Hobby color - IJN zelená

The green of Japanese carrier aircraft

The dark olive green carried on the upper surfaces of the machines of the Imperial Japanese Navy is among the most sought-after tones of the war in the Pacific. You meet it on A6M fighters of the later series, on B5N torpedo aircraft and on aircraft deployed after 1943, when the earlier light gray-green finish was dropped in favor of covering camouflage.

Properties of the coating

It is a water-soluble acrylic supplied in a bottle of ten milliliters. The manufacturer developed it above all for an airbrush. Thinning with water only makes sense when spraying onto an absorbent base; for smooth plastic the brand's own thinner suits better, and its leveling variant also keeps the nozzle clear throughout the work.

• Stir the contents thoroughly before every filling of the cup, otherwise the drying suffers
• A base of spray putty improves both coverage and adhesion of the layer
• For brush work add roughly a quarter of the volume of drying retarder
• You fine-tune the degree of sheen by adding the matte base from the same range

Over-thinning does not pay. The paint then keeps a grainy texture once dry and stops covering, so the shade of the plastic shows through. Look for the consistency at which the layer still flows into a smooth surface but already hides the base. Testing on an offcut of a sprue saves you respraying a finished model.

Telling it apart from the army green

Watch out for confusion with the similar tone of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Although the two greens look alike at first glance, the naval version is cooler and noticeably darker, whereas the army one looks browner. The difference only stands out in a direct comparison, so it pays to mix a swatch on card and keep it at hand during the build.