The Little World

It is the favoured organisational system of the major model paint makers. They each invent a complete system for their paints that has no relation to that of other factory. This means they can all stay in their corner of the playground at recess.

And when I want to paint a modern jet that has Ghost Light Gull Radome Extra Dark Foam Milkshake colour inside the pitot tube, all I do is reach for the appropriate colour from a rack of over 560 shades. I have them stored in alphabetical, numerical, hue, shade, and religion order. It takes but an hour to find the appropriate tin or bottle or tube and I’m getting better at it – 53 minutes last week.

Of course there is always the RLM and FS system to make it all so very easy. Also the Pantone number and an RGB combination from my computer program. I can’t think why people have problems.

Of course there are little scuffles behind the bike shed occasionally. One maker has the exact colour for the interior of a Mongolian monoplane because they knew a man who worked in Ulan Bator. The next maker has original paint chips straight from the Dalai Lama and can swear to their authenticity. They both put out a $ 6.00 pot of paint and the colours are nowhere near the same. The paint makers, Stockholm IPMS, and Britmodeller are squared off with flick knives and bike chains to settle the controversy in a three-way fight.

We can only hope that the outcome is not blood-flecked because that would shift the hue even further…