All,

I've previously posted discussions about the current Leclerc tricolor scheme, but I've not yet been satisfied with the answers. I wanted to ask some opinions from you about the 2 images I'm posting that came from PrimePortal. The first shows a tank that looks very bright, perhaps what the French tricolor looks like when brand new. Is this the case, and if I did a tank in these colors, would that be accurate? The second image below, also from PrimePortal, shows a Leclerc on the training field, with the colors VERY faded/muted, not to mention covered in dust and other gunk. I have been able, with meticulous work, to match the first photos colors by mixing a variety of Tamiya and Vallejo paints. The more muted ones I'm sure I could work on, but I'm simply exhausted with all the work involved. Painting my tank with the top image colors would result in a toylike finish, but looking at the pictures of the actual tank looks pretty toylike in real life, too.

Do any of you have any opinions about the accuracy of either of these pictures with respect to colors? I am absolutely aware of the problems with trying to match colors using a computer screen, but I tried to use the foliage in the backgrounds of both photos to establish some level of comparison.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

The second image appears to be tricolor NATO camo.

Ah, well, if true, that would explain why the complete difference between the colors.

Well, both tanks sport the same colors as the tri-tone camo was factory applied.
Curt is right when he says the first one is brand new as compared to the second. If you have a look at the various walkarounds of French vehicles I have on my site you will see such differences between green and brown shades.
What I can confirm is that Tamiya NATO colors are not correct for the French camouflage unlike what Tamiya recommend in the Leclerc instructions.
XF-5 is quite good for a vehicle like the one of the second picture.
For the brown I now use XF-10 Flat Brown whereas I usually used XF-64 Red Brown which is too red. The French brown is more a chocolate shade.

The French official color references are as follows
Green PIR A4X3
Brown PIR A0X0
Black PIR A603

A French modeler who did his research based on actual vehicles proposes the following refs

Tamiya
Green XF-5
Brown XF-52

Gunze Mr Color
Green H319
Brown H37

Olivier

Why we dont use RAL? In the French Army????

Olivier,

Thanks for your insight. I hope you don't feel that my continuing questions mean that I don't appreciate your prior information on this same subject. I'm just really curious about how I should go about painting my Leclerc.

Hey All,

Well, I think I've decided on how I plan to paint my Leclerc, after considering Olivier's very much appreciated comments in this thread, and others.

For the Green: a mix, 1:1:1, of Vallejo Model AIr Duck Egg Green, Vallejo Model Color Intermediate Green, and Vallejo Game Escorpena Green

For the Brown: a mix, 1:1, of Tamiya XF-15, Flat Flesh, and XF-59, Desert Yellow

For the Black: a mix, 2:1, of Tamiya XF-63, German Grey, and XF-69, NATO Black

I tried adding a little white to the green mix, and it does match the photo of the newly painted tank, above, but I found that might not be necessary. I plan to do some weathering, so I wanted to see what a coating of 'dust' would look like on these colors, on the test sheet of plastic I used to make test patches. I used some MIG pigment, Light Dust, over all 3 colors, and it really makes those colors 'fade' nicely. I think these mixes, combined with the dust layer, is going to work just fine!

Don't worry about that Curt. I'm not an expert in any way and I would also like to see a good match if not the perfect match for the French colors.
Olivier

Olivier, I appreciate that! In that light, you might try the mixes that I've suggested above, if you have access to those brands of colors in France, and see what you think.

Curt, I fear I have no retailer selling Vallejo paint nearby but I'll save your recipes ... and see how nice your Leclerc will turn

Olivier

Thank you sir! I hope it looks good after all this research