TAMXF59 - Tamiya - Flat Desert Yellow Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

TAMXF59 - Tamiya - Flat Desert Yellow Acrylic - 10mL Bottle

Tamiya XF-59 Flat Desert Yellow is designated in Tamiya's original colour guide for two interrelated North African subjects: "British tanks seen in the desert" and "British Army infantry in Africa." It is a warm, golden yellow-tan — brighter and more yellow than XF-52 Flat Earth, and less red-brown in character — that closely approximates British SCC No. 7 (Light Stone) / Midstone, the standard desert camouflage colour applied to 8th Army vehicles and armour throughout the Western Desert campaign. It is equally appropriate for British desert infantry figures in the khaki drill (KD) uniform worn across Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and the Middle East theatre. Beyond its primary desert AFV and figure application, XF-59 mixes naturally into RAF desert camouflage approaches (1:1 with XF-60 Dark Yellow for the mid-stone intermediate tone) and into German North African overpaints and Middle East theatre subjects for multiple nationalities.

Tamiya Acrylic paints are a hybrid acrylic formula built on water-soluble resin — they can be thinned with water, isopropyl alcohol, or lacquer thinner, and clean up easily with water before curing. When thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, the paint lays down faster, dries harder, and bonds more aggressively to the substrate. The hybrid resin chemistry means the paint film remains slightly soluble after initial drying — subsequent brush strokes can reactivate and lift the layer below if applied without restraint. For this reason, airbrushing is strongly recommended for large surface coverage. Brush painting is workable for detail and touch-up work, but requires a gentle, deliberate stroke and a fully cured base layer. See our Tamiya Acrylic vs. Enamel vs. Lacquer guide for a full breakdown of paint type differences.

• British 8th Army desert AFVs — SCC No. 7 Light Stone / Midstone overall desert colour on British and Commonwealth armoured vehicles in the Western Desert and Tunisian campaigns; applied to Matilda II infantry tanks of the 1st and 32nd Army Tank Brigades at Sidi Barrani and Operation Battleaxe (1940–41), Crusader cruisers of the 7th Armoured Division during Operation Crusader (November 1941) and the Gazala battles (May–June 1942), Valentine tanks of the 8th Armoured Brigade at El Alamein (October 1942), and the full range of 8th Army armour from 1940 through to Tunisia and the fall of Tunis (May 1943); Tamiya designates XF-59 as "British tanks seen in the desert"
• British 8th Army infantry uniforms — Khaki Drill (KD) summer uniform worn by 8th Army infantry, support, and armoured vehicle crews in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia; the warm, golden-tan tone of well-worn, sun-bleached KD fabric in the desert theatre; Tamiya designates XF-59 as "British Army infantry in Africa" in the original colour guide, covering the 51st Highland Division, 50th Northumbrian Division, and 1st South African Division at El Alamein alongside the full range of Commonwealth desert infantry figures
• RAF desert camouflage Midstone component — mixed 1:1 with XF-60 Dark Yellow to produce the mid-tone stone colour used in Tamiya's documented RAF desert camouflage approach for aircraft operating with the Western Desert Air Force (WDAF); applicable to Spitfire Mk.Vc Trop, Hurricane Mk.IIb/IIc Trop, Kittyhawk Mk.I/III, and Bristol Beaufighter Mk.VIF desert schemes in the Middle East and North African theatres, 1941–43
• Australian and New Zealand desert forces — KD uniform and vehicle colour for Australian 9th Division figures at the Siege of Tobruk (April–December 1941) and El Alamein, and for New Zealand 2nd Division figures throughout the North African campaign; XF-59 provides the warm, sun-bleached tan appropriate for Southern Hemisphere troops operating in extreme desert heat
• Italian post-Tricolor desert — a useful base for Italian Regio Esercito desert tan overpaint on vehicles transitioning from the standard Nocciola Chiaro two-tone scheme to a single overall desert tan in the final stages of the North African campaign (1942–43); lightened with XF-57 Buff to represent the very pale sun-faded Italian Saharan sand colour
• US Army M1A1 Abrams / modern desert tan base — XF-59 provides a workable starting point for NATO CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) tan on modern US and Coalition desert AFVs for Gulf War (1991), Iraq War (2003), and Afghanistan subjects; lighten approximately 40:60 with XF-2 Flat White to hit the correct pale CARC sand tone more precisely
• British Gulf War and modern desert — a workable starting point for Gulf War 1990–91 British Army desert schemes on Challenger 1 and Warrior IFV subjects operating with 1st UK Armoured Division in Operation Granby; the Tamiya community broadly endorses XF-59 as the closest in-range approximation for British Gulf War desert tan before post-war NATO colours were standardised
• Diorama desert groundwork — dry-mixed into plaster and fine sand for desert diorama bases representing the Western Desert, Sahara, and Middle Eastern terrain; provides the warm, golden-tan of compacted desert sand and rocky gravel before washes and dry-brushing with XF-57 Buff highlights are applied

For full Tamiya paint colour references and modelling compatibility charts, visit our Tamiya Paint Colour Chart — Complete Guide for Scale Modellers.

Thin and airbrush with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, Mr. Color Thinner, or Mr. Color Leveling Thinner.

• 10ml glass jar
• Part of the Tamiya Acrylic paint range