Correct 1/72 Atreides Ornithopter Body Color?

[cloudborn]

Just got my 1/72 Atreides Ornithopter from Meng but I'm very confused by the paint color reference guide.

The instructions (pages 18-20) are showing the body color to be MC-214/N72 Sand Yellow...is that correct? The body color in all the illustrations look more like a dark drab color, not sand yellow.

I'd prefer the paint to be accurate...does anyone know the actual color used on the movie models?

 

[jake88]

I would watch the movie again and just use your eye and your gut. It all looks different in different light. Make it like you see it.

 

[Astyanax]

I would watch the movie again and just use your eye and your gut. It all looks different in different light. Make it like you see it.

Agreed. If you use the exact colors the movie used, you will then need to replicate the lighting as well. Match it to what you see and how you plan the lighting. Go warmer if the room's lighting will be cool, etc.

Heh, if you want to see what kind of an ongoing challenge that can be, just ask the Pulse Rifle guys about replicating Olive Drab and Brown Bess.

 

[Fett_Ish]

I have looked at this a lot and the full size sets were clearly painted black but they seemed very dark green to me so that’s what I went with I have pics in another thread. I am doing my harkonnen black but not black black. Lol

 

[Analyzer]

I could be wrong, but I think the color of the plastic is pretty close to the color it is intended to be

Something like Tamiya Nato Black straight or even with just a hint of brown might be a good place to start for a base. Then once you start fading and adding dust effects it will come out as a bit more sandy grey
Tamiya Nato black is kind of a black with a bit of greyish brown, or even slightly green overtone compared to a straight black

I also think the instruction might be incorrect and they actually meant for MC-223 to be the body color and the MC-214/N72 Sand Yellow to be a weathering color

In the color reference on Page 18, they list this color, and that looks pretty close to the plastic body color as well as the color sample block that they have in the upper right on the page with the picture refs. I think MC-214/N72 could be a typo

 

[cloudborn]

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I agree builders should paint to whatever they see and think is best, but I decided to do more digging around online across multiple sources and may have figured out the correct colors according to Meng's instructions.

Here's a chart I created to convert Meng Color to the more common AK 3Gen acrylic paints, aligned to the specific model parts:

Hope others will find this helpful!

Feel free to share or let me know if you found something more accurate.

 

[cloudborn]

I was a little confused about the body and stillsuit colors. The stillsuits look darker than the vehicle to me so that's what I went with.

Here's a comparison of British Khaki vs NATO Brown in case you're wondering what the visual differences are:

 

[Fett_Ish]

I ended up mixing nato brown and nato black until it was about as dark or a little darker than the plastic is molded. I didn’t find the painting instructions very clear.

 

[cloudborn]

Yeh it's a tough decision...going with a darker base may likely be the best approach since it will be lightened after applying the sand weathering layers

 

[cloudborn]

I'll probably do some experiments adding some sand weathering techniques on a part painted with both British Khaki and NATO Brown

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

The picture of the ornithopter shows sand/dust stuck to the fuselage. I wonder if that's why they recommend sand yellow?

 

[CessnaDriver]

I'm going with really dark brown/black and weather the hell out of it with sand color.

I don't have the Harkonnen yet but I did the little one with sand color and weathered it with dark browns, which in some footage in Dune Part 2 it seems to me they were much lighter in color. I like having the contrast between the good guys and the bad guys. The Harkonnen stuff was bigger with more weapons, militarized more, I might think they would prefer a more camouflage color with the environment.

 

[cloudborn]

Thanks for sharing that video, lots of good reference shots! I'm leaning in the same direction as you're thinking...seems to be a darker base color with a ton of sand weathering on top. In some scenes the base color looks dark brown, other scenes the base looks like a dark german gray.

 

[cloudborn]

I'll probably go with mixing some black or dark grey into the NATO Brown.

 

[Analyzer]

I'm going with really dark brown/black and weather the hell out of it with sand color.

I don't have the Harkonnen yet but I did the little one with sand color and weathered it with dark browns, which in some footage in Dune Part 2 it seems to me they were much lighter in color. I like having the contrast between the good guys and the bad guys. The Harkonnen stuff was bigger with more weapons, militarized more, I might think they would prefer a more camouflage color with the environment.

No I am really confused

This shot, it sure looks like that Sandy Yellow color

This is from the scene with Paul's dad flying it

and the interior

But when they show the set piece, it sure looks black / german grey

Is it possible there were more than 1 color? I guess it is possible, but doubt it.

The above seems to be the "pristine" showroom model while below is after a bit of use

Obviously not the same kind, but this one is definitely more tan/sandy

I am guessing they just quickly get so dust covered it goes to that Sandy Yellow

Regardless best place to start seems to be to prime black, add a bit of grey for some highlighting, then some mist coating with the Sandy Yellow?

i.e. you want to see some of that dark color underneath showing through the Sandy Yellow rather than a uniform coat of saturated Sandy Yellow

 

[CessnaDriver]

My red truck looked sand after sitting all night near Palm Springs recently with a sand storm. LOL A whole fleet of these things would be all over the place, new ones, old ones, rebuilt ones, color fading from the brutal sun, what part of the planet they operated in most, hell even spice could interact with the surface for all we know. This is the problem with CGI, no studio models to reference for help.

 

[cloudborn]

I agree, seems like the base coat isn't as important as long as it's a dark shade and weathered properly with sand and dust effects.

 

[TheWillis]

There is a website / place in the USA that sells the Meng colors: Game Castle. They have the Sand Yellow color. I just got the 1/72 Harkonnen in the mail and will build that one before the Atreides, time allowing. I painted the small Sand Harvester Tamiya TS linoleum brown, hopefully after weathering it will look ok. It is all subjective so definitely whatever looks good!

 

[Analyzer]

Looking over the kit and some reference stuff, I feel more and more like the kit plastic color is kind of the closest average overall color and probably the best tone to start with as a base color

The weird thing it is nearly an olive green, but shifted towards the brown side. I noticed it was very close in color to some of the USAF olive drab used on B-17s etc... but again, without as much green, but still a slight hint due to the amount of yellow sand type of color embedded in the brown

I found an FS color or at least a Vallejo version of that FS color that matches the plastic color nicely. It is not a 100% exact match, but is close
It is FS34084 and assuming other paint lines are close you theoretically could use any paint brand you prefer that has the color

Here is the color compared to the bare plastic color. Similar brownish type hue, but a bit darker which I prefer since it allows for some lighter sand color weathering to be added after the base. Area painted is circled in red
The difference here is a bit more contrasted than it looks in person under normal lighting

 

[Analyzer]

For what it is worth, I wound up going with Tamiya paints as I like them better than vallejo, and since that color was not a model air color I did not want to be fussing around trying to thin it correctly. I also wanted a slightly different shade that was more of the grey than brown with some dusting of a lighter sand color and felt Tamiya paints would be better to use

So, started with a mix that was mostly Nato Black (XF-69) and mixed in some Hull Red (XF-9) and a little Flat Earth (XF-52)
As I went along along I started doing spots that had more flat earth or more hull red mixed in kind of dusting it here and there

I might have overdone it a bit with the flat earth hull red misting, but I think it is ok, if you prefer the greyer look like on the box cover, stick with the Nato Black heavy mix and skip the dusting with flat earth

and here it is in full sun

and compared to a screenshots