Lifecolor Acrylic Paints

[Mike]

Lifecolor Acrylic Paints

 

I was first introduced to Lifecolor paints by The Airbrush Company a good 8 months ago, maybe more, and as it happened had an immediate use for the colours that I received from them. Previously I'd never really heard of this Italian company's paint, although I had subconsciously taken them in on visits to various model shops over the years.

 

This kit was painted by the author using Lifecolor paints, and an Iwata TR-1 airbrush. A build review can be found here.

 

The paints are available in translucent plastic bottles of a similar shape to Tamiya's dumpy glass bottles, which is great for storage and makes them difficult to spill. The lids are all uniform black, which makes spotting them from above a bit tricky, but of no major consequence if you have either a colour marker or a label making machine. They are available singly, or in packs of 6 or 12 colours, with the packs being themed to certain types of modelling, such as WWII German Tanks, or more esoteric subjects like Polish Army 1939.

Inside the chubby 22ml bottle is an acrylic paint that is somewhat different from most in that it doesn't dilute with Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), or cellulose (lacquer) thinners, but will happily dilute with water, or Lifecolor's own thinner. A quick peek under the lid reveals a paint that looks as if it has been shaken and stirred already, although I would always agitate any paint before use just in case there has been any separation of the constituent components.

 

This kit was also painted by the author using Lifecolor paints, and an Iwata TR-1 airbrush.

 

Lifecolor pride themselves on colour fidelity, and produce a range of 34 basic colours in matt and 20 in gloss, plus a general range of 101 colours covering many FS numbers (RLM, RAL too where appropriate). In addition is a primer, thinner and thickener for those unusual 3D effects, and an airbrush cleaner.

In addition to these "general" colours there are the boxed sets. These cardboard encased sets are beautifully presented, and allow you the choice of keeping your themed paints in one place, so no more scrabbling around for that last German armour interior colour - they're all there.

The range of boxed sets is large and growing, with 26 sets being shown in their latest catalogue, with more popping up all the time. Whilst there aren't yet any sets for British aircraft WWII and modern, the colours are available separately, and it's just a matter of time before they get around to covering it.

How are they to use?
You're dying to know how they are to use, I'm sure, so let's dive in.

The paints dilute well with water - I use deionised water, and add a precautionary drop of Windsor & Newton acrylic flow improver more through habit than any actual recognised need with these paints. I'm not one for measuring my mixes precisely, as life is just too short, so I use the old faithful "consistency of semi-skimmed milk" as my goal, and that seems to work pretty well, with only one instance of me over-thinning the paint, which leads to a bit of a spidery mess. My own fault, and I should have paid more attention to what I was doing at the time!

In action, they airbrush onto primed surfaces very well, and build up an opaque matt finish quite quickly, which will please the spendthrifts amongst you. I don't advocate using any acrylic paint on an un-primed surface, as they aren't as tough as the old enamel paints, but once dry the finish is excellent, but being matt you should be careful when handling the model so as not to get any finger oils on the paint, as it will darken the perceived colour. To get around this issue I use a photo-inspection glove on my left hand whilst holding the airbrush or whatever tool I'm using with my right. You can obtain these gloves from most industrial clothing factors, or on eBay, so I'm told, and realistically, we should all be using them anyway to avoid getting our models greasy before, during or after painting.

The pigment in the paint is ground finely, and passes through my usual 0.15mm needle perfectly well with very little trouble with a clogged tip, which is the bane of some acrylics. The paints work very well together, and with a little finesse you can achieve a fine mottle, freehand camo, large expanses of a single colour, or any variation in between. Mixing your own variations on the colours is as simple as adding a few drops of the lightening or darkening colour, whisking it in, and off you go.

I'll not leave the brush painters dangling in this review either, as I have used my bristled friends with some of the colours on a couple of figures, so that I could at least have an opinion. The paint brushes well right from the bottle, although I prefer a little thinning with distilled water to slow down drying. The first coat is translucent but uniform, with the second coat covering the majority of any primer showing through. Any remaining patches can be touched in with a third coat, and as the paint dries quickly, it doesn't take long to achieve full coverage. Of course there is bound to be a little variance between colours due to the pigments and chemicals used, but coverage is good, and the paint achieves good thickness (I really mean thinness) so that detail isn't obliterated.

