This has always bothered me. The models look great but why aren't they white? They are white in the movies.

I never saw Star Destroyers as white until Rogue One, every other time I looked at them I presumed they were that marvelous slate grey that always showed up in the movies. I never attributed it to photo filters vs. the model. Frankly, I still don't internalize that as white.

Empire had a blue filter over like, 90% of the movie. In New Hope they were white.

Also could justify it with fluff like saying it is the ISD I vs ISD II

This has always bothered me. The models look great but why aren't they white? They are white in the movies.

In the old Rebellion PC stratgi game, ISD I's where white, while IDS II's where blue grey.

In the first SW movie (ANH) there is a ISD I and it is relatively white.

In the second SW movie (ESB) there are ISD II's and they are relatively blue grey.

The FFG model is a ISD II and it is grey, so it is as correct as you can get to it color wise.

If you modify FFG ISD white ISD I parts from Mel, then I would suggest to paint it base white, before giving it a wash.

Cause the empire cant affoard to run their ISD though the SD wash to clean off the space dust

I would have been shocked if the FFG ISD had been white. I never knew they were supposed to be until Rogue One (where the white really stands out, and almost looks a bit too fake).

That being said, if they released a white ISD with the different bridge configuration, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

I think at a small scale the grey allows for some better contrasts than the white which would potentially look washed out.

Perhaps they're just dirty? Can't be easy to wash an entire city in a vacuum...

Honestly, the white ships in Rogue One looked overexposed. I figured they'd done that on purpose to show off stellar bodies in contrast, but maybe the Empire got a good price on a few buckets of Gloss White house paint?

This is the face of the Imperial Star Destroyer.

It is one of the first results when you enter in the search on google. It is the common result when you enter in a search on Google. For nearly every depiction and image of a Star Destroyer, including ones where it's supposed to be the ISD-I, this is the image used.

Honestly it feels that before Rogue One, the Imperial-I depiction seen there never even existed except as oopsies with "The New Hope Model". They even converted the Devastator to look more like the Avenger above by flipping the targeting sensor!

I'm a bit sore about it personally because I loved the ANH model since I began noticing the distinction, but it never got the attention. Now Rogue One happens to make the model as awesome as I saw it being, and now everyone is asking why our Star Destroyers weren't that way in the first place. Well, it wasn't, because the Empire model was always perceived as better.

As for being FFG grey with off-color panels, it seems that's FFG's standard paint treatment of all Imperial craft. I've started priming my Imperial ships in base white and they look magnificent .

If you don't feel that's blue/grey enough, compare with the white finish below:

This is the face of the Imperial Star Destroyer.

It is one of the first results when you enter in the search on google. It is the common result when you enter in a search on Google. For nearly every depiction and image of a Star Destroyer, including ones where it's supposed to be the ISD-I, this is the image used.

Honestly it feels that before Rogue One, the Imperial-I depiction seen there never even existed except as oopsies with "The New Hope Model". They even converted the Devastator to look more like the Avenger above by flipping the targeting sensor!

I'm a bit sore about it personally because I loved the ANH model since I began noticing the distinction, but it never got the attention. Now Rogue One happens to make the model as awesome as I saw it being, and now everyone is asking why our Star Destroyers weren't that way in the first place. Well, it wasn't, because the Empire model was always perceived as better.

As for being FFG grey with off-color panels, it seems that's FFG's standard paint treatment of all Imperial craft. I've started priming my Imperial ships in base white and they look magnificent .

If you don't feel that's blue/grey enough, compare with the white finish below:

Unfortunately FFG hasn't exactly been accurate when it comes to the ISD in any respect so far. So I'm not sure we'll get that ANH ISD-I anytime soon.

I'd love to see any finished ships you have in the base white.

Well they may run out of ideas and do another ISD, this time in the Rogue 1 model.

Also keep in mind, lighting is very important and will wash out colors.

It's a big Empire. Why would you expect all Star Destroyers to be painted exactly the same colour? Through various EU materials there has been considerable variation in ISD colouration.

Well they may run out of ideas and do another ISD, this time in the Rogue 1 model.

Also keep in mind, lighting is very important and will wash out colors.

^fact. Whites that are then overexposed wash out detail like nobody's business. The lack of contrast can be jarring without a visual key as to why it's like that (framing with solar corona, etc). It's one of the things that struck me as odd in the movie; the ISDs always looked like models in a studio, rather than ships not space. I appreciated the hell out of the models and their details, but I couldn't see the movie for the props whenever the SDs were on screen. That shot in the picture above is case in point for me.

This is the face of the Imperial Star Destroyer.

If you don't feel that's blue/grey enough, compare with the white finish below:

I really don't see this image as white, except for some spots on the bridge like the shield generators that look over exposed, as in have no detail. See it as more light grey and bad lighting/shooting.

The Rogue One Star Destroyers are definitely white.

It's even more obvious in the battle at the Scarif shield generator. I thought they looked a bit too much like unfinished models when I first saw the film, but in subsequent viewings I came to like it. But it is very different from ESB, ROTJ, and Force Awakens (honesty it's very different ANH).

It's a big Empire. Why would you expect all Star Destroyers to be painted exactly the same colour? Through various EU materials there has been considerable variation in ISD colouration.

This is because on most of the EU the Empire had already been defeated, leaving successor states and enemy forces to commandeer remaining Star Destroyers for their own purposes. In nearly all the old EU books set just after or during the Galactic Civil War, Star Destroyers and similar large Imperial ships were described as being a standard white in accordance with Imperial regulations.

One of the core elements of the Imperial design was to make their military prominent and imposing, so it would be visible as a sign of power to their enemies at all times. This is a large part of why stormtroopers are issued a bright white uniform and why TIE Fighters are always deployed in big swarms. You'll take a few out but there will be dozens or even hundreds of identical soldiers behind them filling in the gaps.

I think newly constructed ISD's are white. After about 1 week in service they become the grey ones. With some exceptions where an overzealous captain decides to use the 20.000 crew to clean the hull 24/7 to keep his ISD pristine white rather than at combat readiness.

I own a copy of Sculpting the Galaxy, a book that's nothing but photos of the props. The Star Destroyer models, even after RotJ, were very clearly white or a very light grey. A couple shades lighter than the color of the Falcon.

I have man-cave envy

Imagine playing Armada with THOSE models

We'd never complain about the sliding scale again!

The models themselves are never the same colour as they appear on the screen, due to lighting, editing, and screen display.

This is because on most of the EU the Empire had already been defeated, leaving successor states and enemy forces to commandeer remaining Star Destroyers for their own purposes. In nearly all the old EU books set just after or during the Galactic Civil War, Star Destroyers and similar large Imperial ships were described as being a standard white in accordance with Imperial regulations.

I can't actually remember that much description of ISD colour from the books. I was mostly thinking of video game depictions, where Star Destroyers are mostly shades of grey. Anyway, I think the point stands that ISDs don't always have to be stark white. They aren't in TESB.