aren't all ship waterlines supposed to be red?

[Webster]

i noticed several surface ships have black, blue-grey, grey, and in some cases no color at all to the waterlines.

colors vary due to age and pigments used but in general i thought it was a standard practice in all countries to have red waterlines.

the reason im asking is, if its an error then i want to try and fix it but if it is supposed to be like that then i will not try to mess with it.

[Hylander_1314]

Depends on the anti-fouling paint that was used. That's why the variety of pigments.

Just like there are different types of chromate primers from yellow to medium green.

[Sailor Steve]

Also, ships with red bottoms sometimes carried a wide black line at the waterline as well. It did indeed vary a lot.

[Syxx_Killer]

I've always wondered what the black line was for. Was it anti-fouling, too?

[Webster]

ok, so your saying even the light grey shades could be correct?

it just looked strange and i wasnt sure if it was right.

im not a rivet counter but if i can make a simple correction, i try to do it.

[Sailor Steve]

"Could be", yes. Whether they actually were, I don't think so. More research is needed, but I think they were ususally all one color - some shade of red - with some having a black separator line.

[Webster]

"Could be", yes. Whether they actually were, I don't think so. More research is needed, but I think they were ususally all one color - some shade of red - with some having a black separator line.

have a look in the sea folder and look at the "NDD_Mutsuki_T01" DDS file, it shows a black waterline with blue pin stripe, there are several ships using this color.

also the kongo's blueish grey with black pinstripe waterline can be seen in file "NBB_Kongo_T01"

[iambecomelife]

i noticed several surface ships have black, blue-grey, grey, and in some cases no color at all to the waterlines.

colors vary due to age and pigments used but in general i thought it was a standard practice in all countries to have red waterlines.

the reason im asking is, if its an error then i want to try and fix it but if it is supposed to be like that then i will not try to mess with it.

Nearly all navies & civilian operators used red. I know of a few that used pink and green. All IJN ships I've seen color photos or models of have had red waterlines. IMO the default skins use rare waterline colors like blue a little too often.

[Hylander_1314]

The color below the waterline doesn't bother me too much, as long as I can blast big holes in them:arrgh!: Most shades for the anti-fouling paint were / are some shade of red, be it a "standard" bright shade of red, to a very dark almost maroon red. I've seen some pics of naval vessels with black below the waterline, but they are few at most.

[CoolHand]

Most shades for the anti-fouling paint were / are some shade of red, be it a "standard" bright shade of red, to a very dark almost maroon red. I've seen some pics of naval vessels with black below the waterline, but they are few at most.

yep..same here..very few black ones..mostly a ****load of different shades of red

[Hitman]

FYI the red comes from the extensive use of copper dilluted in the paint, something widely extended in wooden sailing ships from the 15th century onwards because copper is poisoning for many sea plants and worms that ate the wood or fixed themselves to the hull.

[Hylander_1314]

Used to build wooden sailing ship models, and the real big ones actually had paper thin copper sheet that would be attached to the planking below the waterline. There was one model I had built, where they supplied tiny copper nails to attach the copper, and before starting on the upper deck details and masts and rigging, the instructions recommended leaving the model out in the elements to get it to age evenly, especially if it was raining.

[Hylander_1314]

Try going here: http://www.gimp.org/windows/

You can either draw them freehand, or work in layers.