Mixing highlight/lowlight colours for shading figures with a brush is again easy, and the slight translucence is conducive to a smooth finished graduation of tone, providing you don't try and change hue too quickly.

I'll leave the discussion of particular colour shades matching swatches and black & white photographs to others, but I will say that every colour that I have picked out meets with my perception of its "true" colour, and I've been impressed with attention to detail in some sets where the same base colour is offered in a number of hues to match different materials or the age of a particular cloth, or piece of combat equipment.

I've amassed a pretty good selection of the boxed sets over recent months, and will add a few words about each one I have as appropriate, and a colour listing to give you an idea of the depth of research and choice available below.

For those eager to see my conclusion however, here it is now so you don't have to scroll through potentially uninteresting paragraphs.

Conclusion
I love Lifecolor paints. They are now my paint of choice for airbrushing, and I would be happy to continue using them for brush painting due to the fantastic range of colours available. Of the various acrylic colours I have used from Xtracrylix, Tamiya, Vallejo, Airfix, I would say that only Vallejo offers better brush performance, and Vallejo comes close when used in the airbrush.

The paint seems to get on perfectly well with my Harder & Steenbeck airbrush and my Iwata, seldom clogging unless I'm blowing air & no paint for too long (my fault!). For an acrylic paint the finish is tough (primed models are my modus operandi), and clean-up is easy with a little water, and the residue removed using a little Premair acrylic airbrush cleaner - I've yet to try Lifecolor's own.

I'll update this review as and when I receive new sets, so keep checking back.

 

Essential Basic & Primary Colours Set (ES01)

Includes: Matt White (LC01), Matt Black (LC02), Matt Yellow (LC03), Matt Red (LC06), Matt Dark Blue (LC10), Matt Clear (LC27).

 

Essential Basic & Primary Colours Set (ES02)

Includes: Matt Orange (LC05), Matt Light Blue (LC09), Matt Dark Green (LC12), Matt Raw Sienna (LC16), Matt Flash 1 (LC21), Matt Violet (LC28).

 

 

Essentials Gloss Colour Set 3 (ES03)

 

 

LC51 Gloss White, LC52 Gloss Black, LC53 Gloss Yellow, LC56 Gloss Red, LC60 Gloss Dark Blue, LC73 Gloss Clear

 

 

Shell Case Perfect Metal – Set 1 (CS 47)

 

 

 

Contains: (UA786) Polished Steel Modern Shell, (UA787) Lacquered Steel Later WWII German Shell, (UA788) New Shell Brass Shade 1, (UA789) New Shell Brass Shade 1, (UA790) New Shell Brass Shade 3, (UA791) Spent Shell Burned Brass

 

Aircraft Perfect Metal – Set 2 (CS 48)

 

 

 

Contains: (UA792) Polished Aluminium, (UA793) White Aluminium, (UA794) Dark Aluminium, (UA795) Steel, (UA796) Exhaust Jet, (UA797) Burnt Iron

 

Engines Perfect Metal – Set 3 (CS 51)

 

 

 

Contains: (UA7001) Weathered Steel, (UA7002) Framework Iron, (UA7003) Cast Iron, (UA7004) Piston Engine Block, (UA7005) Burned Pipes, (UA7006) Darkened Copper

WWII US Army Uniforms Set 1
Contains: Olive drab light mustard, HBT dark shade, Olive drab M1943, Pink, Chocolate.

WWII US Army Uniforms Set 2
Contains: Olive drab yellow tone, olive drab green tone, olive drab green tone (darker), russet brown, olive drab red tone, HBT light shade.

 

 

British Tanks (CS43) Afrika & Balkan Caunter Scheme

UA264 28 Silver Grey, UA265 34 Slate, UA266 61 Light Stone, UA267 64 Portland Stone, UA268 Desert Pink ZI, UA269 Dark Olive PFI

 

British (CS-45) WWI Uniform & Equipment

Contains: UA452 Webbing & Equipment 1, UA453 Dark Leather, UA454 Red Leather, UA455 Uniform Brown, UA456 Uniform Green, UA457 Webbing & Equipment 2

 

 

 

British (CS-41) WWII Infantry Uniforms

Contains: UA440 Water Bottle Bag, UA441 Green Tone Gear, UA442 Yellow Tone Gear, UA443 Battledress Light Tone, UA444 Battledress Dark Tone, UA445 Leather Jacket

 

Russian (CS-42) WWII Infantry Uniforms

Contains: UA446 Helmet, UA447 M35 Tunic, UA448 M35-41 Tunic, UA449 M43 Tunic, UA450 M35-41 Trousers, UA451 M43 Trousers

 

Polish Army 1939
Contains: Polish uniform wz36, Polish uniform wz19, helmet dark green, equipment light khaki, officer's field uniform, summer uniform linen.

