Ok, I'm trying to paint my Revell 1/72 F-22, but trying to get the colors right is hard! I tried a couple different Testor grays, but they aren't doing it justice; too dark and too purple. It seems like it's gonna have to be a custom mix, but of what colors/

How has this been handled by other builders of this kit?

Well, the Academy kit comes with a detailed paint guide that says to use a "Light Gray" FS36251 which can me made up of 70% Mr. Color 308, and 30% Mr. Color 317. The "Dark Gray" FS36176 is made up of 80% Mr. Color 307 and 20% Mr. Color 305. The Academy paint guide doesn't list any comparable paints from Testros, Humbrol or Aqueous.

I was afforded the opportunity to look at the Academy kit also. Very nice, but unless you have access to the Gunze line of paints, your stuck. One of the on-line reviews lists a custom mix utilizing Testor Metalizers. That article can be found here http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal8/7501-7600/gal7545-F-22-Rotramel/00.shtm
The British publication, Scale Aircraft Modeling has a article on the F-22 wherein the author used Xtracolor to paint the Raptor. Can't full that article up on line, but you can get that issue off their website, http://www.guidelinepublications.co.uk/node/474 . I got the issue a couple weeks ago at Barnes and Noble.

FS 36251 is Testors Model Master Agressor Gray:
http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=TS1794

FS36176 is MM Dark Gray:
http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=TS2036

And there ya go.
Now the challenge is getting that interesting metallic tinge the real plane has. I was thinking maybe that can be done by backing off on the final dullcoating, and painting the ghost gray edges in pure flat at the very end.

I just did the same kit. My choices:

Testor's Model Master

Light Ghost Gray FS36375 on the leading edges
Neutral Gray FS36270 for the base color
Gunship Gray FS36118 for the pattern

No mixing, all used straight from the bottle. I did not attempt the semi-metallic finish. Some reference photos show early demo paints with that semi-metallic sheen, other photos look like traditional flat camo colors. For my own purposes, the flat finish was adequate.

http://4erwoa.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p1Wt7yhmL52kJOgc_wm7TSvRae715OijKKzsEAO_EwVCDIiV 7emwKjq_dcoSaymT0KOno8d-clNw/top.jpg

Looks nice!

Still, ModelMaster makes the exact colors, so there's no need to substitute

Looks great from here! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

Wonder how good it would look in Thunderbird markings?