I am basically finished with the build just going into the painting stage an I never did a NATO 3 tone camouflage with Vallejo paints an was wondering what colors are used for green, black,brown. I tried going through the threads but not to much help

Any help would be appreciated
Happy modeling.

William,

First off, I'm not expert on this. I just looked up the info from what I have.

I have the three Polly Scale colors for the NATO Camouflage, and I then looked at The Ultimate Model Paint Conversion Chart to get what it says are the equivalent Vallejo paints.

Polly Scale “NATO Tricolor Black”, F505350 > FS37038 > Vallejo Model Color “Black”, 950 & Vallejo Model Air “Black”, 57

Polly Scale “NATO Tricolor Brown”, F505352 > FS30051 > Vallejo Model Color “Chocolate Brown”, 872 [apparently no Model Air color]

Polly Scale “NATO Tricolor Green, F505354 > FS34094 > Vallejo Model Color “Military Green”, 975 & Vallejo Model Air “Camo Black Green”, 18

Maybe you can use the FS codes to confirm if they are correct.

Tamiya does specific Nato colors and they are a dead on match, so it would be the following

Tamiya nato black XF-69
Tamiya nato brown XF-68
Tamiya nato green XF-67

quick update for my M1A1 Abrams w/mineplow

This is just the first layer of Nato Green that I will let dry and add more.

My question is how do I know if this is dark enough green or covered enough in Nato green any help to let me know if I should spray more so its more green or is it enough to be accurate I plan on adding Nato black and Nato brown from Tamiya to make a KFOR or SFOR tank.









Happy Modeling

Since the green is the lightest of the colors, I try to do some pretty dramatic preshading. I see you've done some. The green in the pics looks too light, but maybe just the photo if you've used the proper FS number as a match.

I think it's important to stick to the FS matches because the luminosity of the green and brown are very similar. What I mean is that if you took a black and white picture it'd be hard to differentiate between the green and brown.

It's also important to follow the pattern closely because these things are painted by robots at the factory.

What type of pattern is used for M1A1 Abrams is there any diagram pattern for Abrams 3 tone camo. On the internet searches I tried. Any help would be appreciated.

What type of putty should I use when masking out the pattern. I never did a 3 color camo before.

Happy modeling.

Others might know for sure, but in KFOR use I think the External APU would be rarely - if ever - used.

Jim

William,

To go with Jim's NATO Camo Pattern Drawings, 1 - Black, 2 = Green, 3 = Brown.

This image from PrimePortal shows the actual pattern:



Also, it's my understanding that the US Army discontinued using the External APUs (the box mounted to the right rear of your Abrams) after Desert Storm / Gulf War I.

HTH

I would like to say the last two posts (Jim & Jeff) were fantastic......

Thank you Jeff an Jim does the pattern have to be perfect as it is on the diagram or can it be off a little I'm going to use a pencil to draw a lite out line an try an mask it off or try free hand painting it. You can always paint it over again.

I appreciate the help.

Happy modeling

These images from PrimePortal show how the camo pattern is fairly consistent, though not exact, especially if the crew has touched up the paint themselves. The same pattern is repeated on the right-hand side skirts of each tank:

These are possibly of USAEUR tanks:




I believe these are National Guard tanks:




This one is a USMC tank:


A KFOR tank from the web:


Another Abrams from the web showing lots of dust and grime, which then "masks" the camo pattern:


Another little tidbit is that the pattern is designed to match whether the turret is forward or reversed (images from PrimePortal):





HTH

Just a small update this is the 1st time doing this 3 tone Nato camo. I hand airbrush it so far just to get a good out line. Then I'll use silly putty to get crisper lines an get ride of the over spray of the airbrush.

Just another update.

I like the pink bow on the end of the barrel. I'll bet some bodies getting a very awesome birthday surprise!

William,
your camo job is coming along very nicely ! I'm questioning, though, wether the APU or track retaining rings were used on KFOR deployed Abrams.

Sean

I don't know if they did I just wanted to do a 3 tone Nato camo. I always did one color schemes an this is a learning experience for me. Thanks for the comment I appreciate it. I still have a lot to do.

No on both. The APU off the right rear was only used stateside in the late '80s. The retaining rings were only used in the Army on M1IPs and the earliest M1A1s. They were long gone by the time of KFOR in the mid to late '90s. More recently, the USMC has started putting them back on in the late '90s and early 2000s as they helped to keep the tracks on when the track is worn and loose.