BGK - Clash of Reconnaissance: Airbrushing Good/Bad News

Here is my third try at airbrushing. My subjects are the T-34 and T-70 tanks for the scenario "Clash of Reconnaissance" in the Battlegroup Kursk rulebook. I started with a black primer coat courtesy of Armoury's Black Primer.

As before I used a 50-50 mix of Tamiya paint and Tamiya thinner blown at 20PSI.

My first color was Tamiya Dark Green XF-61. This deep brown/green was sprayed liberally over the model... heavier on upper panels and where light would hit... lighter coverage in the recesses and shadowed area.

Next up was Tamiya NATO Green XF-67. This lighter green was sprayed in the middle of the panels and upper surfaces in an attempt to make those areas brighter. I did a pretty good job of leaving some of the Dark Green showing around the edges and for the most part I put the NATO Green where I wanted it to go. As I was spraying I could see a shiny wet spot where the new paint was hitting the model and that helped me aim better and also gauge the amount of paint that was being sprayed. The XF-61 and XF-67 look great together! 

HOWEVER...

That said, my color choices are too dark. Under a bright window and the midday sun the colors looked dark and rich. As the hours ticked past and the light became less bright, the colors faded and the tanks now look almost black. That isn't going to work. 1/72nd is a smaller scale than 1/35th and therefore requires lighter colors (and more defined contrasts) to make the model stand out. 

The pictures above were taken in almost perfect light which was streaming through a noonday window. Games will be played at night, in garages, under incandescents, etc. and a brighter color would be better. A respray is required. 

Live and learn, right? I saw this model online and it has a lighter, yellowy green finish that looks good. It uses XF-58 Olive Green and XF-4 Yellow Green. Interesting!