Tamiya OD

[Tom Rigg]

XF-62 isn't the same as it was. What can be added to the newer mix to revert it back to the older mix (I'm thinking a smidge of black and maybe a touch of brown?)
Tom

[Guest]

From what I gather this is actually quite common amongst many paint manufacturers and this probably due to pigment variations and/or when the paint was bottled throughout the batch? (through settlement etc)
I've even heard of someone buying three bottles of XF-62 and they all were a bit different. This is also reported to have happened with other colours too.
Mix a small quantity of paint on a palette until it looks right, then you'll know roughly what to do with your olive drab.

[Guest]

I wouldn't add brown to is (especially considering there are dozens of Browns out there) as olive drab is traditionally a mixture of black and yellow, I'd start there. However, I'd not sweat it too much, as, if you go to a military vehicle rally, you'll notice that there will be loads of U.S. Vehicles there, all olive drab, and all different! Paint has been changing (mostly downhill) since ever. Pigments are expensive, and manufacturers have been cutting costs through the years. The sensible thing to do if you end up with 3 jars all different, is to mix them all together, then decant them back into their jars, then you at least have 3 identical jars!

[Guest]

Mix a small quantity of paint on a palette until it looks right, then you'll know roughly what to do with your olive drab.

This is excellent advice! With pipettes and such like, it is easy to be quite accurate in mixing colours, keep a notebook going about outcomes, adding a swatch of the colour you are mixing, and youll soon gather the knowledge and confidence to mix your own colours. This is especially useful for making filters and even modulating the layers on your model, to achieve a more authentic surface. Remember to add dark to light, especially if the tonal values are very different - e.g. Yellow and Black. This will save you a fortune in paint!!

[Tom Rigg]

i'm fine with mixing colours. It's just that OD (and a decent dunkelgelb for that matter) straight from the bottle is so much easier and makes a good starting 'benchmark'
Tom