French tanks in World War 1 and early World War 2 wore colorful camouflage paint jobs, a recent paint set from Ammo by Mig provides modelers with the colors needed to recreate these interesting paint schemes.
Contents
A.MIG-060 Pale Green
A.MIG-061 Warm Sand Yellow
A.MIG-062 French Blue
A.MIG-063 Pale Grey
A.MIG-064 Brown Earth
A.MIG-065 Forest Green
Review
Ammo by Mig has released a color set of French Tank Colors - Camouflage colors from 1914 to 1940(WW1 and WWII) to help modelers recreate French armor camouflage colors. The set contains six 17ml bottles of paint. The box art, front and back, provides different options for French tanks and camouflage patterns.
A quick view of the box art and images from around the internet show various patterns using a combination of grey, dark yellow, greens, brown and blue, and the set contains the colors to reproduce these scheme. As there seems to be no real color images of the colors, it is difficult to gauge the correct colors, but to my eye they look good. It should also be noted, as I read, that most early French tanks were provided in a solid color ‘pale grey has been mentioned’ to the unit, at which time they were camouflaged by their crews. If this is a true statement, it would lead to what I have observed, various patterns and use of colors.
So having the paint, thought it was worth giving them a try on a French World War 1 St. Chammond I quickly built. I started with a coat of Ammo by Mig Black primer, to which I airbrushed the Pale Grey onto the tank using light coats with approximately a 60-40 mix of paint to Ammo by Mig Thinner. The paint flowed well through the airbrush, and three coats provided a good coverage over the black primer.
To give the tank a "field" painted look, and the complexity of the pattern, I decided to brush on the other colors. With a few drops of paint and a small drop of thinner in the pallette, I brushed on the colors lightly. The first coat showed some transparency as I expected, with almost full coverage using the second coat. I could have added a third coat, but was satisfied with the "field" applied look after the second coat.
The paint did brush on well using a No.4 synthetic brush. While the bottle is stated "For airbrushing", it does show that they can be applied with a brush. Also it should be noted, that Ammo by Mig paint really needs to be mixed well for use. These paints do include the "mixing ball" in the paint for assistance, but ensure it is well shaken before use.
With the model painted, I was happy with the look of the colors for a World War 1 French tank as provided in the set by Ammo by Mig. One color missing if you are planning to do the black outlined schemes is the black, but that is easily sourced.
Overview
Overall, I am very happy with the color selection provided in the Ammo by Mig set, and with an airbrush or brush, the paint does apply well. I would definitely recommend this set to anyone building and painting a World War 1 or early World War 2 French tank.
SUMMARY
Highs: Good looking colors, example schemes on box, applies well using airbrush or brush.Lows: N/AVerdict: Great paint set for painting early French armor, highly recommended.
Our Thanks to Ammo of Mig Jimenez! This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.
I am an IT Consultant and father, with a passion for plastic models. I mostly prefer 1/35 Armor and 1/48 Aircraft. My main interests are anything Canadian, as well as WW2 German and British Armor and Aircraft. I have been building models since I was a young kid, got away from it for awhile, but r...
I have just bought AMMO MIG sets for modern french colors and Bundeswehr colors. Not yet used them.
I glad to see manufacturers decide to release this type of paint set. It is easier to use right colors.
These dazzle colours that the various armies used in WWI are amazing! Thanks to offerings like these we won't have to take wild guesses at what shade that violet really was, etc.
How do we know that the manufacturer didn't make 'wild guesses' as to the colours? Do we have any evidence to suggest that one manufacturer of model paint has conveniently managed to obtain information that nobody else has managed to find?
Model paint manufacturers as a whole don't have a great record in this field as the motivation is (perfectly reasonably) to produce a profitable product which lots of us will buy, not to produce the closest match to the original colour. Much the same applies to colour profiles and indeed kits and many other things.
I don't have any proof either way. As most images from that time period are black and white, we can only go with what we find on the world wide web, books, and yes, color profiles from paint companies. Based on what I have seen the colors are close, and in my opinion acceptable.
The other issue is that due to fading, dust, etc., it is difficult to get the exact color, unless you have and exact paint chip from the time.
I am not sure what else I can say on the subject, other then I am happy with how it turned out and how it looks.
I agree 101% ,and also we have to think about the scale,"the perfect match" to the original colors maybe from a chip can work if you hare restoring the real deal not in a 1/35 scale model,if you paint the "true" Olive Drub on a 1/35 Sherman look too dark....also is a color used 100 years a go nobody can be 100% sure about the shade the existing tank if still have some original pait have the pait faded by the use and age....is like argue about the sex of angels you cant talk about for 100 years and never find the true...for my mumbele opinion in my mother lenguage we call this kind of problems "mental masturbation"...is difficul be sure about IIWW german colors IWW is a dream...my approach is "if looks ok is ok"...my 2 cents
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