Imperial Japanese Navy Gray

Shortly before WWII and early in WWII, until sometime in 1942, Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft were painted overall in a pale olive green. This color is what many people look at black and white pictures and call gray. The paint was almost automotive glossy, and seems to “bronze” with age, breaking down and leaving (what appeared to this researcher) a raised brownish, almost crinkle finish that could almost pass for a varnish. The paint seems to break down and separate with age. Undoubtedly, this “bronzing” could have been due to handling, exposure to the elements, etc., because better kept samples were glossy, pale, and almost straight gray-olive (as if one could imagine a “pastel olive color”). The average samples appeared to be deteriorating semi-gloss olive drab; almost how boiled linseed oil leaves a slightly dingy coating when it has aged. The worst samples seemed to be matte, straight gray, and missing the “varnish look” altogether; as though it would rub off if put to the test.

Since the paint seems to deteriorate with age, and especially with exposure, the colors are best researched using the best examples with the average and worst examples as comparisons. Color matching was performed with Federal Standard FS-595B chips and Munsell Color Notation on the best relic examples, those of Iida’s A6M2 Zero which was shot down on December 7, 1941 in Hawaii. The Munsell match was 7.8Y 5.5/2.5, which matched in a variety of lighting conditions. This chip was then compared to other sources, and it was quickly found that a match in one lighting situation was not a match in all lighting situations. A table was prepared and filled to attempt to chart the differences under the different lighting situations. The initial chip was matched to some FS chips and other out of the bottle model paints. In the table below, to make the color chips easier to look up, the FS-595B Fan Deck (July 1994, NSN 7690-01-162-2210) blade is also supplied. Here are the results:

Incandescent Light	Fluorescent Light	Indirect Sunlight	Direct Sunlight
7 / 14255 is very close, but a little too tan	7 / 14255 is very close, but a little too olive	7 / 14255 is close, but a bit too olive	7 / 14255 is much too olive
7 / 14257 is close, but a little too green	7 / 14257 is close, but a bit too green	7 / 14257 is very close, but a little too green	7 / 14257 is close, but a bit too green
16 / 16350 is close, but not green enough	16 / 16350 is close, but not green enough	16 / 16350 is far too gray	16 / 16350 is not green enough
26 / 24201 is close, but too dark gray	26 / 24201 is close, but a little too dark gray	26 / 24201 is close, but not green enough; a little too dark	26 / 24201 is close, but a bit too brown; a little too dark
46 / 33303 is a bit too tan; not green enough	46 / 33303 is very close, but not quite green enough	46 / 33303 is a lot too tan; not green enough	46 / 33303 is a lot too tan; not green enough
49 / 34258* is a bit too green	49 / 34258* is a bit too green	49 / 34258* is a bit too green, a little too dark	49 / 34258* is a bit too green
MM 34258 is too green	MM 34258 is way too green	MM 34258 is very close	MM 34258 is a little too green
MM 34201 is very close, a little dark olive	MM 34201 is very close, a little dark olive	MM 34201 is close, a little dark olive	MM 34201 is close, a little dark olive
AM Nak Int Gray-Green is very close, a little too light	AM Nak Int Gray-Green is close, a little too green	AM Nak Int Gray-Green is almost perfect, a little too light	AM Nak Int Gray-Green is ALMOST PERFECT

Some hobby paints were specially mixed to make the best match, but to date, none was as close as the Aero Master Nakajima Interior Gray-Green.

These colors were compared in December of 1999 in Michigan on a sunny day around noon. The direct light comparison was made from sunlight that shone through a window of non-tinted double-pane glass. The OOB samples were painted, then buffed lightly to “knock down” the matte finish. The incandescent lamp was a 40W light bulb, the fluorescent was a soft white 40W bipin tube with a white plastic diffuser.

Incandescent Light