Hello everyone and Merry Christmas! I was wondering what the difference is between flat black and NATO black. Thank you for your time!
i think the NATO black has a touch of blue but i can’t tell by looking. certainly not as light as scale black or engine gray.
Ah, okay. I was hoping that it was lighter (like scale black) so I could be lazy and not mix my own!
That all depends upon who’s NATO Black you choose. Tamiya’s is an off black with a bluish green hue. Polly Scale’s NATO Black is a slightly faded black. What I did see with my Mk.I eyeball, on real vehicles with the NATO tri color camo, was flat black when fresh, and then it weathered to a dark black bluish gray on vehicles in the sunshine.
I’ve always thought that the Tamiya NATO black was a dark green, not blue. Take a drop of the paint and add a couple of drops of thinner and you’ll see what I mean. It kinda reminds me of “black” easter egg dye; no matter how long I soaked those eggs in “black” dye, it would come out dark green.
I mix my own scale black with Tamiya flat black and dark gray (about 50/50). However, NATO black does look good on tires for dark green or olive drab vehicles. The green tint of the tire ties in with the green of the vehicle. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
Testors makes an “aircraft interior black” that is a slightly faded version of flat black available in both enamel and acrylic if you have access to some.
Groot
Tamiya’s NATO Black has a hint of green in it. It almost resembles RLM 70 Black Green.
I use it to paint boxes and such in cockpits. To me it brush paints a little better than their flat black. Agreed, it does have some RLM70 like qualities…
Joe