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Tamiya mix for Desert Sand


Clifton

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Howdy, all!  I'm a brand-new member with my first post.  Does anyone have a mix for Desert Sand that they like which uses Tamiya paints?  I've looked everywhere and have been unable to find one.  The color I'm trying to replicate is Desert Sand ANA 616, also known as FS30279.  This color was used in Africa by the USAAF during World War II, and, I believe, fairly recently by the RAF in the Gulf War on their Tornadoes.  

 

Any suggestions for a Tamiya mix would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

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Hi and welcome. I'm afraid that I had to mix my own using Tamiya paints (my favourites) when I built the Buccaneer in desert markings. My start point was XF59 Desert Yellow and then "pink" it up to the correct shade.

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Hi Clifton,

as chillaton has said XF59 as a start, but ANA 616 is (to my eyes) more to the brown so a little experimentation will be called for!

 

Not the be all and end all on colour but at least a starting point, have a look here: -

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_us.htm

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Thanks for the replies, everyone!  I really appreciate it!  Chillaton, do you remember if you added Tamiya pink to your mix, or did you just "eyeball" it with red and white?

 

I must say that it's a frustrating color to find.  There are plenty of Tamiya mixes published on all kinds of websites, but this appears to be one that gets overlooked.  Maybe there just aren't enough modelers using a desert scheme to justify it.  I know that both Testors and Humbrol have discontinued the color, so that's no help!

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  • 1 year later...

Wow, I didn’t realize this thread was over a year old!

 

I was communicating with a modeler recently on a Facebook page, telling him how I would like to mix various colors using Tamiya acrylics, and he recommended an app called iModelKit, which I found in the Apple App Store for $9.99.  One of the features that looks promising is its paint mix feature.  You first choose a reference color from a bunch of different lists, like ANA colors, for example.  Then, you choose which type of paint you would like to mix.  Based on your reference color, it will recommend different paints, until your mix is as close as possible to the reference color.  Using a CIE number (Commission internationale de l’éclairage), it tells you how close your mix is.  A CIE number of 2.00 or less means a close match.  Anyway, to make a fairly short story even longer, I was able to find a mix for Desert Sand using Tamiya paints.  I haven’t had a chance to mix it yet, but I’m eager to try, as I have several models planned ahead that will be in Desert Sand.  The CIE number for this mix is 0.16, which means it’s very close to the reference color.  This mix has a warning icon showing that the reflectivity is not the same as the reference color.  I believe it’s because one of the colors used is glossy, so the finish will turn out to be semi-gloss instead of flat.  That shouldn’t be a problem, and might even save a step when applying decals.  Here’s the mix, in case anyone has a Desert Sand aircraft lined up:

 

Paint                              Ratio/Parts

XF57 Buff.                        6

XF72 Brown JGSDF.        9
X17 Pink.                           7

XF19 Sky Grey.                 14

 

Should be interesting to try it out, at least.

 

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23 minutes ago, Crimea River said:

Hi Clifton. FWIW, I have on file this mix which is simpler that supposedly matches FS30279:  XF79:9 +XF7:1. I can't vouch for it as I've not tried it.

Thanks for the mix!  I’ve seen that one somewhere too.  XF79 is really dark.  I just tried the ratio you suggested, and the CIE index, according to the app at least, is not close to 30279 at all.  The index is 29.33.

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On 6/26/2020 at 12:14 PM, Crimea River said:

That's it. While I have used several of those mixes, I have found others to be way off and made some adjustments.

I wonder, in this case, if they got the names for Deck Tan XF-55 and Deck Brown Linoleum XF-79 mixed up.  I would think a Deck Tan and Red mix would be a much closer mix.

Edited by Clifton
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