Is there a Tamiya color strait from the bottle that is good for a modern British vehicle, even something real close?

Hi James,

Unfortunately, while I'd like to tell you there is, I can't. I've had to mix my own versions of it. Here's a link to several long winded posts on the very same subject: https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/190885#1597631

Ultimately, what I did to get what I think is the best British Sand, is to start with a 3:1 mix of Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow and XF-3 Flat Yellow (which some books have recommended as the mix to use). I found that mix to be too dark, and not yellow enough (which you can see in the pictures of my Challenger 2 in the link above. To get what I consider to be an accurate Brit Sand, I started with that 3:1 mix, added a touch more XF-3 Flat Yellow, and added a bunch of flat white, a bit at a time, making test patches as I went, until I got what looked accurate to me. I know that doesn't help you, either in specifics of a mix, or a straight out of the bottle Tamiya color, but it's the best I can recommend if you want the best match I know of.

Hope this helps.

Oops - Update. When I read the old thread (the link above), I realized that I had made a 50:50 mix of white/flat yellow, and then I added, in small batches, the 3:1 XF-59:XF-3 to THAT. In essence, it's the same thing as I described above, but just sort of backwards. In any event, I seem to have a good sand color now.

Modelmaster makes a accurate modern British armor sand

Thanks for the response guys, I'll either try and mix my own, which I don't want to do, or I'll pick up some of the Model Master paint. I am driving to Anchorage Alaska this weekend, a 300 mile round trip, so I'll hit the hobby shop and see what I can dig up

Would that be MM enamel or MM acrylic? Big difference in shade of color, between the two.

in modelmasi only use enamal for acrylics i like tamiya

I find all this very interesting and to a point, useful.

However, paint suggestions by the model companies can only be viewed as just that, a suggestion and I feel that they are portraying a factory fresh vehicle to the builder.

We can all look at just one photograph and come up with a thousand different ideas of how to match that color and the model paint industry has their own take on it?

In reality, wear and tear, differing light conditions, heat, cold and humidity and type of painting on the vehicle being viewed (was it sprayed on or hand painted), has it been subjected to replacement parts and touch panted etc. will alter your color perspectives...
The scenarios are endless.

Having spent the better part of 20 years on armor (painted and touch painted many vehicles) and 54 years of military model making, my personal opinion is you can only get close and it will never match what a brand new or battle worn vehicle color actually looks like.

If you enter a competition the judges should be wary of injecting their personal feelings when it comes to color and color variations!

If you are happy with the end product and no doubt you can scour the internet and find your color in a picture to back you up, then you have achieved your goal.

Model master and polly Scale both have the modern British Desert colors and with that you have two different shades to work with.

The Grey (Gray) tones showing through tend to be caused by the non slip texture on the vehicle surface and ground in dirt from the soles of the crews boots..

Keith.

Hey all!

Nothing like picking up a 4.5 year old thread...

I haven't been looking at modern British Challenger 2 colors for ages, though I had posted in this thread way back then. I am pondering a return to another Tamiya Challenger 2 tank model, and would like to get the color right this time (the very first model I built after returning to the hobby was the Tamiya Chally 2, Desertized), but in retrospect, the color I painted it was way too dark.

So I ended up mixing a batch of a Tamiya color that I thought looked much closer to photos (I know, you can't go by images on your computer, but it's the best I have). Just this week, I tried another 'out of the bottle' color, the new Mission Model Paint British Sand Yellow (MMP-039), which looked fantastic on the computer, but was sorely disappointing when it arrived (the color is way too 'peach'). However, while comparing the custom Tamiya mix that I spoke about back in March 2013 and mention above, (and which looks pretty good, if I do say so myself), I took a look at the Vallejo Desert Tan Base Surface Primer, 613, that I purchased years ago and have never used, at all, for anything. It turns out, I think this is a home run, 'out of the bottle' almost perfect Op Telic Challenger 2 color! So, if anyone cares at all about British colors on Chally 2 tanks during Op Telic, and you are pondering options, give this a shot!

Sorry if this is so out of date that no one cares...

P.S. The MIG Ammo Washable Sand, if mixed with a few drops of the Washable White, is pretty darn close, too!

Thanks. That does help.

AMIG0030 Sand Yellow from AMMO is a very good match for british sand. It is a pretty good paint with the AMMO thinner, I use it a lot, I can only recommend it.