French tank colours - 1980s

[AlexM]

Hi all,

I’m working on a French force for 7 Days to the River Rhine, and I’m stuck on colours for my vehicles. Photos seem to show some vehicles in NATO 3 colour, but others in a solid green.

Does anyone have any info on this to clarify?

Thanks in advance!

Alex

[carlos marighela]

IIRC, the French Army moved to the NATO 3 colour scheme, post 1989 and the end of the Cold War. Prior to that, solid green looks to have been the norm. No doubt there were some variations in far flung outposts like Djibouti etc but for Europe solid green is the way to go.

[AlexM]

Perfect - any idea if there’s a Vallejo match for that French green? Also, I would suppose that this applies to all of their vehicles equally?

[Jemima Fawr]

The three-colour scheme was already applied to the vehicles of the French FAR rapid-reaction corps in time for their big exercise in Germany in 1987, so you can do either/or, as many other units continued using the plain green scheme well into the 90s.  The green was NATO-standard RAL 6014 'Yellow Olive' and was the same colour used by Belgium, the Netherlands and West Germany (and by association, Canadian Leopards).  This very brownish colour is near enough to WW2 US Olive Drab for my purposes, so I use Humbrol 155 US Olive Drab.  I think the Vallejo equivalent is called 'Brown Violet'?

[SJWi]

Alex, to back up Jemima I have a French language booklet "The French Soldier Today" dated 1988 which shows units in a mix of both the single colour and 3-tone schemes. I guess you get to choose!   

[Jemima Fawr]

Alex, to back up Jemima I have a French language booklet "The French Soldier Today" dated 1988 which shows units in a mix of both the single colour and 3-tone schemes. I guess you get to choose!

Tankograd also do a great little photo-album book called 'Panzerschlacht in Sudetenland' which covers Ex 'Cheeky Sparrow' in 1987.  Some fantastic resource material in there.

[AlexM]

Thanks all!

To clarify - you're suggesting the brown violet for the french Vert Foncé IR? RAL 6014 seems more brown than the French vehicles in photos.

A

[Jemima Fawr]

Thanks all!

To clarify - you're suggesting the brown violet for the french Vert Foncé IR? RAL 6014 seems more brown than the French vehicles in photos.

A

I'm not familiar with Vallejo paints, but that is what people suggest for US Olive Drab (and by association NATO Green).  I use Humbrol 155, which is pretty brown.

Photos are tricky things.  German tanks on different sources look brown, dark green or even grey-green, but they're all painted the same colour in the factory. Having seen French and German vehicles on numerous occasions in real life, they looked a lot more brown than British vehicles and always looked a dead match for each other to my eye.

[Jemima Fawr]

Sorry, 'Vert Fonce IR' is the green element of the three-colour scheme.  That's a very bright pea-green.  The one I'm talking about is 'Vert IR OTAN'.

[AlexM]

Oh, I thought it was the other way around - Vert Foncé IR was the pre-NATO 3-colour green.

Thank you again!

[Jemima Fawr]

Oh, I thought it was the other way around - Vert Foncé IR was the pre-NATO 3-colour green.

Thank you again!

Yeah, I thought it was the other way around as well! 

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Tankograd also do a great little photo-album book called 'Panzerschlacht in Sudetenland' which covers Ex 'Cheeky Sparrow' in 1987.  Some fantastic resource material in there.

It is an interesting book:

That is an AMX-10 RC bottom left.
It also has some Hotchkiss M201s (licensed or rebuilt jeeps).

[Jemima Fawr]

Suddeutschland, not Sudetenland... 

Yes, I do have a hankering for a French light armoured/airborne unit, just for the MILAN-armed Jeeps...

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Yes, I do have a hankering for a French light armoured/airborne unit, just for the MILAN-armed Jeeps...

I wonder if Empress/Under Fire will do period French (Empress already do a Hotchkiss M201)?

[bluewillow]

I painted my French in Green only. I will check my littkecred book for the colours I used.

FOW have some options for colours
https://www.team-yankee.com/Default.aspx?tabid=909&art_id=6143

Cheers
Matt