 

Feldgrau 1939/45 (CS55)

German Military Uniforms WWII

 

 

Includes: UA464 Feldgendarmerie Uniform, UA465 Feldgendarmerie Trousers, UA466 Panzer Div. Commander Coat, UA467 Artilleryman Trousers Early War, UA468 Waxed Coat M40, UA469 Coat M42

 

 

DAK (Deutsches Afrikakorps) Uniform Colours (CS58)

 

 

 

Contains: UA470 Extra Dark Green, UA471 Medium Olive Green, UA472 Faded Green, UA473 Dark Brown, UA474 Medium Tan, UA475 Light Tan

 

German WWII Tanks Set 1
Contains: RAL 8020 Gelbbraun, RAL 7027 sandgrau, RAL 8000 Grunbraun, RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb, RAL 8017 Rotbraun/Schokoladen braun, RAL 6003 Olivgrun.

German WWII Tanks Set 2
Contains: RAL 7021 Schwartzgrau, RAL 7016 Anthrazitgrau, RAL 8002 Signalbraun, RAL 7017 Dunkelbraun, RAL 8012 Rotbraun, RAL 7008 Graungrun khakibraun.



Axis Tank Interiors
Contains: (German) RAL3009 Oxid Rot (primer for engine bays etc.), RAL1015 Elfenbein (fighting compartment), RAL7009 Graugrun (Radio housings etc.), RAL5012 Lichtblau (some final drive parts), (Italian) RAL2001 Rosso Minio (primer), Bianco Avorio (fighting compartment).



German WWII Luftwaffe Set 1
Contains: RLM 70 Schwarzgrun, RLM 71 Dunkelgrun, RLM 65 Hellblau, RLM 02 Grau, RLM 79 Sandgelb II, RLM 80 Olivgrun.

German WWII Luftwaffe Set 2
Contains: RLM 74 Graugrun, RLM 75 Grauviolett, RLM 76 Lichtblau, RLM 81 Braunviolett, RLM 82 Hellgrun, RLM 78 Hellblau.



German WWII Uniforms Set 1
Contains: Tropical Tan 1, Field Grey 1, Field Grey 2, Field Blue (Luftwaffe flight suits), Brown Service Shirt, Tropical Tan 2.

German WWII Uniforms Set 2
Contains: Panzer Uniform, Light Brown, Dark Brown, Light Green, Dark Green, Extra Dark Brown.

 

Italian WWII Regio Esercito Uniforms

Contains: UA413 Khaki N. Africa, UA414 Tela Grigio Verde, UA415 Tuta Carrista, UA416 Verde Telo Mimetico, UA417 Khaki Telo Mimetico, UA418 Marrone Telo Mimetico.

 

 

 

Austro-Hungarian Army Uniforms 1916-18 (CS.59)

 

 

 

 

Contains: UA476 Faldgrau Uniforms, UA477 Leder Braun, UA478 Isonzo Braun, UA479 Dunkelgrun Grau, UA480 Kaki, UA481 Leder Schwarz

 

 

 

WWII Battle of Britain Royal Air Force Set

Researched by Angelo Falconi.

Contains: UA546 FS34079 Dark Green, UA547 FS30118 Dark Earth, UA548 FS34102 Light Green, UA549 FS30257 Light Earth, UA550 FS34424 Light Earth, UA551 FS34226 Grey Green.

 

 

WWII Royal Australian Airforce Set 1

Contains: UA513 FS20099 Earth Brown, UA514 FS24092 RAAF Foliage Green, UA515 FS25550 RAAF Sky Blue, UA516 FS36118 Dark Sea Grey, UA517 FS35042 Dark Ocean Blue, UA518 FS35231 Sky Blue Azure.

