Snyder & Short Naval Paint Chips: Kriegsmarine I/II and Italian Navy in World War II by Bob Pearson

Introduction

For the last year or so, modellers and artists of naval subjects have been treated in a manner that aviation enthusiasts have long been accustomed to – colour chips which enable one to create the most accurate model/illustration possible. The reason for this is to be found in a line of paint chips researched and marketed by Randy Short and John Snyder under the name of Snyder & Short Enterprises. Each set has been exhaustively compared to original samples and formulas and are actual 1 1/4 x 1 3/4 inch paint swatches on heavy card stock, rather than printed ink. This enables all samples from a batch to be the same from sample to sample - long a complaint in printed formats that have trouble keeping colour fidelity. Previously I have featured the USN, RN and IJN sets, this time around we look at the most recent releases – Kriegsmarine I & II, and Italian Navy in WWII.

Kriegsmarine WWII Ship Colours, Set 1

The first set features prewar/early war colours. These include

• Prewar: Hellgrau 50 (RAL 7001), Dunkelgrau 51 (RAL 7000)

• Baltic Scheme: Hellgrau (7038), Mittlegrau (mix of RAL 7001/7036), Dunkelgrau (RAL 7037)

• Underwater Hull & Boot Topping: Dunkelblaugrau (RAL 7026), Schiffsbodenfarbe III Rot 5 (RAL 8013), Schiffsbodenfarbe [alternate] mix of RAL 3009/3013), Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau I (RAL 7016)

• Norwegian Colours: Dunkelblaugrau, Mittleblaugrau, Hellblaugrau

• Other Colours: Aluminiumbronze 16 (RAL 9006), Dunkelgrau 2 (RAL 7024), Deckfarbe Gelbe 13 (RAL 1003), Deckfarbe Rot (RAL 3011), Schnellbootweiss, Rostschutzfarbe Graugrun 12 (RAL 6006), Deckfarbe Weiss 14 (RAL 9002), Dunkelblau 9 (RAL 5004)

This set includes a full colour profile of Tirpitz in 1942/43 in Schnellbootweiss and three Norwegian blue-greys. One other addition is a b/w profile of the Torpedoboot T35

Kriegsmarine WWII Ship Colours, Set 2

The second set provides for ships on the open ocean and in coastal waters, plus fuel-proof coatings for various fittings.

• Open Sea: Weiss 30, Hellgrau 31.1, Nebelgrau 32.1, Blaugrau-mittel 32.2, Blaugrau-dunkel 32.3, Hellblau 33.1, Dunkel Blau 33.3, Blaugrau- dunkel 34.3

• Coastal Waters: Steingrau 31.4, Mittelblau 33.2, Hellgrun 35.1, Dunkelgrun 35.3, Hell Braun 36.1, Dunkel Braun 36.3

• Petrol-Proof Coatings: Schlickgrau 58, Blaugrau 58.1, Blauschwarz 58.2

• Other Colours: Deckfarbe Braun, Persenning Farbe 10; Deckfarbe Grun, Chromgrun 11; Deckfarbe Ockergelb 12

There is a caveat to these two sets in that much of it was based on the limited resources available, full sources used are listed. ..

Regia Marina World War II Ship Colours

The third set recently released is devoted to the Italian Navy in WWII, the Regia Marina has some of the more colourful ships with their red/white stripes on the bow. Now we can do these accurately. Colours included are:

Grigio Scuro (Dark Grey), Grigio Chiaro (Light Gray), Blu Scuro (Dark Blue). Azzurro (Light Blue), Marrone Verdastro (Greenish Dark Brown for submarines), Grigio-azzurro chiaro (Lihgt Blue-Gray for submarines), Verde Chiaro (Light Green), Giallo Verde (Verde Yellow-Green), Bianco Sporco Opaco (Matt Foul White), Rosso (Red Focsle stripes).

All sets are available direct from Snyder and Short at:

Snyder & Short Enterprises
PMB 224
9175 Kiefer Blvd.
Sacremento, CA 95826-5105
USA

Phone 916-488-7641
Fax: 916-488-1847
Email: jsnyder@macnexus.org