We had a very interesting discussion of the whole question of color for scale model warships a few years ago in this thread: cs.finescale.com/…/987616.aspx .
My own opinions, for what little they’re worth, haven’t changed since then. I continue to think that a good deal of the fuss over precise shades of grey is blown ridiculously out of proportion. In that old thread I was surprised at how many people agreed with me.