 

WWII Royal Australian Airforce Set 2
Quite a few RAF colors amongst this set for obvious reasons.
Contains: FS 30118 RAF Dark Earth, FS 34092 RAF Dark Green, FS 36493 RAF Sky Grey, FS 24110 Interior Green, FS 34087 US Olive Drab, FS 36173 US Neutral Grey.

 

 

Armée de l’air (CS56)

WWII French Aircraft Colours

 

 

Includes: UA141 Gris Bleu Clair, UA143 Brun Foncé, UA142 Kaki Français, UA144 Chamois, UA145 Gris Blue Foncé, UA146 Vert Pomme

 

 

 

Die Luftstreitkräfte (CS57)

Imperial German Army WWI Colours

 

 

Includes: UA566 German Pale Blue, UA567 German Mauve, UA568 German Red Brown, US569 German Light Green, UA570 German Dark Green, UA571 German Light Grey Green

 

 

 

Hellenic Air Force Set 1 (XS15)

UA554 FS35237 Aegean Ghost Blue Grey, UA555 FS36251 Aegean Ghost Grey, UA556 FS36307 Aegean Ghost Light Grey, UA557 FS36270 Aegean Ghost Medium Grey, UA558 FS35164 Aegean Blue, UA559 FS36375 Aegean Delta Grey

 

Hellenic Air Force Set 2 (XS16)

UA560 FS34079 HAF/SEA Forrest Green, UA561 FS34102 HAF/SEA Medium Green, UA562 FS30219 HAF/SEA Dark Tan, UA563 FS36622 HAF/SEA Camouflage Grey, UA564 FS37178 Flat Aluminium, UA565 FS36280 Aegean/HAF Spartan Grey

 

 

Middle East British Vehicle Camouflage
Contains Light Stone 61, Terracotta 44, Slate Grey 34, Light Grey/Silver Grey 28, Portland Stone 64, Desert Pink.

 

 

British Tanks France – Europe – UK (CS44)

Contains: (UA270) SCC 15 Olive Drab, (UA271) SCC 14 Blue-Black, (UA272) Light Mud Provisional, (UA273) SCC 1A Very Dark Brown, (UA275) 24 Deep Bronze.

 

NATO and M.E.R.D.C
Mobility Equipment Research & Design Command - as well as the basic Nato black/green/earth red, there were lots of other variations, which the committed modeller can depict with this set
Contains: FS37030 Black, FS30051 Brown, FS34094 Green, FS30277 Sand, FS30257 Earth Yellow, FS30117 Earth Red.



Soviet WWII Army
Contains: Dark Olive FS34102, Dark Olive Variant FS34096, 4BO Variant FS34257, 4BG Light Khaki FS34259, 6K 6RP FS30117, 7K Green Yellow FS23578

 

 

Israeli Army Vehicles & Uniforms

Contains: UA901 IDF Sandgrey1, UA902 IDF Sandgrey2, UA903 IDF Green, UA437 Dark IDF Green, UA438 Medium IDF Green, UA439 Light IDF Green.

 

 

 

 

Italian Infantry Uniforms WWI (CS50)

 

 

UA458 Tela Grigio Verde, UA459 Tela Bigia da Fatica, UA460 Cuoio Verde, UA461 Cuoio Naturale, UA462 Cuoio Nero Cromo, UA463 Tela Khaki

 

 

 

 

 

 

US Navy WWII Set 1

Contains: US Navy Gray 5, Light Gray 5L, Ocean Gray 5O, Dark Grey 5D, Sea Blue 5S, Deck Blue 20B.

US Navy WWII Set 2
Contains: Haze Gray 5H, Navy Blue 5N, Pale Gray 5P, Mahogany Stain, Flight Deck Blue 21, Neutral Haze Gray



Kriegsmarine German Navy Set 1
Contains: Hellgrau Silbergrau DKM50, Dunkelgrau DKM51, Hellgrau DKM50 Var., Mittelgrau DKM51 Var., Dunkelgrau, Schiffsbodenfarbe Rot 5

Kriegsmarine German Navy - U-bootwaffe Set 2
Contains: Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau, Schlickgrau 58, Blaugrau 58-1, Dunkelgrau 52, Dunkelgrau 53, Teerfirnis Tf 99 Faded..

