>> My son has been given a tank for Christmas, he has not built these >> before,
>> and wishes to try and reproduce something similar to those you have >> listed
>> here.
>>
>> We understand that many of you have been painting for many years, >> probably
>> longer that he has been able, as he is 13, but you also probably started
>> long before he is.
>>
>> We have some paints, but do not know which to use as the colours are very
>> foreign to us both.
>>
>> the model is of an M10 Tank buster, an uncle, in their wisdom, gave him
>> paints to use, but these are Humberol types, and not of the same make as >> the
>> model. these have numbers on them, but no name, the instructions only >> gives
>> names, Olive drab, Dark Green, Gold, Gun Metal, and so on.
>>
>> Is there a list I can get which gives a description of what the Humberol
>> name is suggested to be?
>>
>> I have read other posts her, and one stated that Gun Metal is Bronze, or
>> Gold, with metal sparkles in it, or something like that, but we have two
>> paints very similar, one of which I am sure is Gun Metal, and the other
>> Gold, but not the same as the polished gold you find of jewellery. >>
>> Any help here would be most gratefully appreciated.
>>
>> many thanks if you can help, and please remember we all have to start
>> somewhere so please try to be patient with us both.
>>
>> Deb
>>
>>
>
> We all started the same way - always glad to see young ones taking up the > hobby!
>
> Any paint you choose should be compatible with the plastic, as long as it
> is not a laquer based - laquer can attack some plastics and you have to
> lay down a primer first.
>
> The Humbrol paints you have are likely enamels - which personally prefer.
> They will be just fine on his kit. Another type of paints are the
> acrylics - water based, and more suited for use in an airbrush, IMO. I
> personally find them a bit harder to work with, but they are very nice for
> people whom may have a reaction to the chemicals and odor associated with
> emamels and laquers. Your son's M-10 will most likely be overall Olive
> Drab of some shade, or a shade of desert tan, depending on what he chooses
> to represent. In the Model Master enamel brand, you can find these colors
> in spray cans - if your son is not an airbrush user, the spray cans are a
> good place to start for the overall finish on his kit. Even with spray
> cans, he may want to practice a bit to learn some control. As with
> everything - practice makes perfect.
>
> One can spend an entire lifetime researching and discussing color...here
> is a VERY handy color cross reference:
>
>formatting link
> Browse around this site and you'll get an idea of just how deep a subject
> of color systems and the history of colors can be. The site also provides
> a nice cross-reference of Federal Standard (those 5-digit FS color numbers
> in the instructions) to various brands of model paints.
>
> Another way to get information on color is simply to collect and look at
> pictures of the subject he's building and paint his model like the
> pictures - remember, he's building a miniature of a real-world object
> (something it took my own mother years to figure out...). The internet is
> a boon to us model builders in that way. One word - Google. No trips to
> the library or buying of books required these days. (Though we still do
> so...at least I do.)
>
> Hope I've been able to help, and that your son has a happy and continuing
> experience building models.
>
> --
> - Rufus
Between Rufus and Bostjan you've already received some great advice. I'd add just this.
You can look online at any number of sites and see pictures of finished and detailled tanks for inspiration. Just keep in mind most of what you'll see are produced by professional or highly skilled modellers who have invested a substantial amount of time and money in getting those results. Don't let your son become discouraged that his results don't match theirs.
Here's a pro build of a M10 and its cousin the M36:
You know what I'm saying. Don't let him get hung up on it so that he thinks he's lacking what it takes. If he has fun and enjoys building the kit he'll hopefully want to build another and another and the rest will take care of itself. Just keep doing what you are doing by helping him where you can. Tell him he's doing a good job or encourage him to do better for those moments when even he knows better.
This is actually the binary group where model pictures are posted. The actual discussion group is rec.models.scale. My reply will be crossposted there so that others can offer advice and opinions. There's a lot more guys like Rufus and Bostjan on RMS that will be eager to help should you have further questions on this or future kits.
Hope that helps,
WmB