TAMXF54 - Tamiya - Flat Dark Sea Gray Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

TAMXF54 - Tamiya - Flat Dark Sea Gray Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

Tamiya XF-54 Flat Dark Sea Gray is designated in Tamiya's original colour guide as "Dark hull colouring" for British warships — representing Admiralty Pattern 507A Home Fleet Dark Grey, the standard dark grey used on Royal Navy vessel hulls, superstructures, and vertical surfaces from the standardisation of Home Fleet colours in 1936 through to the end of WWII and into the post-war period. AP 507A is a distinctly darker grey than AP 507C (XF-25 Light Sea Grey), and was used as the overall standard colour on Home Fleet destroyers, cruisers, and capital ships in the North Sea and Atlantic approaches, as well as the dark component in disruptive two-tone and multi-tone Admiralty camouflage schemes. XF-54 also closely approximates RAF Extra Dark Sea Grey BS381C:640, the dark grey used on post-war and late-war RAF maritime patrol and strike aircraft upper surfaces, and contributes to Medium Sea Grey mixes for RAF aircraft lower surfaces. It pairs directly with XF-25 Light Sea Grey for the full range of Royal Navy warship camouflage schemes in 1/350, 1/700, and 1/1200 scale.

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.

• Royal Navy Home Fleet overall dark grey — AP 507A standard overall dark grey on Home Fleet battleships, battlecruisers, and heavy cruisers in the North Sea and Atlantic; applied to HMS Hood during the Denmark Strait action against Bismarck (May 1941), HMS Rodney and HMS King George V during the Bismarck chase and sinking (May 1941), and HMS Belfast, HMS Norfolk, and HMS Sheffield at the Battle of the North Cape (December 1943); all major Home Fleet capital ships carried 507A as the base home fleet grey throughout the war
• Home Fleet disruptive dark panels — the dark component in Admiralty disruptive two-tone and three-tone camouflage schemes on destroyers and smaller escorts operating in the North Atlantic and Western Approaches; paired with XF-25 Light Sea Grey and occasionally white in patterns from CAFO 679/42 applied to destroyers of the V&W class, Town class, and Fleet destroyers of the Tribal, J/K/N, and L/M classes throughout the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–45
• HMS Warspite and Mediterranean Fleet heavy units — 507A dark grey applied to major units of the Mediterranean Fleet operating out of Alexandria and Malta; HMS Warspite, HMS Valiant, HMS Barham, and HMS Malaya operated in both 507A overall and two-tone 507A/507C disruptive schemes during the Battle of Cape Matapan (March 1941) and operations in support of the North African campaign, 1940–43
• British Pacific Fleet warships — 507A dark panels in standard Admiralty camouflage designs applied to warships of the British Pacific Fleet operating off Okinawa and the Japanese Home Islands (1945), including HMS Formidable, HMS Victorious, HMS Indefatigable, and their cruiser and destroyer screens of the 4th Cruiser Squadron
• RAF Extra Dark Sea Grey aircraft — XF-54 approximates Extra Dark Sea Grey BS381C:640, used on upper surfaces of post-war and late-war RAF maritime patrol and strike aircraft including the Avro Shackleton, Hawker Hunter FR.10, and early Blackburn Buccaneer S.1/S.2 in the standard Dark Sea Grey / Extra Dark Sea Grey two-tone scheme of the 1950s–60s
• RAF Medium Sea Grey mixing — combined with XF-19 Sky Grey (3 parts XF-54 + 5 parts XF-19) to produce a workable RAF Medium Sea Grey BS381C:637 for Spitfire, Typhoon, Tempest, and Mosquito lower surface work in the standard three-colour camouflage scheme from 1941 onward
• Commonwealth and Allied warships in Admiralty schemes — RAN, RCN, and RNZN vessels operating under Admiralty direction used 507A as the standard dark grey equivalent; HMAS Canberra, HMCS Haida, and HMNZS Gambia all wore 507A-based Home Fleet schemes at various periods
• General dark warship hull grey — the standard dark grey for any 1/350, 1/700, or 1/1200 scale British or Commonwealth warship subject from 1936 to the late 1950s; pairs naturally with XF-25 Flat Light Sea Grey and XF-55 Deck Tan for complete Royal Navy ship models across all scales

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