Paint question

[titan.26]

Hey guys,I'm trying to paint my Leo 2a6 and I used tam xf-67 Nato green to base coat ,my problem is that to me it looks more like olive drab ( darker in contast) ,than those those finished leopards look,the others I see on this site look like more of a bright green ,can someone please enlighten me as to what I have done wrong ,any help would be nice.

[ALPHA]

Did you use a Primer? depending on the color of the primer... the final top coat can take on a different hue


ALPHA

[titan.26]

No primer,I was thinking maybe I should use a different brand of paint.

[titan.26]

Or maybe I should have used white primer?

[titan.26]

I hate trial and error with such an expensive tank ,it's really frustrating to spend so much time trying to perfect something and have undesired results.

[billpe]

It's the correct color you're using and the primer won't matter if the layer is a solid coat. However I would use a primer, especially on the ABS. Parts as the paint will come right off as soon as it touches anything hard.

What will change the appearance is the filters and finish. Leo2a6 have a satin, almost gloss appearance underneath all the dust. The camouflage layer on a scale tank is just the first step in it's appearance. The NATO green is a dark color but it's lightened during the final dusting phase many apply to their modern tanks.

Check out my Leo 2 build and see how the paint went from light, to dark to light again as I applied filters, oils then dusted it.

For this tank I'd use a very fine primer, not one for cars but a modelling one or you'll lose the detail on the grip bboards on the deck of the Leo. It's extremely fine detail and a car primer will kill it.

*Edit*

See what the colours changed on mine as I added layers.

Primer & preshade

First layer of NATO green (same Tamiya type you're using) and the start of the second brown layer.

Filter washed

Pin washed, oiled and clear coated

Two dust layers.

FInal tank with streaking dust - 4 layers of dusting in total.


Also, don't forget the when a photo is taken, light affects it.

[ALPHA]

Or maybe I should have used white primer?

What color was the tank to begin with? but yeah a neutral color base assures you get the proper color representation...as most sample chips are based on a white base coat

ALPHA

[titan.26]

Hello ,thank you for your detailed response to my failed efforts.your quality of work is stunning.i have a spare turret top so I primered it with modelmasters white acrylic,and then sprayed on a coat of xf-67, and the hue of the color remained the same.may I ask specifically what type of filter did you use?

[billpe]

I used a thinned AK Interactive NATO filter - thinned to the point that there isn't to much colour, as it's a fairly thick - for a filter - light brown. The same thing can be made using oil colours and some turps though, but oils take days, if not weeks to fully dry.

If you've not primed the rest of the model yet, I'd suggest getting some Tamiya fine metal & plastic primer. It's designed to go onto their models and then have thier paints put over the top. Using a straight acrylic as a primer won't work too well, it needs to bond to the plastic to hold the layers above on.

[titan.26]

Thank you again ,I may strip it bare ,primer it back up and then use the xf-67 ,your input is well received.