The authentic undercoat colour, in a can that also does the surface work. Red oxide is what real steel wears under its paint — anti-corrosion primer on ships, plant and vehicles, and famously the factory coat on WWII German armour before Dunkelgelb ever went near it. Prime in it, chip your top coat back at the hatch rims and fender edges, and what shows through is exactly what would show through on the real thing.

What separates this from a plain oxide red primer is that it's a Surfacer 1000 underneath. Armour builds generate surface work — track guard seams, filled ejector pins, sanded-back weld beads — and this fills those as it primes, rather than laying a thin coat over them and leaving you to discover them under the top coat. It also does quiet work on colour: browns, rust tones and dark yellows come out warmer and richer over red oxide than they ever do over grey. 170ml covers a full hull, turret and running gear.

• Authentic factory-primer colour for chipping and weathering effects
• Surfacer 1000 body — fills seams and sanding scratches while it primes
• Warmer, richer tone under browns, rust shades and dark yellows
• Sands and polishes back for a flat, sound base
• 170ml — enough for a complete armour build

Tip: Decide the wear pattern before you spray the top coat. Which edges get walked on, which panels get scraped, where the crew climbs aboard — plan that first and the oxide red does the storytelling for you. Chipping applied at random afterwards always looks applied at random.

Mr. Hobby or Tamiya oxide red? We stock both and they're not interchangeable. This can (B-525) is a surfacer — it fills, so it's the choice when your parts still need surface work, which on most armour kits they do. Tamiya's Fine Surface Primer L Oxide Red (87160) is a fine primer at 180ml — thinner, less filling, better when the surface is already clean and you want the absolute minimum coat over delicate cast texture or zimmerit. Filling work: Mr. Hobby. Fine detail on a clean surface: Tamiya.

Specifications

Brand: Mr. Hobby (GSI Creos / Gunze Sangyo)
Item No.: B-525
Type: Lacquer surfacer — filling primer, aerosol
Colour: Oxide Red
Grade: 1000
Volume: 170ml
Suitable for: Styrene, ABS, resin, putty and filled areas
Sandable: Yes — wet or dry
Use in: Well-ventilated area; wear a respirator