 

 

Imperial Japanese Navy WWII Set 1

Contains: UA643 Sasebo Grey, UA644 Kure Grey, UA645 Yokosuka Grey, UA646 Maizuru Grey, UA647 Linoleum Deck, UA648 Antifouling Hull Red.

Imperial Japanese Navy WWII Late War Set 2
Contains: UA649 Camo Green Type 1, UA650 Camo Green Type 2, UA651 Beimatsu Deck Tan, UA652 Hinoki Deck Tan, UA653 Camo Green Type 21, UA654 Camo Green Type 22.

 

 

 

US Navy Ships & Submarines 1950 to Present (CS52)

 

Includes: UA655 US Modern Haze Grey, UA656 US Modern Dark Gray, UA657 Light Teak Wood, UA658 US Modern Hull Red, UA659 Submarine Dark Gray, UA660 Submarine Black

 

 

 

Finnish WWII Army
Contains: Kenttäharmaa TY80001 Field grey, Harmaa N:o1 Grey, Sammaleenvihreä N:o2 Moss Green, Hiekanruskea N:o3 Sand Brown, 4BO Venäläinen vihreä Russian Green



Finnish WWII Air Force
Contains: Oliivin Vihreä (Olive Green), Vaalean Harmaa (Light Grey), Vaalean Sininen (Light Blue), Musta (Black), Keltainen (Yellow), Oranssi (Orange)



Flesh Paint Set
This set makes mixing of flesh colors almost redundant, with two tones of base, two highlights, and two lowlights. From there you can produce almost any skin tone other than African, which would need richer, darker browns as the lowlights.
Contains: Flesh 2^o Light, Flesh 1^o Light, 1^o Base, Flesh 2^o Base, Flesh 1^o Shadow, Flesh 2^o Shadow.

 

Tensocrom Active Surface Agents Sets 1 & 2
A series of pigments, dissolved in a special medium that allows the modeller to put glazes of color on their models.

Set 1 contains: Medium (no pigment), Sand, Earth, Grass, Rust1, Rust 2

Set 2 contains: Oil, Smoke, Kerosene, Fuel, Burnt Brown, White Oxide



Rail Weathering
This one will be excellent for dioramas and weathering, although I don't know where some of the colour names came from.
Contains: Frame Dirt, Track Dirt, Sleeper Grime, Roof Dirt, Weathered Black, Brake Dust.

Weathered wood
Excellent for rendering wooden parts of vehicles, as well as wooden sections of dioramas. Some examples of the finishes achievable are detailed on the back of the box.
Contains: Warm dark shade, Warm base color, Warm light shade, Warm light shade 2, Cold base color, Cold light shade.

 

Hemp Ropes & Tarps

A range of shades to create realistic rope and material effects on your models and dioramas.

Contains: Dark Umber Hemp (UA752), Medium Brown Hemp (UA753), Dirty Hemp (UA754), Worn Out Hemp (US755), Weathered Hemp (UA756), colourless Hemp (UA757).

 

 

Leather

Satin finish paints to give a natural tone to leather garments and goods.

Contains: Leather Warm Brown (UA763), Leather Brown Shade (UA764), Leather Reddish Tone (UA765), Leather Yellow-Ochre Tone (UA766), Leather Cold Light Shade 1 (UA767), Leather Cold Light Shade 2 (UA768).

 

 

 

 

White Wood (CS38)

Matt finish paints with a high pigment content, including the following colours:

Old Peeled Deck (UA774), Old Lightened Wood (UA775), Rough Light Grey (UA776), Rough Light Brown (UA777), Stripped Wood (UA778), Wooden Grey Umber (UA779).

 

 

Leaking Grime, Stains & Damp (CS39)

A mixture of matt and statin finishes, depending on application, containing the following colours:

Lime Green (UA746), Dirty Green (UA747), Brown Green (UA748), Vegetable Origin Damp Green (UA749), Vegetable Origin Damp Yellow (UA750), Dark Mold (UA751).

 

 

Stone Grey (CS40)

Matt finish paints with a high pigment content, including the following colours:

Blue Stone (UA780), Brown Stone (UA781), Dark Sand Stone (UA782), Green Stone (UA783), Reddish Stone (UA784), Light Stone (UA785).

