69.014 Grey Green Matt

A subdued technical tone

Grey Green Matt is a paint that keeps pace on a model. It does not want to be seen first, and that is exactly why it is used to cover panels, the covers of power units, the insides of open spaces and armament, that is the parts the eye is meant to slide past toward the stronger areas. On its own it looks sober, but paired with a bright accent shade it lifts that shade's effect considerably.

Gray-green tones have the property of changing slightly under different lighting: in warm light they slide toward green, in cool light toward gray. With a model that is to stand in a display case with its own lighting it therefore pays to compare a sample right inside it.

Use outside its home field

The shade is not confined to fantastic equipment. Aircraft and ground equipment wear similar subdued tones, so you can use the paint anywhere an unobtrusive green-gray area is called for, without having to reach for another line.

The matte surface readily takes pigments and washes, which makes it a suitable base for weathering. Picking out the panel lines, dust on the lower surfaces and chipped edges all sit on it without further preparation, which is not the case with gloss finishes.

When applying it by brush, lay the paint on rather than spread it about. Matte shades pull together under repeated strokes and leave an uneven structure that every later step then brings out, including a dry brush and washing.

Prepare the tone on the palette with something to spare. Hitting a subdued gray-green a second time is harder than with saturated colors, because even a small deviation in the ratio shifts the result visibly toward green or toward gray.