Alright, so I'm working on my latest project - a pair of IDF M113s (an M163 and a Zelda). I wanted to contrast the two by having the M163 be the "desert" color that the IDF uses, with the Zelda being the grayer color.

Being a thorugh researcher, I of course consulted the idfmodelling color chart and decided on "Israeli Sand Gray 61-73" for the M163 and "Israeli Sand Gray 82" for the Zelda using the Tamiya paint recipes.

I was very happy with the look of the M163, but the Zelda with 50/50 Med Gray/Buff was just a pale gray/tan color. I then tried 75/25 gray/buff but still too tan (i.e. not at all like the color swatch on the idfmodelling site). I'm going for this color:




It almost looks like it has a greenish tint.

Can anyone recommend a different recipe using Tamiya paint?

Thanks!

bump

From your pictures it looks like the Zelda is just a gray color muted by the natural color of the terrain. That said, colors can vary widely depending on the light, and how old and worn the paint is. Your tan paint is probably right. If you want to add more of a green tint, try a light overspray of thinned green. My guess is still that the APC in your picture was painted the gray color though.

Don't trust the photos too much. Lighting conditions, shadows etc.

You'll perhaps get a "straight-out-of-the-factory" look., weathering does it all...

And REALLY don't trust what a color looks like on your monitor, either in an online picture or (especially) a color swatch on a webpage.

Yes. Note that the post-1973 paint mix formulas all include green, but the chips look tan (at least on my monitor). In fact, the color adopted just before the 1973 war was a dingy gray green color, not anything most people would call "Sand". In service this is muted because tanks in the Middle East are nearly always covered in local dust (and photos are also subject to a myriad of other color distortions, depending on brand of film used, lens filters, time of day and printing limitations). Israeli unit commanders were also known to customize the paint to suit the terrain their unit was expected to fight in, since the Sinai isn't the same color as the Golan. Of course, this also means you don't have to sweat exact shades too much. If it helps, one IDF vet I knew favored a 50/50 mix of Model Master US Armor Sand and US Olive Drab for IDF sand gray (circa 1982). He matched it to a dried paint brush from his tank that he brought back to Florida with him.
Some builders sweat bullets, trying to start with an exact paint match, then distressing the paint and adding layers of dirt and grime colored washes and glazes to duplicate what the real vehicle went through. But Francois Verlinden's approach was to paint his models in a color close to where he expected to end up rather than start with an exact match. His US Army vehicles were base coated in any old dull green, not No. 9 Olive Drab, because he knew he was going to weather the heck out them, anyway.