Mr. Color - tmavě zelená (Mitsubishi)

The green of one manufacturer, not of a whole air force

Japanese aircraft of the Second World War had no single camouflage shade. Every aircraft factory mixed the color to its own specification, so the dark green from Mitsubishi differed visibly from the green that Nakajima used. That is exactly why the manufacturer is named: a modeler building a particular type needs to know which factory the machine came from.

Properties and thinning

The paint comes from the solvent-based lacquer line. It can be thinned exclusively with a thinner of the same brand, up to roughly twice the volume of the paint. The volume is 10 ml and the dried film is hard, smooth and resistant to masking tape.

Building recommendation

• Check who built the particular machine, because with types built under license it is not always obvious
• Combine it with a light underside and with a dark shade on the engine cowling
• Chipped paint above the wing roots is documented on Japanese machines and will benefit a model
• The paint has to be stirred repeatedly throughout the work

If the subject was built by another plant, reach for the corresponding variant of the same brand. The difference between the two greens is clearly visible on a finished model.

Practical notes

• The shade looks more saturated on a model than on the color reference, so count on that with small areas
• A light base suits a camouflage green, and the tone then stays the same over plastic and over filler
• The dried coat can be polished, which builders of machines with a surviving glossy finish will appreciate

On Japanese aircraft it pays to give attention to the undersurface as well, which was often of a different material and in a different shade from the upper surfaces. The combination of the two colors makes a model more convincing than the best sprayed green on its own.