There has been a long-term project to analyze the paint remains on the ship and its decoration since about 1990. Preliminary results are published in the Swedish-language book "Vasa bekänner färg," available from the museum shop. We also distribute a set of painting instructions when we sell kits from the museum shop, and I attach those to this message.
Hull: Below the planksheer (the uppermost wale, above the upper row of gunports), the sides and bottom were tarred, which would give a medium brown appearance with a reddish cast when new, but would have darkened to more of a burnt umber shade if the ship had been in service for very long. There is no sign of a separate layer of bottom paint or anti-fouling, and there is no waterline marked on the hull. Above the planksheer, the clinker bulwark planking was painted a deep red. This same red was used on the sides of the beakhead and the planking of the upper transom and gallery roofs, as well as the bulkheads at the breaks in the deck. Interior of the bulwarks seems not to have been painted but may have been tarred.
Decks: The weather decks were primarily untreated pine, which would be a yellow-brown color when new, tending to become grayer in service. The waterways and kingplanks were oak, which would be slightly different in color to the pine and would weather to a darker Grey.
Gunport lids: Tarred exterior, interior painted red with ochre lion masks with white teeth and red mouths.
Sculptures: These will present the greatest challenge, as they were painted in naturalistic colors. Skin was pink (female figures have paler skin), hair was usually gilded (on larger figures) or painted yellow, armor was painted a purplish-brown, and cloth was painted in a wide variety of colors, with earth tones (reds, browns, yellows) more common than blues and greens. Foliage was painted green. Gilding was applied to decorative accents on armor or sword hilts, as well as to royal arms on the stern. Not all of the 700+ sculptures have been analyzed, but the general tendency seems clear.
Spars: Mastheads, caps, tops and yardarms were probably blacked, with the remainder left natural wood (pine) and slushed (covered in a grayish grease where sails and rigging traveled up and down them).
Guns: The barrels are bronze, which was a purplish brown (NOT green) in use rather than polished metal. The carriages are unfinished oak.
Mickey Martelle wrote:A good question. What exactly are we modeling? Ships as they actually were or idealized versions of how they could have been? How do we balance aesthetic appeal and historical accuracy, which are frequently at odds? It is the same conflict behind the debate over whether we should paint our models or finish them as natural wood, or whether we should leave the planking off the bottom to show the framing. It ultimately depends on what kind of model the builder wants. In this case it should be remembered that the Swedish crown did not build the ship with the intention that it should sink 1500 meters from the quay, rather they fully expected it to be in service for a number of years (Vasa's sister ship Äpplet, was in service 1629-1659). Most modelers currently build Vasa with all the masts up, but at the time she sank the topgallant masts were not rigged and only four sails (fore course and topsail, main topsail, mizzen) were bent onto the yards. She was also short 8 guns of her armament (4 stern chasers and 4 others on the gun decks). So yes, I think it would be perfectly valid to build a model of how Vasa would have looked in service.In two or three cases you point out the how the color would have faded in time. Isn't this a bit of an oxymoron in that the Vasa went down on its maiden voyage? Could, in your opinion, modelers feel that they created an accurate model if they finish it to look like it would have had it not sunk?
With that said, it should be remembered that the ship was launched in 1627, over a year before it sank, and so those parts of the hull finished and tarred in 1626-27 (say up to the middle wales) would already have darkened somewhat compared to the newer wood added through the winter of 1627-28 (upper gundeck planking, bulwarks, decks, etc. In addition, the bottom would already have begun to accumulate weed, etc. So a truly accurate model of Vasa as she looked during her brief service career (about 4 hours long) would have an exterior in varying shades of brown combined with the freshly painted areas, would only be partially rigged and would have eight empty gunports. Maybe not the most attractive model, but interesting.
{Fred Hocker}
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