Mr. Color - IJN zelená (Nakajima)

A Green Tied to the Manufacturer

The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service had no single standard camouflage shade, because each factory mixed its paint to its own formula. The green from Nakajima therefore differs from the same tone made at other factories. For a modeler, this detail matters: without knowing the specific factory, you would not know which of two close shades to buy.

Paint properties

Behind the pigment stands a lacquer on an organic solvent, and water would only curdle the binder. It can be thinned solely with thinner from this same line, at a ratio you should confirm on a test piece. The package contains ten milliliters; the dried coat is hard and has no texture.

Building recommendation

• Track down the manufacturer of the airframe — for licensed-built aircraft, you cannot tell from the designation alone
• A dark engine cowling and colored propeller blades are an inseparable part of this scheme
• Worn paint at the wing root leading edge is clearly visible in period photographs
• Mix the contents before starting and during the work

The difference between the individual variants is visible on a finished model, especially when several aircraft stand side by side. Choosing the correct variant is therefore worth a few minutes of checking in reference material.

Additional notes

• The shade looks more intense on a small area than on a color chart
• A light base keeps the tone consistent over both plastic and filler
• The dried coat can be polished on aircraft with a well-maintained finish

On Japanese types, the underside of the airframe differed from the upper surface in both shade and finish. Getting both surfaces to work together helps the result more than a perfectly executed green on top alone.