SNYDER & SHORT WARSHIP COLOR PAINT CHIP CHARTS

Imperial Japanese Navy, Set #1  WORLD WAR 2 SHIP COLOURS

Contains 1 sheet ( 8 1/2 x 11 ), of 10 different colors and a descriptive sheet.

all paint chips are approx. 1 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches in size.

These are an essential aid for the warship modeler !

In comparison to its two main adversaries – the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy – the Imperial Japanese Navy developed little in the way of camouflage schemes, and utilized a much smaller range of colors. Camouflage schemes saw some use on units assigned to the Aleutians, on seaplane tenders, armed merchant cruisers and merchant ships, and in the late war years on some cruisers and aircraft carriers. Of primary interest to modelers of the IJN is the fact that the four principal navy yards – Kure, Sasebo, Maizuru, and Yokosuka – utilized gray paints that differed somewhat in shade. Thus the modeler desiring greatest accuracy must conduct enough research to know which yard a given ship was assigned to or refitted and repaired.

This set of paint chips provides all four grays, and as a bonus we also include a partial list of IJN ships and dates they underwent construction or major refits at these yards. The set also provides two greens used on aircraft carriers later in the war, as well as a tan used in combination with the greens and grays for flight deck camouflage. The final color provided – linoleum – was not a paint color, but rather the molded-in color of the linoleum used on the weather decks of some ships. All colors were carefully matched to Japanese sources.

This set contains 10 chips on a single sheet and covers the following colors:

Sasebo Naval Arsenal Gray, Kure Naval Arsenal Gray, Maizuru Naval Arsenal Gray, Yokosuka Naval Arsenal Gray

Type 1 Camouflage 

Type 2 Camouflage

Type 21 Camouflage

Type 22 Camouflage Deck Tan

Linoleum

Because oil-based paints darken and yellow over time, these processes must first be reversed prior to matching the original. This is accomplished through the use of processes developed for and used in paint analysis on historic buildings.

Following reversal of the aging process, all color matching and mixing is undertaken by Dunn-Edward Paint Company, under the supervision of Snyder & Short Enterprises. Dunn-Edwards technicians first place the original sample in a spectrophotometer which produces a suggested mix ratio. The colors are then mixed by computer-controlled measuring devices, and the initial tint ratio is carefully noted. After mixing, each color is brushed out, allowed to fully dry, and then compared to the original sample under controlled lighting conditions. Because the spectrophotometer rarely achieves a perfect match, the color is then carefully adjusted by the addition of minute amounts of tinting material and the mixing, brush-out, and drying process repeated until a perfect match is obtained. Dunn-Edwards maintains a record of each S&S color and the tinting ratios necessary to produce it so that each subsequent batch of paint will match the original. For security purposes, Snyder & Short also maintains both a computerized and hard copy backup of the mixing formulae.

The paints are applied to sheets of self-adhesive labels, which are in turn affixed to pre-printed archival-quality cardstock pages. Each set is enclosed in a white envelope and includes a brief explanation sheet. All colors were matched to eliminate metamerism, and will therefore match the original in any light.