Searching for a TARDIS blue...
October 5, 2011 5:27 PM   Subscribe

Which of these blues is closest in colour to the blue on the exterior of the TARDIS? (Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, or Matt Smith era TARDIS.)
posted by Year of meteors to Media & Arts (12 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'm not on a calibrated monitor, but I'd vote for Blue Lobelia, A394.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:29 PM on October 5, 2011


The picture I that compared to the chart is most similar to A388, Mystification.
posted by jenny76 at 5:39 PM on October 5, 2011


To answer this question precisely mathematically, if it's worth the effort:
  1. open up an image of the Tardis that you like in your favorite image editor, sample the color (the icon for that tool usually looks like an eyedropper) and get the hexadecimal number associated with the color (which you can usually see by clicking on the color palette, usually a square on the toolbar somewhere that changes to the blue color you just sampled)
  2. take a screenshot of the paint colors webpage and sample all of those colors
  3. you'll probably need to use this converter to translate RGB values into CIELAB values
  4. then use this color difference calculator to determine the closest one.

posted by XMLicious at 5:53 PM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]


I assume you're actually planning on painting something with this paint? A TARDIS replica? Your bedroom? I only ask because the color will ultimately be affected by a) what kind of material you're painting, b) if you're using decent primer, and c) what kind of light it's getting hit with. And does the paint have a shiny or matte finish? Because that will affect the end result as well.

That said, there's no canonical TARDIS blue, so as long as you're in the general range, you ought to be fine. On my computer, I think A373, True Blue is actually pretty good, but this is one of those things that will have a dozen different answers depending on which TARDIS picture people are referencing.
posted by Diagonalize at 5:54 PM on October 5, 2011


It makes me feel horribly pedantic to point this out, but Matt Smith's TARDIS is a different, brighter color than the one David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston used.

That being said, I think A385, Passionate Blue, looks close to Matt Smith's color but it's not quite bright enough.

A388, Mystification looks pretty close to Eccleston's and Tennant's color.
posted by colfax at 5:55 PM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]


It's a show involving time travel. Pick a blue you like and if anyone gives you any shit just say it's the color of the TARDIS in a future episode :)

Personally, I like Mystification best.
posted by sbutler at 5:58 PM on October 5, 2011


On my monitor it's True Blue, with Mystification a close second. But the TARDIS looks different in different lights.
posted by andraste at 6:03 PM on October 5, 2011 [2 favorites]


True or Passionate.
posted by pompomtom at 6:03 PM on October 5, 2011


Sounds like a question for Tardisbuilders.

FWIW, my vote is for A388 Mystification. True blue would be a close second, but only with a darker blue/black overwash.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:07 PM on October 5, 2011


According to the good folks at Tardisbuilders, the 2010 Tardis is Subaru Sydney Blue Metallic - 55A, but you probably don't care $107 per gallon about an exact match.
posted by zamboni at 7:58 PM on October 5, 2011


Going by this, I would say Passionate is the closest but it's not quite bright/light enough.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:03 AM on October 6, 2011


yeah, seconding 'you're never going to match a paint color to a backlit computer monitor'
that being said, the first page, with all the other colors (reds, yellows...) 2nd one, top row.
(rule of thumb when looking at paint chips: when it's painted on the wall, dark colors will look lighter and light colors will look darker...)

But personally, I would go to the hardware store and buy a quart or two of rustoleum OIL-BASED(!) paint. your choices will be 'blue' and possibly 'navy blue'...I'd go with 'blue'.
dont bother with thinner...just get a disposable brush and chuck it when you're done. allow to dry for TWO days before you do any other work on it.

why oil-based? because that's what wooden things that are outdoors (like police boxes) are painted with. that and it will be all nice and glossy. keep your brush-strokes going in one direction and it will look more like wood.
posted by sexyrobot at 2:16 AM on October 6, 2011


« Older Robot stories.   |   Best thank-you favor? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.