UA611 - U-Bootwaffe Dunkelgrau 53

Dunkelgrau 53, the second dark gray of the submarine palette

Two close dark tones in one palette are not a redundancy but a tool. Dunkelgrau 53 stands in the Lifecolor submarine group beside the shade with the number 52, and together they make possible what a single tone cannot manage: a boundary that is visible but does not shout.

Why such a small difference is worked with

On the large smooth area of a hull contrast works differently than on the broken-up model of an aircraft or a vehicle. The panels, rivets and shadows that would help the eye are missing, so even a shift of tone by a fraction stretches across the whole side and becomes a distinct boundary. Graded schemes take advantage of that: the fields differ from one another minimally, and yet at a distance they break up the outline of the vessel. Anyone who reaches for a more pronounced contrast gets a model that looks more like a toy than like a vessel in wartime service.

How to deploy the shade

• use it as the counterpart of the neighboring dark tone, not as a finish for the whole hull on its own
• lead the boundary of the two fields with masking tape, following the documentation of the vessel
• judge the result from a distance; up close the difference all but disappears
• build the area up in thin steps, so that it stays even
• choose subdued weathering, so that the fine boundary survives

Who the color is for

For builders of submarines who build a scheme from several close dark tones, and for modelers who like working with nuances instead of pronounced contrasts.