Colour of Belgian Army Leopard 1 MBT?

Armor/AFV Modern
1

What would be an appropriate colour for a Leopard 1A1 serving in the Belgian Army?
I normally use enamels (either Humbrol or Revell), and was wondering which would
be a reasonable colour match in 1/72 scale. I don’t get too hung up about precise
shades, as subsequent weathering tends to modify the appearance somewhat.

Thanks,

Paul

2

Looking at photos, Belgian Leopards look to be in Olivgelb, as their West German cousins were. But the quality of photos makes that hard to say for certain. Later on they also adopted they NATO tri color scheme.

3

Paul, this is my Leopard 1BE in 1/35 (Revell kit) and the paint I have used was Revell No. 46 “NATO Olive” because I think, the belgian Leos were a bit more brownish than their german brothers. Otherwise you can also use Revell No. 42 Yellow Olive, as Carlos has already mentioned.

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2 Likes
4

The Belgian Leopard 1s left the factory in the same GelbOliv as their German counterparts.
I saved a post some time ago:
The color is RAL 6014 GelbOliv that, according to Frank Lobitz, is a dark brown with just a hint of green. It fades to a gray tone when it gets old.
I know the following options to represent it in a 1/35 model:

  1. Revell 36142 or, simply, 42 - Gelboliv (enamel and acrylic);
  2. Humbrol 66 - Olive Drab (enamel and acrylic);
  3. Gunze Aqueous 78 - Olive Drab 2;
  4. Mr. Color 38 - Olive Drab 2 (lacquer based);
  5. Tamiya XF-62 - Olive Drab (enamel or acrylic)
5

With respect Michael I disagree with some of your calls here: Revell 42 - spot on for the real thing, but probably needs lightening a bit for 1:35, let alone the small scale Paul is operating in.

Humbrol 66 - I would say way out; probably fine for US armour in the late 50s early 60s but does not replicate anything like Gelboliv.

I can’t comment on Gunze Aqueous or Mr Color.

Tamiya XF-62 is nothing like Gelboliv but I would recommend their XF-51 Khaki Drab, which is now my go-to choice for 1:35 Bundeswehr/Belgian models. However, it too might benefit from lightening, say with yellow, for 1:72.

Of course, I am fully aware that colour perception is always subjective and we may have to agree to disagree(!) but I hope this helps Paul somewhere along the line.

6

That was just a reference I kept from someone else several years ago from a different website. As you say, ANY colour is subjective.

7

Thanks for your informative responses.
Yes, I reckon Revell 42 or 46 would be
worth trying out, 42 being the most likely.
As Boots rightly points out, Humbrol 66
is far too dark. In fact, I’ve just used this as
the base colour for my Vietnam War M48
Patton with pleasing results.
In terms of getting paint for my Leopard, this
is on hold for the moment, due to model shops
being closed with the current ‘lockdown’ measures.

Paul