I just purchased my first Tamiya model and I’m having a hard time figuring out the correct paint colors I need to complete this Rufe. I don’t see a list of paint colors with color match numbers. Am I missing it?
I want to paint it in the early stage color scheme, which is an overall light gray with a black cowling. The instruction sheet says “light gray”. So, I went to Testors and found the Japanese WWII aircraft colors, which list “Imperial Japanese Army Light Gray” and “Imperial Japanese Navy Sky Gray”. I would assume it would be the Navy Sky Gray, but it looks too dark.
Any suggestions? I would also be interested in trying the Tamiya acrylic paints too if someone might know the correct colors. Thanks for the help!
I just completed a Rufe too…I painted mine green over grey but I made my own mix of grey. I didnt like what was availabe, it was either too light or too green. I weathered it so the grey comes thru the green. Take a look at our Pacific War GB…I posted it there and there are other zeros you can check out too.
Now tamiya makes a grey green I havent tried that one. Remember these are strictly navy planes. Tamiya also makes a JN Grey but to me it has a blueissh green tinit to it. Goes well with the green over grey
The Tamiya instruction sheet doesn’t list call-outs for Tamiya paint colors? That’s really odd.
On every Tamiya kit I’ve built, the list of paint was on the front page of the instructions. And in each step, you’ll see something like X-2 or XF-63 or even XF-5+XF-7 (2+1) (which is 2 parts XF-5 + 1 part XF-7).
Sometimes, other manufacturers list just the official colors, like an FS# for american, RLM for German and IJA (or IJN) for Japanese. Do you see any IJN numbers? If those are listed, you can check the IPMS stockholm color conversions http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/colorcharts.asp which shows FS, RLM and IJN to Tamiya/Humbrol/Testors conversions.
Thanks Gremilin…The interior is straight from the bottle Tamiya Nakajima Interior…forgot the number. Like I said…go to our War in the Pacific GB…lots of great pics and info there. also
Fred, no, my instruction manual does not have a paint list on the first page, or any page of the instructions for that matter. It also does not have the Tamiya paint codes, or paint mix suggestions. All it as is common color names, like “black” or “green”.
I was able to find the model on the Tamiya USA website and that listed the recommended colors with the Tamiya codes, so at least that’s a start. I’m sure those are the color paints I need, but it still doesn’t have mix formulas. Thank you for the color chart link.
Carlos, thanks for the j-aircraft link. I also found your group build thread, so I’ll take a look through that as well.
Also, thanks wayne, for the paint suggestions you used to complete your model. I’d love to see a picture of it if you ever get the chance to post one.
The gray color you are searching for has been debated for years - and is usually split between two opposing opinions: a gray w/ a greenish tint, or a more ‘chalky’ gray. What’s more confusing is that the color differed depending upon if the particular airframe was built by Mitsubishi or Nakajima - both of whom built Zeros during the war.
The “black” cowling I can better set right: It was not black, but very dark blue. Taking into consideration scale-effect a true black would definitely not appear correct.
I’d love to see pictures of the completed project!
Oops . . . The interior (as defined as crew-areas) was painted as shown in the photo. The panel is from a J2M2 Raiden, another Mitsubishi product, but the color was identical.
Thanks for the more detailed info, Ron! And, I appreciate the pic of the instrument panel. I also had a look at the new section of your website that you announced today. I bookmarked it for future use.
Nathan, I suspect the reason that your A6M2-N doesn’t have the Tamiya paint codes is because the kit came out well before Tamiya began producing their own paints. I guess they never got around to updating the instructions.
Something to keep in mind here is that Mitsubishi did not build any of the A6M2n “rufe”. Nakajima built all of them. So the interior color should be Nakajima Interior Green which is a little lighter and a little more yellow then the Mitsubishi color. The Mr Color version looks fine. The Rufes were initially painted Ame-iro just like the other Zeros but they were always kept outside. They were constantly exposed to sunlight, sand, wind, and saltwater / salt spray. Because of this, as Cole mentioned, they tended to fade to a chalky grey. Sometimes so light as to look almost dirty white. In '43 they were painted over with green uppers. Some I would assume kept the faded Ame-iro bottoms and some probably had fresh IJN light grey put on the bottoms. And of course, the paint on lower areas (especially the main float) took a constant beating.
