Matt XF shades in the larger jar are the workhorses of military modelling. Olives, field greys, desert and cockpit tones disappear faster across the broad surfaces of a tank, an aircraft or a ship than you expect, and topping up from another batch midway through a camouflage scheme rarely ends well.
A matt surface also forms a lightly absorbent ground that holds pigments, flowing washes and drybrushing, which makes the weathering that follows considerably easier.
A matt surface scatters light, so a scaled-down subject does not read as a plastic toy. The main benefit, though, is technical: matt paint is slightly absorbent, so earth products and pigments hold onto it with no further fixing. A gloss ground repels them and weathering slides straight off.
Lay the darkest tone of the scheme first as the base, then the lighter shades. That builds a depth which survives the weathering stage. Spray soft transitions from further back, and mask hard edges with tape only on a matured coat.
Matt surfaces do decals no favours. Bring the spots where they will go to gloss first, for instance with a shade from the gloss paints category or a separate clear coat, and knock the model back to matt at the end.
Once the finish is sealed with a clear coat, run flowing shadows into the seams. Suitable products are in the washes category, where thin paint finds the recesses on its own and brings out the panel work.
The main destination for these shades is military vehicle kits, although they serve just as well on aircraft interiors and ship decks. The complete overview of the larger size is in the Tamiya Acrylic Paints 23 ml category.
