Remember that colors on a screen are usually different than reality. That signal blue looks really weird.

Bear in mind that the appropriate colour depends heavily on the operational evnironment. Black or very dark blue works well in deep, dark water like the North Atlantic, but makes the sub stand out like a sore thumb in clear shallow water, under a bright sun, where you can see the bottom. In the latter conditions, splinter cammo seems to work best, in the same colours as the "dapple" that plays on the bottom due to the refractions from the rippling surface.

Bearing in mind Kerick's point about colours on a screen (or in a printed photo):

a) I'm not convinced the model of Trenchant I posted is accurate to the photos. I posted it more to show the pattern without perspective issues. Looking at the photo, I suspect that the purpleish-blue area on the model is actually the normal "worn black" that you seen on RN subs equipped with anechoic tiles when they come back after a long patrol. They start off a kind of "tire black" colour (i.e. extremely dark grey) but seem to acquire a distinctly brownish tone as they fade.

b) Looking at the colour chart, I like #71.299 Intermediate Blue and #71.313 Dark Mediterranean Blue best for a cammo pattern.

Unlike our comrade, sandiego89, I do like the blue anti-fouling paint, although I would probably require my navy to use a darker, sea blue.


Camouflage on submarines is not as silly as some people think; in deep water a submarine near the surface can be visually identified by its dark shape under the water, in shallow water this is even more the case, even if it's sitting on the sea bed!

Anechoic tiles are, generally rubber-black ... but they don't have to be, they can be almost any colour you desire, so you could "digitise" your camouflage into tile-sized squares & camouflage your submarine that way.

It may limit the ability for a submarine to instantly change theatres of operation (eg: Med to Atlantic to Carribean to Pacific to Arctic) but a relatively quick over-haul & re-tiling & you're good to go & harder to find than a standard dark-grey/black boat.

Quote from: Old Wombat on October 03, 2023, 01:49:26 AMCamouflage on submarines is not as silly as some people think; in deep water a submarine near the surface can be visually identified by its dark shape under the water, in shallow water this is even more the case, even if it's sitting on the sea bed!

And shallow is exactly where you need to go for special ops missions such as putting specfors ashore or gathering ELINT/VISINT info. 

QuoteAnechoic tiles are, generally rubber-black ... but they don't have to be, they can be almost any colour you desire, so you could "digitise" your camouflage into tile-sized squares & camouflage your submarine that way.

It may limit the ability for a submarine to instantly change theatres of operation (eg: Med to Atlantic to Carribean to Pacific to Arctic) but a relatively quick over-haul & re-tiling & you're good to go & harder to find than a standard dark-grey/black boat.

And they usually need some degree of re-tiling after a long patrol anyway:

Here's Airfix's colour chart for Trenchant:

Cruise missiles are the primary weapon of Virginia class. How deep can a sub be to launch them?

Quote from: perttime on October 03, 2023, 02:30:10 AMCruise missiles are the primary weapon of Virginia class. How deep can a sub be to launch them?

I'm guessing maybe not more than 100 feet?

Anyway............I'm only considering painting my sub blue because I think overall black is too dull and boring. Come to think of it, ALL subs are boring. They just look like big, fat elongated cigars. Very plain and featureless which is why I hardly ever build them. The only reason I'm doing this one is because originally I wanted to turn it into a "sub sandwich" for a humorous project.    But those plans fell through, so now I'm building the sub pretty much straight from the box except to change the hull color to an overall dark blue.
U.S. Virginia and Seawolf class attack subs are pretty much overall black or very, very dark gray color. I'm not going to put any sort of camouflage pattern on my sub like what was done to HMS Trenchant. For my sub display, I'll just say the US Navy was testing the color for experimental purposes.

You'd be amazed at how much variation there is in subs when you look at them closely, and how much you can tell from the outside when you have some idea of what's going on inside. H.I.Sutton's Covert Shores website has profiles and cutaways of dozens. He focusses on special operations subs, and there have been some seriously weird ones in that field.

http://www.hisutton.com/Covert_Shores_Articles.html

I still haven't figured out what blue color(s) to use on my sub yet. But here's the choices so far after looking at Vallejo Model Air Color's chart.
https://acrylicosvallejo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CC071-Model_Air-Rev20-baja.pdf

71.004 Blue
71.005 Grey Blue (RAL5008)
71.054 Dark Grey Blue (RAL7024)
71.090 Deep Sky (FS35056)
71.091 Signal Blue (FS35044  RAL5004)
71.097 Medium Gunship Gray (FS36118)
71.115 Blue Grey (RAL7016)
71.266 Dark Blue (RLM24)
71.295 US Navy Sea Blue (FS35042)
71.299 Intermediate Blue (FS35164)
71.304 Amt-11 Blue Grey
71.313 Dark Mediterranean Blue

I also came across the following photos while browsing the Net.

I'd go with "Nonspecular Sea Blue" which to my eyes is a sort of very dark, blue-heavy Teal colour, if that makes sense.

Many years ago, there was an injection kit from Pit Road of the Virginia SSN in 1/700. I didn't manage to get one then and haven't seen it since. Annoying, as I'd really like to have one accompanying my other Cold War subs.

Your bigger one is looking good though   

Quote from: Pellson on October 08, 2023, 07:22:18 AMMany years ago, there was an injection kit from Pit Road of the Virginia SSN in 1/700. I didn't manage to get one then and haven't seen it since. Annoying, as I'd really like to have one accompanying my other Cold War subs.

Your bigger one is looking good though   

You can find that size on Shapeways.  I have a Block IV, though the subject is USS New Jersey, which is a Block V.  In that scale, can anyone really tell the difference?

The Block Vs have the Virginia Payload Module.   "The module is 84 feet long — bringing the total length of the Virginia-class subs up from 377 feet to 461 feet, the Navy file said.

And just to be a bugger, the added module is in the middle ...

Here's the link to the article: https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2023/4/10/virginia-payload-module-to-give-subs-more-firepower

Somebody done me wrong, USS NJ is Block IV. 
However, the universe can make it right by ensuring I get to the commissioning ceremony, which will be at Earle NWS, about 15 minutes from my house.

JoeCP, last living trustee of the Battleship New Jersey Historical Museum Society
(Okay, one other fellow might still be alive...)

This drawing may be of use:
You cannot view this attachment.


This is also interesting, five engineering students undertook a project to "reverse engineer" the VA class from publicly available information. The VA Class Project Manager was impressed.
VA Class Student Project