Surface Primer Desert Tan Base

The ground of modern desert vehicles

Single-color sand coats replaced green camouflage schemes in the Western armies at the moment the center of gravity of operations moved to arid regions. Combat vehicles, wheeled carriers, engineer vehicles and helicopters all received a flat light tone on which every trace of use shows. That is exactly why modelers have taken to this shade: it does nothing by itself, but it creates an area on which dust, the grease around the filler caps and the worn paths over the hull then stand out.

Choosing the scale and the extent

A large volume makes sense on vehicles with extensive areas, on models in 1:16 scale and larger and on scenes where several machines stand side by side and the shade must not differ. The rest of the paint will serve on the base and on the terrain as well, thanks to which a scene holds together.

Properties and application

The film is matte, flexible and resistant to masks being peeled off. It adheres to plastic, resin and metal with no intermediate step. It is recommended to apply it in passes from a distance until the area gains an even covering; a single heavy spray leads to flowing into the engraved lines and to drops at the edges.

What follows

After a day of curing the surface is ready for washes, oil stains and dry pigment. On desert machines it pays to let the sun-bleached places on the upper surfaces stand out and, on the contrary, to darken the lower parts, where diesel and mud hold. The contrast between a worn upper part and a clogged lower edge makes up most of the final impression on desert machines, and a calm uniform ground is the only thing that makes it possible.