Olive Drab on WW2 US Tanks

[Jnewboy]

If you really want it to look right you have to use color modulation. Four shades at least but six is better. Model builders use to make it by adding white and black to one color but now they have pre-made sets. Check it out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AK-Interactive- ... 51b795632e

[TKcommander]

I know your right Jnewboy, but some of us (me!) are airbrush inept!!

I would certainly like to see what the AK modulation set looked like painted on, read mixed reviews of AK paints...

In time I no doubt may gain the courage to pick up the airbrush, but that will be for another project......

[[ICE]monkey]

Don't forget about scale , a lot of the colours are spot on at 1/1 but at 1/16 look to dark so you have to lighten the paint , can't remember the percentage but it's on the internet somewhere

[TKcommander]

Yes the military modeling article I posted up indicates this...

They considered the Tamiya OD 1 to be the closest match at 1/1 .... but needs lightening at scale.

This is the main reason I chose the plastic soldier paint, it would have been a simpler respray had I gone with the Tamiya!

[Marc780]

To expand a bit on Jnewboy's comment, he's right-different shades of the same color, look much more appealing then one solid shade over the entire object even if the object IS painted in only one color. It gives much more a sense of depth and details tend to "pop" just a little more.


I built a 1/35 scale M48 Patton tank and had very good results with what I would call a "cloud" pattern. Done only with spray cans, yet.
Since you will want to start with a light color then apply your base coats, the key is to only spray in small spots. If you airbrush, all you need is your base olive drab paint, plus some white for lighter shade and just a little black paint. Id start initial painting with the olive drab with very much white added- since going to the normal OD color, and perhaps a little bit of a darker OD is no trouble at all compared to trying to do it the other way round!

Go darker in one area and leave other areas a lighter shade. Avoid over spraying the whole model at once for this pattern the idea is to create such a subtle blend of essentially different shades of the same color, you can't tell where any shade begins or ends. This gives a very nice impression of color depth and scale realism when done right. The problem most of us have when painting is when to stop! Under doing it is always better as any exaggeration of the paint shade however slight, stands out quite a bit since, it's of course merely a model of the real thing and so cannot be painted in a manner like the real tank, if it is to look "real".

I'd start with a white or Grey primer then put small spritz of darker shades of olive drab. I remember making a small template torn out of cardboard, the hole was a rough oval maybe 4 inches by 2. Then I spritzed areas of the tank but never concentrating on one spot. Going from lighter to darker the effect was a very subtle, almost marbled look. It was all one color or was it? The areas blended indistinguishably into each other. I got several complements on this tank and several "who did the paint?" "Did it come like that?"

Best To Try This method Out On Cardboard First It Is Easier To Do Then describe.

[tankmad]

For my easy eight I used lifecolor 003 olive drab weathered.
http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/v ... 33&t=11973

[TKcommander]

Very nice,

Makes me wonder if colour modulation is necessary if weathering effects/washes are applied.