Tamiya paint numbers

[Mick1902]

Can someone explain why the numbers on the XF paint range skip from 31 to 48.

[PaulTRose]

Might be cos X range is gloss and XF is matt

[Mick1902]

I thought that but the gloss start from X-1

[kacitgirl]

i have a complete tamiya paint chart

[kacitgirl]

[kacitgirl]

And aquos

[Tim Marlow]

Downloadable chart here…

https://hobbycolours.com/pages/color-charts

but I think the gap in numbers is even bigger…..XF28 to XF49….no idea why. Perhaps John knows?

[John]

When Tamiya first released the acrylic line in the late 1970s, they assigned codes more or less in order as new paints came out. Over time, certain numbers were either skipped, discontinued, or reserved for experimental shades that never became permanent products.

So between XF-28 (Dark Copper) and XF-49 (Khaki), there were originally paints that either:

• got dropped from the range,
• were test shades that never made it out widely,
• or were kept for special projects (like military sets, one-offs, or lacquer equivalents).

[Miko]

When Tamiya first released the acrylic line in the late 1970s, they assigned codes more or less in order as new paints came out. Over time, certain numbers were either skipped, discontinued, or reserved for experimental shades that never became permanent products.

So between XF-28 (Dark Copper) and XF-49 (Khaki), there were originally paints that either:

• got dropped from the range,
• were test shades that never made it out widely,
• or were kept for special projects (like military sets, one-offs, or lacquer equivalents).

It's weird that no one of the twenty one shades between XF-28 and XF-49 didn't make it into the full range we see today

Miko

[Miko]

Just found this answer to the question posed here from an AI thingy

Probably asks more questions than answers to our original conundrum?
Why should a nice neat block of colours be discontinued given new colours were added to the range on an ad hoc basis, the Tamiya model range available today includes kits conceived in the 1970's, it's reasonable to assume these colours were introduced for use in kits in the Tamiya range, but now non are available? More to it than meets the eye, right?

This is AI generated so could be nonsense!

XF-29	Desert Yellow	A warm, sandy yellow ideal for desert scenes.
XF-30	Dark Yellow	A deeper yellow, useful for highlights.
XF-31	Dark Green	A rich green, perfect for military models.
XF-32	Olive Drab	A classic military green, widely used.
XF-33	Dark Grey	A versatile dark grey for various applications.
XF-34	Flat Earth	A brownish color, great for terrain.
XF-35	Semi-Gloss Black	A black with a slight sheen, useful for detailing.
XF-36	Pearl Green	A unique green with a pearlescent finish.
XF-37	Marine Green	A deep green, often used for naval models.
XF-38	S.C.C. Green	A specific shade for British military vehicles.
XF-39	Olive Green	A muted green, suitable for camouflage.
XF-40	F.S. 34079	A dark green used in military applications.
XF-41	Flat Brown	A rich brown, ideal for wood and earth tones.
XF-42	Flat Light Grey	A light grey, useful for aircraft and vehicles.
XF-43	Flat Grey	A standard grey for various modeling needs.
XF-44	Flat Blue	A flat blue, often used for detailing.
XF-45	Flat Red	A vibrant red, great for accents.
XF-46	Light Grey	A soft grey, useful for highlights.
XF-47	Flat White	A classic white, essential for many models.
XF-48	Flat Yellow Green	A muted yellow-green, useful for foliage.

The way my brain works I see patterns in numbers, I notice in this set if XF paints were arranged in rows of seven the would be four rows to XF-28 the three rows to XF-49 then continuing on in rows of seven, it's almost like they left three rows of seven in reserve, but why? Could it be because the colours to XF-28 are generic colours with no specific or official colour and those from XF=49 are for a particular purpose in camo for example. so the three blank rows are for addition of further generic colours should they be required?

Miko (possibly over thinking this)

[John]

XF-2 is flat white, 7 is red, 8 is blue. There seems a lot on that list that are current,

[Miko]

XF-2 is flat white, 7 is red, 8 is blue. There seems a lot on that list that are current,

I agree flat white is a colour in every paint range but there are lots of different shades of red and blue

Still think there's more to it, has to be a reason they no longer use those twenty one colours

Miko

[Stefee]

Perhaps there was an ingredient(s) in the mix which became outlawed in some markets?

[Miko]

Perhaps there was an ingredient(s) in the mix which became outlawed in some markets?

Yes! Plausible! Not too long ago the use of heavy metals in paint pigment were considered a health risk, lead being an obvious one and cadmium too, I remember VW banning some metal pigments leading to their colour range only having a very wishy washy yellow not the bright colour they had previously

[Tim Marlow]

I agree flat white is a colour in every paint range but there are lots of different shades of red and blue

Still think there's more to it, has to be a reason they no longer use those twenty one colours

Miko

There are a lot of different hues of those colours, but XF 7 and XF 8 are also called Flat Red and Flat blue. It could well be that the extra shades you have listed were so close to existing colours that the range was rationalised and they were removed. It could also be that gaps in the numbering range were left in case Tamiya wanted to increase the general (which tend to be the lower numbers) as opposed to the specific (which tend to be higher numbers) paint range. Another reason for rationalisation is that these “missing” colours were made for kits that are no longer in the range, so they were deleted. After all, Tamiya basically make their paint range to support their model kit range, not for use in general painting.
Missing numbers due to the formulation having heavy metal useage seems spurious, as these elements have been removed from general paint formulation for decades, on both cost and toxicity grounds. Anything removed from the carrier or matrix, as opposed to the pigment, would affect all colours, not just these few. Besides that, a lot of those colours listed will be using earth pigments which are still very widely used, so wouldn’t be affected by a pigment change requirement.
It’s something we will probably never know.

When it comes down to it, the Tamiya paint range is excellent, but limited, and I for one wished they would expand it beyond their own kit requirements.