What is the best method of masking multiple (putty, etc.) colors on a tank? I have the Tamiya Leopard 2 A5 for sometime now and this is the only thing that's held me back from starting this kit because of the three colors that are used on this vehicle.

Hello,

for sharp borders I can recommend PanzerPutty. It is very usable as it does not stick to much to small parts and can be removed easily. On the other hand it tends to loose shape so you should paint the whole thing within some days.

Here is an example painted using PanzerPutty.



One box lasts a modellers lifetime as it can easily be reactivated with two drops of water if it dries out to much. Mine lasts by now for perhaps 5 years.

Best Regards

Dennis

Thank you sir

Tony, pay attention to fact that so called tricolour NATO camouflage is a system in reality, so there are fixed relations and borders of fields of those camouflage colours in certain pattern. That means that the safest way how to reproduce that camo is to make a scale copy of camo scheme (printed on paper, at least from instruction sheet), then to make/cut stencils of every colour fields and then start spraying colour(s)... Try to find a picture of group of vehicles of the same type and you will see their camouflage is nearly identical, I say nearly. And the borders of colour fields are sprayed first and then they are filled by spraying..., but those borders are nearly hard edge... This is good source for BW reference material: http://www.panzerbaer.de/
And here is a Leo 2 camo scheme: http://www.panzerbaer.de/colours/a_relaunch/bw_kpz_leopard_2a5.htm
HTH

An article on ex BW vehicles ready for scrap: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2612347/Where-tanks-die-The-German-graveyard-dismantled-15-000-armoured-vehicles-Europe-countries-strip-military.html
I would say those pictures can confirm my previous statement on certain more than uniformity of NATO tricolour camouflage scheme.
HTH

[quote]Thank you sir[/quote
panzer putty pretty hard to get in the US AND pretty expensive on ebay . I use silly putty works fine, and from what i read is as good as the expensive stuff !

I agree- Silly putty is a good and cheap alternative (I think $4 for 2 eggs at WM). I have used it several times for NATO Camo patterns and liked the results. My sequence:

1- Paint model overall NATO Green.

2- Roll it into "snakes" and lay onto the model in the pattern for the NATO Black

3- Repeat for NATO Brown.

I use a toothpick and popsicle stick to really fit the putty snake onto the pattern I want.

even cheaper than that ! i paid a buck at the dollar store