I have the following 1/72 IJN planes to do and I would like to know the correct paints from the WEM colourcoats range to use.
Misubishi A6M5 'Zero', Aichi B7N 'Grace' and a Yokosuka D4Y 'Judy'. Now I know they are all Dark Green and Light grey but WEM do various different shades. I see there are Mitsubishi colours and Nakajima colours and some generic colours. Can anyone tell me the correct ones to use
thanks
Mike

Mike,

The Zero was built by Mitsubishi, and by Nakajima (under license). For complete accuracy, you'll need to determine which company built the specific aircraft you're modeling. So... you'll have to decide on markings for your Zero, and research from there. Keep in mind that Mitsubishi used interior green for the rear cockpit (or turtle) decking, while Nakajima used flat black for this area.

As for the other two aircraft, I don't know - I don't use WEM's aircraft colors. If you're just getting into Japanese aircraft, you'll quickly learn that paint color is something that is endlessly debated. I have read considerable debate on the accuracy of WEM's Japanese aircraft colors range. I tend to use a mix of Gunze and Tamiya greens for my IJN stuff. If you want to really delve into the accuracy question, the best places to start are:

http://www.j-aircraft.com

and

http://www.stragglerresearch.com

Be warned... You may leave with more questions than you originally walked in with. It can be a big can of worms, depending on how "accurate" you want to be.

HTH,

Bill

Bill is right - it is a little complicated, and it depends on which factory and which aircraft (at least for the zero).

the aichi and yokosuka factory colors might have been consistent, unless they too had some construction at other factories...

I had this same issue a few months ago, read a lot of stuff, and just decided to go with the Tamiya paints closest to the recommended kit colors figuring no one is going to see it but people visiting my house, only one of which is a fellow modeler.
So I went for technique over accuracy.

Then I threw the whole kit aside because the fit of the kit's parts were awful and it was no longer fun.
(it was one of the cheaper Hasegawa 1:48 Zero kits)