Continental Blue MC754

A medium tone between blue and gray

The uniforms of the soldiers who fought in the 1780s for the independence of the North American settlements took on their shape only after several years of improvisation. The settled form was a dark blue coat with buff or white facings, but the dye was expensive and batches differed, so two regiments side by side could have noticeably different tones. This shade aims at precisely the middle position: a blue with a light hint of gray, neither inky nor naval.

Why a medium tone makes the work easier

A color that is not at maximum saturation already in the bottle is easier both to shade and to highlight. For the shadow it is enough to add a drop of brown or purple, for the highlights an ocher or sandy one. That way you avoid the commonest trouble with dark blues, on which the shadow can hardly be told from the base and the folds of the fabric disappear. For the large areas of cloaks and coats that matters, because on a figure those carry most of the visual impression.

Practical notes

The paint is acrylic, it is thinned with water, it dries matte and the bottle with a dropper allows drops to be measured out, which is useful above all when mixing a shade for a whole unit at once. Stir the contents thoroughly before work, as the pigment settles after standing for a longer time. Keep the coat thin, otherwise dark pigments fill the fine engraving of buttons and hems. If you plan to dust or mud a unit, reckon on the dust lightening the blue considerably, and so leave the base somewhat darker.

Matching a larger group

With several dozen figures it helps to mix a larger amount of the shade in advance and keep it in a closed container. Mixing the same tone a second time is always a lottery and the difference between two batches shows more on neighboring figures than on a single model.