Hey, well after testing many sand colors and never really getting a satisfying result , I think this time I got it right,,well I really feel happy .
I have been looking and testing for the correct mix and OIF sand colors for years.

Ok wel this kit is the tamya m1a2,,,I built it straight from the box because it was meant to test all kind fo sannd colors.
Although the tank was first sprayed with the grey primer coat out of the can, I guess I added 2-3 different sand colors from MM sand to MM gulf army/usmc. I am quite surprised that after so many coats no details of the tanks disapeared.
I even got due to so many coats the anti-slip thing that tamya kits don t have.
So this week I gave it a last try. I used buff as the main coat ( isntructions how I did it check my photo gallery)
The sand color pigments were very useful for the drybrush on some areas.

I did not add the extra stuff (gear accessories) and the antennas yet...It will be added soon.


Well this kit is indeed lacking of details since I was not focusing on upgrading it
but focusing more on finding a satisfying sand painting technique.

So I just want to know all your opinions concerning the sandcolor :-)
A HIGHER RESOLUTION OF my images are in my gallery.
THE SAND OIF COLOR was a heavy burden for me.

thanks

From my end, the color looks pretty good. It is very close to the color in several of my reference pictures. I know that doesn't mean much, since ambient light makes a big difference, but I thought I'd mention it. In the end, what matters most is that you like it--that's the only yardstick that matters.

Looks pretty good so far. Keep us posted.

Oliver,

Looks pretty good! Keep us posted on your progress.

I often take a few attempts to come to a shade of light sand that i like but thought it would be great if the guys in the field could clarify this:

Since the tanks out in the field are painted by the crew, do you not end up with a lot of different shades of light sand so effectively there isnt a single shade that is completely accurate?

I think you did a great work with your abrams Oliver. Sounds to me like you applied multiple coats but did you pre-mix them with other colours before applying onto the kit?

They are not painted by the troops in the field. Small touch-ups are done in the field, but overall painting is done in a controlled environment at a Base or Depot. CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) paint is actually quite caustic and has to be applied in a controlled environment. Multiple precautions are taken when applying it. Also, each color is a specific shade matched to Federal Standard (FS) paint codes.