Current R.A.F. Grey

[JayBee]

Help!
What is the correct grey for current (2009) R.A.F. Nimrod/VC-10/etc. Are they all the same grey?
Thanks

JimB

[Zeke]

I feel a quick quote coming on...

"Camouflage Grey is one of those odd colours that many people
have no real idea of what it's supposed to look like but it all started out
as an experiment in the late 1970's when the RAF was looking to get a
better grey for its airborne camouflaging of aircraft. Up pops this chap
at Farnborough, Mr P J Barley, who mixed a small amount of Black with
Light Aircraft Grey to get a new colour, which everybody named in his
honour, 'Barley Grey'. Nice, it works a treat; looks good and the RAF
love it.

So what's the story here then? Well, when the Ministry came to
accept the new specially mixed colour into the BS381 documentation,
they couldn't bare to have it called after a lowly civil servant (even if
he was a Scientific Officer of some standing) so it became officially
known as 'Camouflage Grey' BS381 #626.
Which is ok, except that it causes great confusion to us poor
modellers who have to try and make some sense out of all this, when
some paint manufactures have both 'Barley' and 'Camouflage' greys
in their 'Authentic' range as different colours...ahem...they're the
same you know, just a different name?...oh well."

This is taken from the WEEAC Navigator cd about the Airfix Nimrod...I guess it sums up the Grey thing pretty nicely...

[PR19_Kit]

And like all greys in the aviation world it never stays the same shade for more than a week anyway.

From observation of 15 Sqdn's flight line at Lossiemouth there's almost as many shades of 'that' grey as there are aircraft. Even in this over standardised and regulated world good old Mother Nature attacks the paint when they try and fly through her domain

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

And like all greys in the aviation world it never stays the same shade for more than a week anyway. Even in this over standardised and regulated world good old Mother Nature attacks the paint when they try and fly through her domain

Three cheers for the man who writes in "Common Sense" 

Ian
(Don't EVER get Dork and I started on grey - we can do three hours without pausing for breath !)

[nev]

I feel a quick quote coming on...

"Camouflage Grey is one of those odd colours that many people
have no real idea of what it’s supposed to look like but it all started out
as an experiment in the late 1970’s when the RAF was looking to get a
better grey for its airborne camouflaging of aircraft. Up pops this chap
at Farnborough, Mr P J Barley, who mixed a small amount of Black with
Light Aircraft Grey to get a new colour, which everybody named in his
honour, ‘Barley Grey’. Nice, it works a treat; looks good and the RAF
love it.

So what’s the story here then? Well, when the Ministry came to
accept the new specially mixed colour into the BS381 documentation,
they couldn’t bare to have it called after a lowly civil servant (even if
he was a Scientific Officer of some standing) so it became officially
known as ‘Camouflage Grey’ BS381 #626.
Which is ok, except that it causes great confusion to us poor
modellers who have to try and make some sense out of all this, when
some paint manufactures have both ‘Barley’ and ‘Camouflage’ greys
in their ‘Authentic’ range as different colours…ahem…they’re the
same you know, just a different name?...oh well."

This is taken from the WEEAC Navigator cd about the Airfix Nimrod...I guess it sums up the Grey thing pretty nicely...

TBF, you do often see it written as Camoflage (Barley) Grey