Acrysion - letadlová šedá

The lighter gray of undersides and of the first war years

Before blue took hold in the Pacific, American naval machines flew in a light gray paint over the whole airframe. That is how the F4F-3 Wildcats, the Dauntless dive bombers and the flying boats looked at the start of the fighting and in the peacetime years before it. When the division into blue bands then came, this light tone moved onto the undersides and stayed there as a counterweight to the dark spine.

Besides aircraft it suits surfaces that are meant to stay neutral: instrument boxes, the landing gear bays of older machines or the light parts of workshop accessories. It also works well as a base under bright shades, because vivid colors hold their tone better on a light gray than on white.

Recommendations on layering

With light tones it is evenness that decides. Apply them in thin steps and let each one dry, otherwise blotches appear where the passes overlap. The medium is thinned with water and when sprayed it takes a somewhat thinner mix than modelers are used to with dark shades.

Always stir the container right down to the bottom. With a gray that counts double: unmixed pigment shifts it into a cold or conversely a greenish tone and the difference shows on a finished surface. Anyone who wants to bring the area out later with a wash should lay a smooth gloss interlayer under it, otherwise more grime soaks into the light flat coat than is good for it.

On larger scale models it pays to tell the individual panels apart with a barely noticeable change of tone in a light gray. It is enough to drop a little white, or conversely a darker shade, into part of the paint and go over selected areas; a difference that looks negligible in the cup gives a finished model depth.