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A question about painting a Shinden Japanese fighter.


kolibri282

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On the Hasagawa Shinden model painting guide they mention a color called Mitsubishi Green.

In Tamiya or Humbrol what color green is that?

Or is there a specific paint available in another paint collection called Mitsubishi Green?

Any ideas ?

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They're actually talking about Mitsubishi cockpit green, a shade quite similar to, but a bit darker than, US Interior Green (34151). Hasegawa recommends Mr. Color no. 126, which IMHO looks very good. Tamiya makes a cockpit green, XF-71, that people seem to use for Mitsubishi cockpits. I don't know it, so can't comment.

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Most of the Hasegawa Shinden kits suggest "Green (Mitsubishi)" - Gunze 35/H61 (the paint is actually labelled as IJN Grey (Mitsubishi)) for the exterior under surfaces. I have no idea why Hasegawa repeatedly describe 35/H61 as "Green" because it is a light blue grey.

The equivalent Tamiya paint for the undersurface grey colour as suggested by Hasegawa would be XF-12 J.N. Grey and in Humbrol 64 Matt Light Grey (as suggested by Airfix although personally I think that 127 Satin US Ghost Grey is closer in appearance to the Gunze paint colour).
Without getting drawn into the thorny subject of real Shinden under surface colours (the NASM example has unpainted natural metal) the actual grey paints in use by the IJN tended to be warm, yellowish greys (somewhat like RLM 02) chalking over time to appear as neutral dove or slightly blueish greys. The Zoukei-Moura Shinden kit instructions suggest Panzer Aces 70344 White which appears to be a greyish off-white intended for German winter tank camo and uniforms. That probably reflects the tendency of Japanese modelling books and articles to describe IJN Grey as "bright/light white(ish) grey colour".

Hasegawa suggest Gunze 27/H58 Interior Green for the cockpit with 15/H59 IJN Green (Nakajima) for the pilot seat and the exterior upper surfaces. The main extant paint colour in the NASM Shinden cockpit interior is a slightly greyish green approximately similar to FS 34159.

Nick

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Most of the Hasegawa Shinden kits suggest "Green (Mitsubishi)" - Gunze 35/H61 (the paint is actually labelled as IJN Grey (Mitsubishi)) for the exterior under surfaces. I have no idea why Hasegawa repeatedly describe 35/H61 as "Green" because it is a light blue grey.

The equivalent Tamiya paint for the undersurface grey colour as suggested by Hasegawa would be XF-12 J.N. Grey and in Humbrol 64 Matt Light Grey (as suggested by Airfix although personally I think that 127 Satin US Ghost Grey is closer in appearance to the Gunze paint colour).
Without getting drawn into the thorny subject of real Shinden under surface colours (the NASM example has unpainted natural metal) the actual grey paints in use by the IJN tended to be warm, yellowish greys (somewhat like RLM 02) chalking over time to appear as neutral dove or slightly blueish greys. The Zoukei-Moura Shinden kit instructions suggest Panzer Aces 70344 White which appears to be a greyish off-white intended for German winter tank camo and uniforms. That probably reflects the tendency of Japanese modelling books and articles to describe IJN Grey as "bright/light white(ish) grey colour".

Hasegawa suggest Gunze 27/H58 Interior Green for the cockpit with 15/H59 IJN Green (Nakajima) for the pilot seat and the exterior upper surfaces. The main extant paint colour in the NASM Shinden cockpit interior is a slightly greyish green approximately similar to FS 34159.

Nick

I'm looking at the Hasegawa instructions for the N1K2-J kit 'Early Version,' JT73. There's no mention of Gunze 27 or 35, either Mr. Color or Mr. Hobby. The cockpit, including the seat, is called out as a 1-1 mix of Gunze 126 (Mitsubishi cockpit green) and 127 (Nakajima cockpit green), which is the lighter, kind of pea-greenish shade. I haven't tried the mix, but is looks as if it would result in something closer to 34259.

They call for Gunze 8 (silver) for the under surfaces (=NMF).

FWIW, Mr. Color has a set of three bottles, CS668, specifically intended for the Shinden. It includes C383 what they call Dark Green (Kawanishi), C384 what they call Cockpit Color (Kawanishi), and C385 Red (Japanese Navy Marking) for painting the Hinomarus if desired. The cockpit color looks really close to 34259, a yellow-green similar to US Interior Green, but lighter.

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And I was looking at the Shinden 震電 (J7W) kits rather than Shiden 紫電 (N1K) kits!

The Mr Color set is for the Kawanishi Shiden kai (N1K2-J) - not the Kyushu Shinden.

Nick

Aha, that would explain it. That pesky little "n!" I wonder which plane the OP is talking about? In any case, Nick, what do you think about Gunze's representation of the Kawanishi cockpit color (close to 34259)? I myself tend not to get too wrapped up in minutiae where Japanese cockpit greens are concerned. Still ...

Edited by Seawinder
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Well, he did write Shinden . . . ! ;-)

On N1K interiors I can't offer much more than the analysis here:-

http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2010/05/shiden-kai-shiden-kyofu-colours-part.html

a situation once again complicated by the differing comparison matches. FS 34259 is approximately similar to Thorpe's N6 Buff Green.

Nick

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Thanks everyone! Much appeciated and most welcome advice. I'm more bothered getting the overall exterior green right at the moment.

The other details are very helpful though. I'd like to think I could get as near as possible building this unique aircraft model.

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  • 5 years later...
On 6/1/2015 at 6:45 PM, Seawinder said:

The cockpit, including the seat, is called out as a 1-1 mix of Gunze 126 (Mitsubishi cockpit green) and 127 (Nakajima cockpit green), which is the lighter, kind of pea-greenish shade. I haven't tried the mix, but is looks as if it would result in something closer to 34259.

My mix 1:1 Tamiya XF-21 Sky & Tamiya XF-81 Dark Green 2 (RAF):

20200718-205251.jpg

On 6/1/2015 at 6:45 PM, Seawinder said:

C384 what they call Cockpit Color (Kawanishi),

13085.jpg

gunze-cs-668-nak2-j.jpg

Probably need little yellow colour added in my mix?

 

Why Tamiya XF-21 Sky & Tamiya XF-81 Dark Green 2 (RAF)? Because my mobile colour translate show this colour as close on 95% with Gunze 126 (Mitsubishi cockpit green) and 127 (Nakajima cockpit green).

 

B.w. Hasegawa in her instruction for Kawanishi N1K2-J SHIDENKAI in 72nd scale shows Gunze 340 Field Green FS34097 for cocpit interior colour.

Hasegawa in 72nd scale & Hasegawa in 48th scale it's

so difference!!!

😁😁 

 

B.R.

Serge

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