EVER SCRATCHED YOUR HEAD and wondered what colour was used for a particular model in a photograph, or on a full-size object, so you could match it to the model you were building?
Mat Irvine writes: The website Scale Model Database can probably help. Just upload your photograph, click on the relevant area of colour - et voila, the site tells you the hexadecimal number and the RGB value.
This can already be done with sophisticated photographic manipulation apps such as Photoshop, but this site goes one stage further as it then gives you a list of suggestions for all the major model paint manufacturers, including Humbrol, Revell, Tamiya and Testors. Plus Federal Standard, Pantone and RAL numbers, though there is no British Standard numbering as yet.
The scale model databasa obviously has limitations, as it can only ever be as good as the quality of the original photo you've uploaded, but generally it seems to work well, and gets you near enough.
I tested it with a screen image of the Porsche 911 (below) as used by Saga Norén in the Danish-Swedish TV series 'The Bridge.' The car is finished in a very odd shade of olive green, and well, at least I now have some options for the paint job!
Visit Scale Model Database here.
If the direct link does not work, try keying in direct http://scalemodeldb.com/paint
Click here for paint selections
