your favourite Tamiya Grey color for modern jet?

[remy909]

Hello,

 

i am testing several kind of  tamiya grey on every 1/48 modern aircraft i build and i still did not find any grey that look perfect (look like a real modern aircraft)

 

i tested RLM grey, light grey, neutral grey, medium gray, dark grey, light navy grey, light ghost grey, dark ghost grey...

 

the only one with a decent result (look realistic is the RLM grey).

 

May i ask you what is the kind of grey (in Tamiya)  you consider as the more realistic to paint modern aircraft ? 

 

regards,

Edited October 1, 2020 by remy909

[thegoodsgt]

To help us answer your question, which specific grey are you looking to capture for your model? So you're aware, different countries and different aircraft sport different shades of grey, so we'll need to know the model you're building so we can then offer suggestions.

[stalal]

For an example, if I have to paint an F-16 in modern grey scheme, I dont find any color in Tamiya acrylic range. For me, Gunze Aqueous H series paints provide the best modern grey colors. 

[Fly-n-hi]

You have to mix the Tamiya paints to get colors like Light/Dark Ghost Grey.

[Ben Brown]

Welcome @remy909!
 

I’m assuming by your question that you’re limited to Tamiya paint? As others have said, Tamiya doesn’t have out-of-the-bottle matches for a lot of (most?) military colors. If you Google “Tamiya paint mixes” you’ll find several good links to pages that will give you the mixing proportions for a lot of the colors used on modern and older aircraft. 

 

Ben

 

 

[remy909]

yes i was thinking tamyia because i like this brand.. for me all modern aircraft look like the same grey in real model picture..just wondering wich grey is best according to you..

 

actually im still doing 4 more basic 1/48 model and then i will start a F-35  1/32 for which i bough several additionnal part. 

 

let's say for a F-35 which grey will you use ? 

 

@Stalal: thx i will buy Gunze Aqueous H to try 

Edited October 1, 2020 by remy909

[seawinder]

30 minutes ago, remy909 said:

yes i was thinking tamyia because i like this brand.. for me all modern aircraft look like the same grey in real model picture..just wondering wich grey is best according to you..

 

let's say for a F-35 which grey will you use ? 

 

The color you're after is FS 36170 Camouflage Gray. In another thread here at ARC, someone did a paint-to-paint comparison of a number of brands for this very color:

 

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/303049-obsession-with-fs-36170-who-got-it-right/

 

Here's his suggestion for getting close with Tamiya paints:

 

Tamiya XF-54 Dark Sea Grey mixed with Tamiya X-32 Titanium Silver is good.  Mixing ratio is 4 parts XF-54 to 1 part X-32.  The titanium silver tones down the blue somewhat and provides the required metallic sheen.

 

If you allow yourself to get a little deeper into the subject, I think you'll find that all modern aircraft grays are most definitely not the same. For example, compare an F-35 with an F-15E, which is painted FS 36118 Gunship Gray.

[RichardL]

1 hour ago, remy909 said:

for me all modern aircraft look like the same grey in real model picture.

 

Not the same grey to me.  The color on the F-35 is completely different from the colors on the F-18 or F-15.

[remy909]

thank you very much i will order that and try

 

thanks again 🙂

[RichardL]

Here you go, same grey?

 

 

[Quixote74]

Hi Remy -

 

As others have noted, there is a multitude of different colors/shades of gray used on modern military aircraft.  Most countries, especially in the west, use established color standards for these that ensure the colors used on one aircraft, part, etc. matches another.  In most cases the official paint schemes for modern aircraft are well documented, so a question here about a specific type will tell you exactly which color(s) you need.  The U.S. color standard, until recently, was known as Federal Standard 595 (updates over time adding a letter suffix, e.g. FS 595B). 

 

Many paint lines match (to varying degrees of accuracy) FS595 and/or similar standards, but Tamiya has never done so for their acrylic line.  If you're firmly wedded to that brand, Tamiya does provide some FS matches (although not labeled as such) in their AS line of spray paints.  For reasons unknown they still don't list the actual FS 595 colors on the labels, but the line includes several of the most common colors, such as the "Ghost Grays" and colors of the current USAF F-16 scheme.  FS 36170 isn't offered as part of the line.

 

FS 595 colors from Tamiya AS spray line:

AS-13 Green = FS 34079

AS-14 Olive Green = FS 34102

AS-15 Tan = FS 30219

AS-16 Light Gray = FS 36622

AS-19 Intermediate Blue = FS 35164

AS-20 Insignia White = FS 17875 (known to not match actual FS standard)

AS-25 Dark Ghost Gray = FS 36320

AS-26 Light Ghost Gray = FS 36375

AS-27 Gunship Gray 2 = FS 36118

AS-28 Medium Gray = FS 36270

 

For a lot more information on various international color standards, along with partial matches to available hobby paint lines, you can check out the IPMS Stockholm color cross-reference charts:

 

https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/urbans-color-reference-charts-part-i/