Non Specular Sea Blue

[Negative Creep]

Currently building the Tamiya 1:48 F4U-1A. Great kit but I'm struggling with the paint choices for the top fuselage and wings, i.e non specular sea blue. It isn't helping the fact it seems to vary so much:


Here it looks more like a gloss blue

Yet on pictures and models it looks a lot duller and more grey

I've seen Tamiya X-03 (Royal Blue) suggested, which looks too bright, XF-17 (sea Blue) which looks too green. I also have some xtractylic Gloss Sea Blue (FS 15042) which some sites state is an exact match but again looks far too blue and glossy for me. The suggestion with the kit is to use AS-20 spray cans but I don't want to use that as it will be far too messy and thick

Any suggestions? If it helps I'm going for a more weathered look, having pre weathered the panel lines black and being careful not to overdo the white

 

[Airframes]

I can't help with which paint shade to use, but bear in mind that restored, currently airworthy aircraft very often use gloss paints, in order to prevent or minimise weathering and paint wear. A gloss finish, even in the exact same shade as the matt version, will look different and, normally, a touch darker.
The xtracrylic paint sounds like the one to use, with a matt clear coat to finish, which will tone-down the 'starkness' and, I'd guess, make it look 'right'.

 

[Crimea_River]

A lot of Corsairs in period shots look very beat up from the sun so the faded paint looked nothing like when it left the factory. If you have a particular subject in mind, best bet would be to see if there are a series of pics that might show what it looked like.