The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions > Lifeboats

pre 1940 Blue paint

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mk1:
Hi can anybody tell me what was the colour Blue used on Lifeboats before 1940 as I am lead to believe that the Oxford Blue is a lot darker and the further you go back in time the lighter the colour that was used.
 
Thanks in advance
John

Neil:
Ford Royal or Oxford Blue is about the right match for pre 1940's boats as it is a lighter shade than the "Galaxy" blue used on later boats, before the fast afloat boats used the present recomended colours.
The very light blue was finished before 1900 so I am led to believe.
If you look at my three lifeboats, the older boats, Mary Stanford and HF Bailey are a lighter shade than the 1946 boat Field Marshal and Mrs Smuts.
neil.

heritorasphodel:
Interestingly, that may not be true in every case... If you look at the Aruns, which were painted in both liveries, the newer blue is several shades lighter than the old blue. I've always used ford Balliol blue, which gives a nice scale appearance.


Andrew

furball:
To be honest, nobody knows.


Oxford blue was always the colour supplied by the depot, but nobody now knows who supplied it, or what shade it actually was - There are very few colour photos of early boats, and chances are they'll have faded anyway.


In the 1880's, the blue used was 'French Ultramarine', but when that changed, gawd only knows.


I've scoured the Lifeboat Journal archive, and there's nothing in there at all.


Pick a colour that looks OK, and use it - nobody can ever prove it's the wrong colour, as nobody knows what colour it was in the first place!


(As Andy has said, we like the look the look of Ford Balliol blue - which, of course, is just their trade name for Oxford Blue - which another car manufacturer had trade marked).


Lance

baloo:
 the colour i use is a halfords per-show(cant spell it )royal blue.Martin

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