Here is my Tiger Models LeClerc in the new brown color a few things to finish up on her
The third pic is my LeClerc with my VBCI
The third pic is my LeClerc with my VBCI
9 Likes
Interesting. Hadn’t seen that scheme.
I think that is the base color since the XLR variant started production in 2021. Perhaps earlier, since the upgrades started in 2015. The Emirati Leclerc MBTs I saw while visiting Abu Dhabi were a deep tan color pattern, with a light tan base. I have a red/green color deficiency that makes browns interesting.
The French began delivery of their first regiment (501 iirc) in June 2023.
they switched over to that brown color on all their equipment about a year or so ago
1 Like
Thanks Gino I say that tamiya XF72 JGSDF brown comes pretty close to the real color
2 Likes
I was seeking out the new brown colour and Olivier Carneau suggested Tamiya Xf-92 Yellow-Brown (Dak 1941) as a good match.
Yes, it would have taken some time for all the unit sets to paint all the combat vehicles.
The French name for the paint is Brun Terre de France (Brown Earth), similar to Flat Dark Earth (Cerakote for example) or as Frenchy or Bison stated: DAK 1941 = Tamiya XF92 (iirc). This seems more accurate looking online, but lighting and computer screen drivers really make a hash of getting this right.
I first saw reports dating in 2021, and they referred to this color as the new universal base. Stickers came up often to describe theater-specific camouflage solutions.
And of course, primer color and pre-shading can have some serious impact.
Here is a French page describing the color entirely:
French data plate for color Brun Terre de France
The “official” reveal:
Bastille Day reveal
I read and speak French reasonably well. I keep up by reading news in French. I was born at La Rochelle.
3 Likes
And @tanknick22 ’s recommendation:
1 Like
Nice job on your Leclerc without capital c 
A French company have released a specific paint for the new French army color. They are on Facebook only : Le petit matos.
Paint reference is CR1 Nissan Brown. Don’t ask me why it’s called so.
Olivier
2 Likes
thanks looks good next to the VBCI doesnt it?
1 Like
google says it is a Nissan paint colour lots of links to touch up paint
1 Like
And pronounced “le-clair” (in American phonetics)
1 Like
Sure it does. When time comes I’ll build the command version of the VBCI and paint it BTF (brun terre de France) too.
Olivier
2 Likes
My use of Tamiya XF72 was based on pcs of vehicles in that color and how it looked to me
now all we need is a 1 35 scale Caesar 155mm and a newer of the VBCI other than that old dog from Heller
I quite like old dogs from Heller!
1 Like
lol because you like the challenge?
I must have a perverse nature! But in some instances, Heller were ahead of the game: transparencies for headlights periscopes etc. And if you wished to model say, Cold War French AFVs, one often had no option; sure, the plastic of the time - improved of late - was quite brittle, and the construction sequences? And even design sometimes? Well, let’s just say “interesting”.
They do, to me at least, have a certain charm!
4 Likes
How is the VBCI assembly? I made the VAB from Heller last year…and it was a really bad model. The VBCI is impossible to find in Canada. I have a friend who was in the Foreign Legion and who is returning to France for his regiment’s celebrations. He is supposed to try to bring me one.
I would like Tiger to make us a VBCI and the family of new French armored vehicles Griffon and Jaguar
2 Likes