Hey all, I’m building a 1/48 Tamiya A6M3 Zero and want to paint it the white/grey scheme and am wondering what works well for those that have done them already. I tried the Tamiya grey/green in the rattle can on a previous build; it came out ok but I didn’t like it really. In reference photos they looked more whitish-grey (I am aware of the questions relating to historical accuracy but am not concerned with the issue). I like this look much more and before I just start mixing I thought I’d ask for some first-hand knowledge. I tried the Tamiya J.N. Grey straight from the bottle in a 50:50 thinner mix and it looked alright but it was a little too dark for my satisfaction. I think I could have been happy with it but my real fear was that after clear coating it, it would look darker still. I ended up stripping the plane… Not a tough call since I covered the pre-shade anyway. My next step would be to just add a few drops of white to the JN Grey. Any thoughts or experiences to share?
If you’re not worried about accuracy I’d say just mix to your liking. You can add some white or light tan color if you think the original gray you used was too dark. One thing to remember if you do weathering that will change the color tones a bit anyway. Can’t offer you anything else except as you already know, Zero’s weren’t white and gray. Tamiya’s gray/green is pretty close to the correct wartime color.
I believe the early war IJN grey color you are refering to is called “Ame-Hiro”, because it resembled a popular candy in Japan at the time. Its actually a carmelish color. To replicate this color, I use Tamiya XF-76 Grey/Green. I can’t answer for the rattle can version, but I believe Tamiya finally came out with this in a bottle when they introduced their 1/32 Model 21 A6M2 a few years ago. It looks dead on to me. I suspect it seems dark to you because you haven’t taken scale into consideration. Just add a tad of white. Here’s my 1/48 Model 21 in this shade as a reference.
Hope this helps,
Joe
Thanks Joe and Nathan. I just decided to stick with the J.N. Grey for this build. With the preshading redone and the final coat applied it looks pretty good. That color also has a greenish tint to it, though I don’t think it’s quite as bold as the xf-76.
Joe that model 21 looks really beautiful. That’s one of my favorite planes and yours is certainly one of the very best I’ve seen, thanks for sharing your photos.
I did a model 21 using the Tamiya AS-29 IJN Grey/Green rattlecan. Supposedly this is the same color as the bottled xf-76 but yours looks much more caramel and less pistachio green than mine looked out of the can. I did not yet put any gloss or matte coat over it yet, nor have I done any pre post shading or washes of any kind so when I get to it, the end result may very well look quite different.
May I ask what steps you took when painting that build? Thanks again to you both.
For a really nice gloss coat first make sure the finish on the model is smooth, and then apply Future with a hint of Simple Green (just enough to tint the color from clear to have a slight green tint to it, first it breaks surface tension and then it makes the future keep a wet look to it even after it dries) and once dry Florys Pro Modeller Wash for panel line details and what not. Works great every time! Once your done with all your weathering you can add Vallejo’s flat acrylic varnish to future to get a dead flat look if you so desire. (Changing the ratio of flatt varnish to future can give you a dead flat of semi gloss) Or you can uses Testors dull coat to seal the deal!
Jeremy, Thanks for the compliment. Rather than rehash, here’s the link to my build thread which outlines how I came up with my Ame-Hiro finish. You’ll have to scroll through the pages but its in there.
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/148424.aspx
Joe
Jeremy: Lol, this question comes up every few months or so, I wish the mods would make a ‘sticky’ post on it!
Joe’s Zero looks pretty darn close to me, it matches most photos and reference material I’ve seen.
Dito Gamera. There is a nice “sticky” over on ARC though.
Thanks for the tips Pzl, and the build link, Joe. I’m going to enjoy going over that.
I have to get shopping and I pick up some some more finishing materials, lol.
I built the same model as you and was stumped as to the color as well so I ended up doing the JA Green with JA Grey undersurface. That said, next Zero-Sen I build I’m going to try JN Grey with some XF-57 Buff added. From what I’ve read thus far WWII Japanese aircraft colors are one of the most discussed and disagreed upon aspects of modeling! As you said; it’s more about what looks right to you as opposed to historical fact. Good luck with it!
lawdog114, I checked out your Zero build, conclusion: you are an artist!
Thanks Lonski. Its nice to see renewed interest in that build. I was pleased with how that turned out. I have the new mold Tamiya A6M3 and 5 in the stash I’m going to get to eventually.
Joe
I think with your lighting the color came out as close to “Caramel” tan that the early war aircraft were supposedly painted. So I would say that color is probably a grayish tan than anything else but white Ensign has a Mitsubishi Gray paint that would work on the A6M3 as that was “Mid War” (which was the 42-43 timeframe).
Wouldn’t Tamiya Buff lightened with white also replicate the Ame-Hiro paint?
I confirmed that the XF-76 is no longer available, though you can get the AS-29 rattlecan. The JN Gray looks nearly identical to the XF-76. I was able to get a bottle of the original grey/green at a store in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago, then again yesterday at a hobby store in Columbus, OH. Last bottle at both places, I’m glad I stopped in!
I don’t think I’d even bother tinting the JN Grey, it is so close. I suspect it is why Tamiya no longer offers the grey/green.
Also, a note on the final shade… I was curious about my model 21 looking more green than that nice caramel color on Joe’s build. After a gloss coat and oil wash followed by another gloss coat, mine ended up looking less pale green and had a nice caramel/green shade to it as well. Hope that helps anyone who is like me and thinks, “man, this color is a really weird shade of green!”
Why the heck did they discontinue XF-76? Do these model companies just enjoy messing with people? I did an old Tamiya A6M2 years ago in the XF-12 IJN Grey, long before the “Ame-Hiro Discovery and Debate” and having used both, I certainly could tell the difference. The XF-76 looks perfect to me…ugh!
Joe
Don’t worry Joe, Gunze has this color in the Mr. Color laquer line. Its in stock at sprue brothers.
Oh that’s good to know, thanks for the tip. I will also still be keeping an eye out for any remaining bottles of XF-76 that I may find when I travel for work. It also seems easily attainable on sites like Amazon and others, though you’ll probably end up paying double the normal cost.
If you can’t find it, decanting the AS-29 remains an option as it is still available.