I've started painting my M4a1 76mm sherman, I've used Tamiya XF-62



My concern is that its a little dark, if I were to do the black/olive drab camo scheme the black won't be seen, any suggestions on how to sort it?

Hi Paul,

This is what i do, Lighten the base colour, i use Tam Flesh or Buff, leave enough of the base around the panel lines, For the black use NATO Black, this is a very dark green colour, put that on flat and then do the same as you do with the base coat, i.e. lighten it up a bit. After, when everything is dry i use a couple of AK filters to tie the colours together when thats all dry i use oils to fade, small spots dragged down the tank. Leave to dry and then weather as you normally would.

Regards
Redprol

What Redprol said...

Generally Tamiya's OD is regarded as a pretty good match, but to get scale effect you need to lighten it up, especially if you're going to use washes afterwards. IIRC Zaloga uses a 50/50 mix of OD and Buff (or even XF-60 dark yellow will work).

Personally, I just use one Jar of OD that I add OD or Buff or Dark Yellow as I need it lighter or darker.

Generally it's a good idea to have a darker base coat and a lighter overspray (the same effect can be achieved using a black preshade/primer which is then not completely covered by the lightened OD, my preferred method).

HTH!
Stefan

That's true. According to S.Zaloga the best result is achieved with 60/40 mix ratio of OD to Dunkelgelb, but you may play with it to make darker/lighter shades as well,plus you may use XF-51 Khaki Drab where you want to have dusty or dirty finish afterwards.
Cheers, Paul

Hi, All! If you have the first AMPERSAND Sherman book by Pete Harlem, I suggest very strongly that you read the chapter that specifically discusses WWII US ARMY OLIVE DRAB. US OD in it's original form was supposed to be a very dark color- The WWII US ARMY Specs for OLIVE DRAB called for adding BLACK to YELLOW OCHRE. US ARMY Specs stated that "PULLMAN GREEN", which is a RAILROAD COLOR, is/was the closest match. I've got original color chips, and even accounting for age, they are darker than TAMIYA XF-62.

If you like to "post-shade", as a lot of modellers are doing, I would first add a little bit of FLAT BLACK to your XF-62, post-shade with straight XF-62 and then highlight with XF-62 mixed with XF-60 DARK YELLOW. You can mix successively lighter shades to your taste. I like to very lightly dry-brush just to pop the detail on the high points, (bolt heads,etc.) by using straight DARK YELLOW...

Bear in mind that there were many paint companies mixing their own interpretation of the US ARMY Specs for OLIVE DRAB, so that gives you quite a variety for your OLIVE DRAB. I personally like to use TESTORS MODEL MASTER II ENAMELS...

A lot of modellers gripe about WWII US Armor being too boring color-wise. Not so. They fail to realize that WWII vintage paints faded unevenly, especially colors such as US OD and British BRONZE GREEN. That means that you can use several different shades of your OD even before you start weathering. Obviously, the OD that is exposed to direct sunlight will be lighter in tone than surfaces that are always in shadow. Have fun with it...

VERY helpful thread, thanks guys.

very helpful responses guys,

but I'm still confused!

I'm gonna try a quick pass with the airbrush with XF-62 with a few drops of Dark yellow in..

I’ve been playing around with Tamiya Olive Drab my self.

This is a comparison between Tamiya XF 62 and Model Masters FS34087 Enamel. The Model Master (lighter color trailer) is straight from the bottle. The darker trailer is XF 62 lightened with some XF 60. It’s still a little dark for my taste. In the next test I will add more XF 60 to the mix.

Depending on what era I am modeling determins what shade of olive drab i use ww2 i will use modelmaster 34087 and for Korean war till early to mid 1970's i will use Tamiya xf 62 or modelmaster equivalent 34086 green drab

Hi, All! In comparing my actual WWII to "present-day" color chips, the bottled and aerosol (!) model paints are much lighter than the original colors, even accounting for age, and in direct sunlight; I think that additional "lightening for scale-effect" is unnecessary for base colors.

TAMIYA XF-62 OD has some good uses, but in comparing straight XF-62 to my WWII OD color chip, the TAMIYA OD is not only too light, but it is also too bright. My advice: add a little bit of a darker color.

I like to use TESTORS MODEL MASTER II Enamel #1787 FS-34086 GREEN DRAB to which I add BLACK in order to create my base color for WWII US ARMY/USMC OD. In my post-shading process, I'll use straight #1787, and then I like to progressively lighten this color with #2095 DUNKELGELB.

The various TESTORS MODEL MASTER II "ANA"-series of WWII OD paints are intended to be used with aircraft models. Even though some of the "FS" (Federal Standard) colors lend themselves quite nicely to some WWII applications, we should bear in mind that FED-STD-595 colors were not introduced until March 1, 1956, and then only gradually. These colors were superseded by FED-STD-595A, which were introduced January 2, 1968...

According to my FED-TD-595A catalog for example, FS-34087 was REPLACED by FS-34088, so we need to be aware of possible inaccuracies in the painting instructions of various US/ALLIED AFV and Softskins. Post-war and Korea US OD, as per MIL-STD-795, was changed to a warmer, richer color. This warmer shade, almost "chocolate" in hue, was nearly semi-matte in finish, as one would see on an eggshell. You can go crazy with this stuff.

If you refer back to my comments in a previous blog, US ARMY/USMC OD was to be roughly equivalent to "PULLMAN GREEN", and was supposed be made by adding BLACK to YELLOW OCHRE. I may test this process by starting out with MM #2095 DUNKELGELB and adding BLACK. I may need to add a few drops of RED, for a little bit of "warmth"...

I usually lighten it up with a drop of buff or white. Alternatively you can spray a white primer and then cover with diluted mixes over it.