Model Airliner Gray, Light Gull 36440, BAC 707

One of the searches that brings people to my blog is some combination of “Gull Gray” and “Paint Code”. This can be for airliner models, US Navy planes or who knows what else. Here’s what I do know:

The US Navy uses a color called “Light Gull Gray”, 595 (plain, a or b) # 36440 for flat, 26440 semi gloss, 16440 gloss. In the 1950s and 60s this was the standard color for the upper surface of USN and USMC military planes, with shiny white on the underneath. The white was removed from fighters in the 1970s when it was realized that the different top and bottom colors would give-away what was the top of the plane, thus what ‘up’ was for the pilot, in a dog-fight. So the white/gull gray scheme was replaced with overall 36440.

I really like 36440, because it seems to precisely capture the color of clouds in sunshine- there’s a definate warmth to it. Surprisingly poetic, but if you want to blend into clouds, you need to be cloud colored. (Unless you choose the green balloon and want to look like part of the tree- appologies to A. A. Milne, Christopher Robin, Pooh and the bees…)

Prior to 1942, the US Navy used a light gray overall, briefly, or for the UNDERSIDE of airplanes- the SBD, TBD, F4F-3, F2B-3, etc. There’s an Army/Navy (A/N) number for the USN Light Gray, but the A/N USN LIght Gray and 36440 are indistinguishable by me. The formula may be different, or the same, certainly the purpose was the same.

Lots of airliner model instructions (Hasegawa, Minicraft, Revell) call out “(Light) Gull Gray” or “FS 36440″ for the light gray frequently found on wings and horizontal stabilizers, on the wing/fuselage fairing, jet engine fan cowlings, and other composite (fiberglass or carbon fiber) pieces. I find *6440 too dense and too warm. Boeing do offer more than a dozen colors for gray and another more than a dozen for white, to their customers, but there is a definate, ‘typical’, gray that’s about the same tonal value as bare aluminum that Boeing, McDonnel Douglas, Lockheed, Airbus, etc all use or used, by default. At Boeing it’s called “Boeing Aircraft Company Gray” and has the stock number “707″. Sometimes this is rendered “BAC 707 Gray” but it’s not “707″ gray- the number is coincidence. Or so I’m told. “BAC 706″ is some other common color, and so is “BAC 708″. (ought to do a web search and see…)

Xtracolor make pre-mixed, oil based, BAC 707 Gray for model builders, which is a spot-on match. Boeing seem to have slightly changed the color in the last decade or so, and so Xtracolor offer now two different versions. (Add Xtracolor part numbers and Hannant’s web address…) Hannant’s in the UK own Xtracolor, and stock the paint. Airline Hobby Supply carry it in the USA, and perhaps others do too. (more web addresses) There are said to be Xtra Acrylics available as well but I know little about them. (ought to look!)

I recently decided to try mixing something similar using the widely available Testor’s Acryl, and found 3 parts FS (f) 36495 Light Gray (Testors 1/2 oz. #4765) and 4 parts Flat White (f) FS37875 (Testors 1/2 oz. #4769) were pretty good. Its far, far, lighter than FS 36440 or Light Gull Gray, but its a pretty good match to what you see on the wings of DC-9s, 737s, A-320s, etc. Your milage may vary, of course. I’ve used the 3:4 mix of FS 36495 and white for models of Boeing 777-200s, an MD-82 and an Airbus A340 and I find it quite convincing. Its a pretty good match for Xtracolor’s BAC 707 too, which is re-assuring. You have to gloss it up to taste with Future floor wax or the gloss of your choice after it dries, but this is my prefered method anyway.

Check out: http://www.fed-std-595.com/FS-595-Paint-Spec.html

Its a complete list of 595 color names with samples for your screen- not definative but a great place to start.

A Google or other search for “BAC 707″ will bring up various suppliers of full-size airplane paints- duPont for example, and you can buy a gallon of the real thing for something over $100… yow!

Some authorities recomend FS 16515 Canadian Voodoo Gray (aka F101 Voodoo paint) as the modeler’s best match for BAC 707 but I don’t find it that much superior to FS 16440/26440/36440 (Light) Gull Gray. The older, oil-based, Testors Model Master colors include an FS 16515 http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=864. The label on the bottle no longer says “16515″ but it once did- a minor mystery. 515 is still too dark, too rich, IMHO. You’ll note that the higher the last three digits, generally, the lighter the FS color is. So 515 ought to be lighter than 440 and it is, and perhaps lighter than 495 as well, but none are light enough to pass for BAC 707. That’s why the I add ‘795 (or ‘975!) flat white. Perhaps 16515 is a better starting point, but without a water based version, its mostly theory to me.

Does anyone else have experience in mixing or matching BAC 707?

Do you know what Airbus call their aluminum-tone light gray?

Do you know what McDonnell-Douglas (or just plain Douglas) called their aluminum-tone light gray?

Do you know what Lockheed called theirs?

Drop me a line or comment here!