NATO Camouflage Patterns, 1949–today
Scimitar Armoured Recce Vehicle with British two-colour camouflage pattern.
| Colour | AK interactive* | Humbrol | Mig* | Revell* | Tamiya* | Vallejo* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAL 7013 Brown Grey | – | 155 | – | 32.304, 361.46 | – | 70.887 |
| 1975 mit dem »Anzug 75« eingeführte Uniform- und Fahrzeugfarbe des Österreichischen Bundesheeres, ähnelt dem »Steingrauoliv« des 1963 eingeführten »Feldanzug, oliv« der Bundeswehr. Außer den oben genannten, bietet sich auch Testors 1711 an. | ||||||
| RAL 6014 Yellow Olive | RC086 | — | 087 | — | — | 71.016 |
| Bundeswehr dark olive base colour for vehicles and equipment until 1984. Snow camouflage of slake lime, and sandy loam mud camouflage in summer. | ||||||
| RAL 6031-F9 Bronze Green | RC080 | 116 | – | 361.65 | XF-67 | — |
| Green base colour of the three-colour Fleckentarnanstrich | ||||||
| RAL 8027-F9 Leather Brown | RC081 | – | – | 361.84 | XF-68 | 70.871, 71.249 |
| Disruptive colour of the three-colour Fleckentarnanstrich | ||||||
| RAL 9021-F9 Tar Black | RC082 | 33 | – | — | — | — |
| Disruptive colour of the three-colour Fleckentarnanstrich | ||||||
| RAL 1039-F9 Sand Beige | RC088 | – | – | — | — | — |
| Camouflage paste for hot climates | ||||||
| RAL 1040-F9 Grey Beige | RC089 | – | – | — | — | — |
| Camouflage paste for hot climates | ||||||
| RAL 6040-F9 Light Olive | RC090 | – | – | — | — | — |
| Camouflage paste for hot climates | ||||||
| RAL 7050-F9 Camouflage Grey | RC091 | – | – | — | — | — |
| Camouflage paste for hot climates | ||||||
| RAL 8031-F9 Sand Brown | RC092 | – | – | — | — | — |
| Camouflage paste for hot climates | ||||||
| Vert PIR OTAN | 11364 | – | – | 32.146 | — | — |
| French army olive green base colour until the 1980s | ||||||
| Vert Foncé IR | AK-11358 | 80 | – | — | — | — |
| French army dark green base colour until the 1980s | ||||||
| Brun Terre IR | RC081 | 186 | – | — | — | — |
| Disruptive colour of the French army three-colour camouflage pattern | ||||||
| Noir OTAN | RC082 | 33 | – | — | — | — |
| Disruptive colour of the French army three-colour camouflage pattern | ||||||
| Sable Armée Française | AK4081 | 88 | – | — | — | — |
| French army sand colour | ||||||
| Vert Armée Française | AK4082 | 102 | 065 | — | XF-65 | — |
| Vert Kaki, French army NATO olive vehicle and uniform colour. Sandy loam mud camouflage applied in summer. | ||||||
| Gris/Bleu Moyen Clair A625 | AK11365 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grey-blue base colour of the two-colour camouflage pattern used on FORAD (Force Adverse) vehicles at French army training centers. Noir OTAN is used for the black disruptive stripes. | ||||||
* Acrylic paint.
Scale Colour – Aerial Perspective
A paint chip taken from a historic armoured Fahrzeug may very well be the same olive drab or panzer grey colour which the hobbyist can purchase from Revell und Humbrol today, but it would be a mistake to paint 1:72 scale models in this way. When viewed from a distance, the actual Fahrzeug exposed to sunlight will appear much lighter than a small model painted in the same colour. Dust settling on the Fahrzeug can highlight the overall colour even further, sometimes completely obliterating the camouflage effect und making it impossible to hide the Fahrzeug against the dark background of a treeline or forest.
Aerial Perspective allows the model builder to simulate this effect. The authentic base colour is used as an undercoat, preferably sprayed on, to speed up the painting process. The undercoat should be left to dry before additional paint is applied. Mix the base colour with white to highlight it und then drybrush it onto the vehicle. The raised surfaces of the model will pick up the highlight just like the real Fahrzeug picks up sunlight. Viewed next to each other, at the appropriate scale distance, of course, both vehicles will appear to be the same size und their overall colour should be similar, depending on the intensity of natural lighting the modeller wishes to recreate. Drybrushing can be done in several layers, using more white each time. A final layer of dust grey can be applied to simulate the cumulative effect which a dusty road march would have on the Fahrzeug und its crew.