Hi, I have been looking at some German tricolor camo patterns that are really excellent as far as the tint of the colors, and then I have seen some that really needed "something".

I know that this topic has been juggled and tossed around thousands of times, but I need some advice from the more experienced airbrush artists hereabouts.

I have a bottle of Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown that I want to use for Rot Braun, and a bottle of Tamiya XF-61 Dark Green that I would like to use for Olive Grun.

I have adjusted my Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow with Tamiya Buff to calm some of the "mustard yellow" down a bit, and lighten it some and it looks really good.

So....(1) What do you suggest that I use to lighten the XF-64 Red Brown and make it just a little redder in tint?

(2) What do you suggest that I use to make the XF-61 Dark Green a little lighter and maybe just a tad olive in tint? I have a bottle of "Olive Drab" and it ain't even close.

I was thinking possibly Tamiya Buff, would solve both issues, but hopefully some of the more experienced painters who's work that I admire on this site will chime in and give me a tip or two.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/PzIV.Saumur.000a5s6s.jpg

Thanks in advance

Greg

Not an expert in German WWII camo but a good tip to lighten Tamiya paints is their XF15 Flesh.

Olivier

Greg, I agree with Oliver. Here's another tip. If you have an Iphone or Ipad there is an app called iModelKit. One of the things it does is enable you to pick a color from almost any of the paint manufacturers and then choose up to three colors to mix together to get a match. It's pretty sweet. Jeff

This is what I do:

Tamiya Deck Tan is a useful color to use to lighten Dark Yellow and some others for scale effect.

For greens, I use a fair amount of Tamiya Dark Yellow or Desert Yellow to lighten them, with the Desert Yellow being a bit warmer (i.e. it has some red in it) which will add a bit of brown to the green.

Browns usually get either Deck Tan or Desert Yellow depending on how faded I want them.

Keep in mind that any colors except red, yellow, and blue have other tints that will effect the final tones, so you have to mix with this in mind. Grays often have a blue tint that can make your yellows and browns to turn greenish. On the other hand, tans usually have red in them which can add an unwanted brown if you're not paying attention.

Anyways, Deck Tan, Dark Yellow, and Desert Yellow are very useful to lighten many colors. Someone else mentioned Flesh which can also work well, especially for browns. Treat it like a tan color when mixing because of the red in it.

Many thanks to all of you. I knew that I'd get a competent answer from you all. I do have a bottle of XF-15 Flesh, and a bottle of Deck Tan as well. Thanks Mike for the inside explanation of the pigment additives in the Tan colors and how they react when mixed. That's what I was looking for

Thanks guys.

Jeff, I will download the app that you gave me onto my Wife's Ipad. To this very day I'm still using my $30.00 Wally World flip phone

Thanks a bunch,

Greg

Greg, I think you will find the app very useful. It's pretty cool.