TAMXF20 - Tamiya - Flat Medium Gray Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

TAMXF20 - Tamiya - Flat Medium Gray Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

Tamiya XF-20 Flat Medium Gray is a clean, neutral mid-grey with no significant warm or cool bias, designated in Tamiya's original colour guide as "Lower side of the plane" — the generic undersurface grey applicable to a wide range of aircraft subjects across multiple nationalities and periods. It sits between XF-19 Sky Gray (lighter) and XF-53 Neutral Gray (darker) in the Tamiya grey hierarchy, making it a versatile utility grey for aircraft undersurfaces, cockpit interiors, and mixing. It is specifically recommended as the correct cockpit interior colour for Grumman-built USN aircraft including the F6F Hellcat and TBF/TBM Avenger, where the interior surfaces were painted a medium grey rather than the Interior Green used by many USAAF types. It also serves as a key mixing component for RAF Medium Sea Gray (FS 36270) — a widely needed colour for Spitfires, Typhoons, and Tempests in the standard Day Fighter Scheme from 1941 onward — in combination with XF-24 Dark Gray (11:9 ratio).

Tamiya Acrylic paints are a hybrid acrylic formula built on water-soluble resin — they can be thinned with water, isopropyl alcohol, or lacquer thinner, and clean up easily with water before curing. When thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, the paint lays down faster, dries harder, and bonds more aggressively to the substrate. The hybrid resin chemistry means the paint film remains slightly soluble after initial drying — subsequent brush strokes can reactivate and lift the layer below if applied without restraint. For this reason, airbrushing is strongly recommended for large surface coverage. Brush painting is workable for detail and touch-up work, but requires a gentle, deliberate stroke and a fully cured base layer. See our Tamiya Acrylic vs. Enamel vs. Lacquer guide for a full breakdown of paint type differences.

• Grumman F6F-3/5 Hellcat cockpit interior — medium grey interior on the dominant USN carrier fighter from 1943 through 1945; cockpit interiors of F6F-3s used by VF-9 (USS Essex), VF-2 (USS Hornet), and VF-16 (USS Lexington) were finished in medium grey, with instrument panels transitioning to Instrument Black on later F6F-5 variants from October 1944; XF-20 is specifically cited as the correct Grumman cockpit grey
• Grumman TBF/TBM Avenger cockpit interior — medium grey interior on TBM Avenger torpedo bomber variants from 1943 onward, serving from all major USN fleet carriers at the Marianas (June 1944), Leyte Gulf (October 1944), and Okinawa (April–June 1945)
• RAF Medium Sea Gray (FS 36270) base — mixed 11:9 with XF-24 Dark Gray to produce the medium grey undersurface and lower fuselage colour of the RAF Day Fighter Scheme applied to Spitfire Mk.V, Mk.IX, and Mk.XIV, Hawker Typhoon Ib, and Hawker Tempest V operating from UK bases in Fighter Command and 2nd TAF from 1941 through 1945
• Generic aircraft undersurface grey — lower surface paint for a wide range of 1/72 and 1/48 subjects where the manufacturer's instructions call out a neutral medium grey, including inter-war biplane lower surfaces, trainer aircraft interiors, and utility types across multiple nationalities
• USAAF aircraft neutral grey — approximation of FS 36173/36270 Neutral Gray on USAAF transport and bomber aircraft undersurfaces including the C-47 Skytrain and B-24 Liberator in the natural metal and grey schemes of 1943–45
• Warship superstructure grey — mid-tone grey for Royal Navy and Commonwealth warship superstructures and upperworks where the standard Admiralty grey scheme called for a medium grey distinct from the darker hull colour; suited to destroyers and cruisers of the Mediterranean Fleet, 1940–43
• AFV interior grey — standard grey for the interior of German AFV hatches, vision port surrounds, and interior surfaces on early-war Panzer III and Panzer IV variants before the Elfenbein (ivory) interior colour was standardised in 1943; also used for Soviet AFV interior surfaces on T-34 and KV-1 variants where a mid-grey was the factory-applied tone
• Mixing component — combined with XF-24 Dark Gray and XF-2 Flat White in varying ratios to produce a wide range of intermediate greys for RAF, USAAF, USN, and Commonwealth aircraft subjects; particularly useful as a tonal stepping stone in panel modulation work between shadow and highlight passes

For full Tamiya paint colour references and modelling compatibility charts, visit our Tamiya Paint Colour Chart — Complete Guide for Scale Modellers.

Thin and airbrush with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, Mr. Color Thinner, or Mr. Color Leveling Thinner.

• 10ml glass jar
• Part of the Tamiya Acrylic paint range