallejo Glaze medium, 33:66, again go easy until your happy, you may decide to dilute more to get a more faded effect.
Warpaint soft tone wash over smock.
Knitted wollen cuffs Dark Green (Vallejo 893)
Knitted wollen cuffs Dark Green (Vallejo 893): Iraqui Sand (Vallejo 819) 50:50 1st highlight

[Powermonger]

For the Windproofs, these are the closest I can get from the standard Vallejo range.
I made a set of colour matches to an original smock,in very good unissued condition, dated 1943. Windproof garments, as I said above , can vary quite a bit in the shades, particularly in the red-brown and the green, and some are really quite garish , and others quite subdued. They don't reproduce very well on screen, and if you Google Windproofs you will see all sorts of shades, depending on the lighting and quality of the camera, and whether the image was scanned from a magazine , etc, etc.. They were also used widely post-war , particularly by the French in Vietnam, and in very faded versions by the SAS in Oman : you might well come across images from those eras.There are quite a lot of Repros around as well: avoid.

But from a real garment, in the hand, in my daylight-lit studio:~

The base fabric is what you might call a dark flesh colour, a pink ochre : Brown Sand no.70876
The Red-brown is near to Flat Brown 70984, but can be more purple than that, with a faint air of blackcurrant juice.
The Pale Green is Golden Olive 70857,but can be a little darker and more neutral.
The crossover colour , where red-brown and pale green overlap to create a Dark Burnt Umber shade , is Leather Brown 70871.

Those can be successfully used for painting small models.

Thanks a lot Tony!!!!

regards,

Diego