TAMXF8 - Tamiya - Flat Blue Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

TAMXF8 - Tamiya - Flat Blue Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

Tamiya XF-8 Flat Blue is a pure, medium flat blue — one of the primary colours in the Tamiya acrylic range, providing strong, clean blue coverage as both a standalone colour and a critical component in a wide range of military, aircraft, figure, and naval mixing formulas. It is a true, slightly deep mid-blue with no strong warm or cool bias, making it the most versatile flat blue in the range for colour mixing. It appears as a darkening and hue-shifting agent across RLM colour mixes, USAF and USN aircraft colour formulas, Soviet undersurface blue recipes, and figure uniform work. Because XF-8 is flat rather than gloss, it integrates cleanly into any mixing formula without requiring a flat overcoat on the mixed colour.

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.

• RLM 74 Graugrün mixing base — XF-8 is the blue component in the personal mix RLM 74 formula (2 parts XF-2 Flat White + 2 parts XF-24 Dark Grey + 1 part XF-8 Flat Blue), producing the grey-green upper surface camouflage colour applied to late-war Luftwaffe Fw 190 D-9, Bf 109 G-10/K-4, and Me 262 upper surfaces from late 1944 onward; XF-8 provides the essential cool blue-grey shift that prevents the mix from reading as too warm
• USAF Euro I Dark Green component — XF-8 contributes to the USAF Gunship Green FS 34092 Euro I scheme mix; added to XF-26 Deep Green (105 drops XF-24 + 10 drops XF-8 per pot of XF-26) for F-111, A-10, and other USAF tactical aircraft in the European One scheme applied in the 1970s–80s
• Soviet VVS undersurface blue — a component in Soviet aircraft undersurface light blue mixes; the standard Soviet undersurface colour is typically mixed from X-14 Sky Blue with XF-2 Flat White and a small addition of XF-8 to prevent the final colour reading as too turquoise; applicable to VVS Yak-1, LaGG-3, Il-2, and Pe-2 undersurface subjects
• Royal Navy flag blue and insignia — straight XF-8 or lightly darkened with XF-1 provides a workable flat blue for Royal Navy ensign and flag details, roundel blue base coats, and naval figure uniform insignia at 1/35 and smaller scales where a clean flat blue reads correctly without gloss
• General green darkening toward grey-green — a small addition of XF-8 to any of the XF military greens shifts the hue toward grey-green and away from yellow-green; used to darken XF-5 Flat Green toward a cooler olive tone, to shift XF-67 NATO Green slightly bluer for Bundeswehr green approaches, and to push XF-58 Olive Green toward the slightly more grey-green tone of certain Soviet wartime finishes
• Figure uniform blue — base coat for blue dress uniforms on WWII German Luftwaffe officers, French Army or gendarmerie figures, and modern naval and air force service dress figures; XF-8 provides a strong flat blue base before highlighting with XF-8 + XF-2 mixes and shading with XF-8 + XF-1
• USAF Air Superiority Blue component — mixed with XF-2 Flat White (85 parts XF-2 + 9 parts X-3 Royal Blue + 5 parts XF-1 + 1 part XF-9) in the documented F-15 Air Superiority Blue formula; XF-8 can substitute as a flat-only alternative for the blue shift when X-3 Royal Blue gloss is not available, though its slightly different hue requires testing before final application

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