Now there's a can of worms!!

Stand by for a surprise, it's probably not called "battleship grey". Also "standard" colours have probably changed over time so if you are looking for the historically correct colour it would be worthwhile adding a date, and possibly even a location (North Atlantic, Pacific etc)

Royal Australian Navy stuff used to be painted "Storm Grey", with a 25% gloss. The apparent difference between 25% and 75% gloss is considerable.

Best of luck!!

Bill

The company I worked for made equipment for the navy and the colour spec given to us by the MOD was BS381C 697, they know it as Light Admiralty Grey, stuck in my mind as I always had a tin of touch up on my bench.

That's current of course, don't know what colour if you go back years.

Edited By Ron Laden on 30/07/2020 07:13:11

Humbrol?

Neil

I read almost the whole of Michael G's Link with much interest Nearly 70 years on it seems so obvious!. I am sure at that time the colour of one end of a battleship was not exactly the same as the other end. or the bit in the middle. Colour sampling to exacting tinting standards is relatively new for us all.

I can recall a professional group going through much intellectual debate on a suitable grey for something and as it was eventually decided it was obviously the same colour as the lamp posts outside the window…..standard grey!

Best wishes to all.

Just to tip another can of worms into the saucepan, there is the school of thought that a scale model should not be painted in the same shade of paint as the full size prototype. The reasoning being that visual depth perception would indicate that the colours used, should be made a lighter shade that is based upon the reduced scale of the model.

Floyd , Have you tried asking any of the model warship manufacturers such as say Deans Marine , Airfix or Fleetscale ? In addition there's also the Scale Model Warship Society . Trevor. 

Edited By Trevor Drabble on 31/07/2020 14:31:22

I think that the light greys are the correct colour as that is what HMS Belfast is painted. However my Grandfather worked at Shorts on the Medway during WWII, near to Chatham dockyard. the toys he made where painted a dark grey as I remember it, much like 677 Dark Admiralty grey. A much more menacing colour for a North Sea battleship.

I shall have to get them out. At some point they where repainted with a horrible green that I don't mind scraping to see what is underneath.

https://www.e-paint.co.uk/BS381%20Colourchart.asp

Its fashionable

It's true that there are, as many have said, various shades of Grey used by the Admiralty over the years. Personally I've always admired the Dazzle paint scheme [Link]. I know Radar made it redundant, but still, its much more interesting than allover grey.

No idea what a Vice would like painted in that scheme though, you might have difficulty working out if its open, closed or even there!

Gerry