 

 

 

War on the Road (CS 49)

 

Includes: (UA743) Cement Board, (UA744) Middle East Asphalt, (UA 745) European Asphalt, (UA 769) Plaster Wall, (UA 770) Concrete, (UA 771) Stone Laying Mortar.

 

 

 

USN & USMC WWII Colours (CS46)

Contains: UA25 FS36440 Light Gull grey, UA40 FS34058 PBY Blue, UA44 FS35042 NS Sea Blue, UA45 FS35164 NS Intermediate Blue, UA147 FS35189 Blue Grey, UA148 FS37875 Insignia White

 

 

Master Mixer Set
This set should be useful for the inveterate mixer of paint shades. It contains 6 empty Lifecolor bottles, plus 6 labels, 6 non-absorbent white test cards to try out your mixes, 6 miniature pipettes, and a dropper, which is a small length of threaded rod with a rubber grip.

 

As stated above in the main body of the review, there isn't a specific British set available, but the color chart listing reproduced below is entitled "British Aircraft WWII and Today", so should be of great interest to modellers of RAF subjects, and is pictured at the top of this review.

LC35 15044 Oxford blue
LC74 17178 Silver
UA088 30109 Identification dark red
UA092 30118 Dark earth
UA097 30266 Middle stone
UA019 30277 Hemp
UA089 30279 Desert sand
UA107 33448 Light stone
UA140 33538 Insignia yellow
UA091 34079 Dark green
UA008 34092 Extra dark sea grey (must be a typo - it's actually green)
UA095 34424 Sky
UA045 35164 PRU blue
UA098 35231 Azure blue
UA022 36118 Dark sea grey
UA046 36173 mixed grey
UA093 36187 Ocean grey
UA094 36270 Medium sea grey
UA079 36314 Barley grey
UA026 36375 Aircraft grey
LC02 37038 Black - night

Some of these colors have a different name on the bottle, but if you search by the UA or LC number, you'll soon find the correct one.

I've petitioned The Airbrush Company for some RAF sets, so will cross my fingers that they come to pass.

Review sample courtesy of:

 

[Stephen]

Good review Mike, I'm thinking of trying some of the Italian colours myself.

Stephen

[daz greenwood]

I like Lifecolour paints!

I prefer them to Xtracrylics.

[kev67]

I use their paints as well and find them very good

[Skii]

I swear by these, they make up pretty much 90% of my paints

[Peter Marshall]

Just watch them once you've open the bottle - I had sever problems with a bottle of Light Gull Grey that I had used perfectly a couple of months ago, but when I used it 2 weeks ago the paint kept 'sloughing' off, even sprayed over Alclad II grey primer.

No Idea why, but I had to respray 4 times where pieces of paint flaked off.

Having said that they do spray really nicely.

[Mentalguru]

I tried them once- didn't like them to be honest. Found them difficult to flat back to a feather edge, not great on adherance- the same as Valeho

[Guest snipersmudge]

nice review Mike, I was thinking of giving these paints a go but now I will definitely get a box or two. Looks like you won't be buying any paints for a while!

[Mike]

I swear by these, they make up pretty much 90% of my paints

They remove well from suede sofas too, I hear

nice review Mike, I was thinking of giving these paints a go but now I will definitely get a box or two. Looks like you won't be buying any paints for a while!

You can never have too many paints

[Skii]

They remove well from suede sofas too, I hear

..and jeans (today)

[Paul A H]

I think I'll give these a try - I like the idea of the camouflage sets.

[Western]

Just used some lifecolour for the first time on a Spit I'm building and have to say the it sprayed really well. Iused their own thinners BTW.

Regards, Mark

[Max Headroom]

Being a hairy stick devotee I can vouch for these paints being brushed. No streaks, opaque and matt down with no change of hue.

MH

[NickParker]

Really must give these another go, I bought lifecolour when i returned to modelling about a year ago, but had no end of problems with thinning, it was either so thin it spider legged or to thick and blocked the airbrush, i never seamed to strike a happy medium. The hole experience put me off them but seeing others comments i'm thinking that maybe it was just me, i'd like to get on with them they've got an excellent range of colours.

Nick

[Mike]

Really must give these another go, I bought lifecolour when i returned to modelling about a year ago, but had no end of problems with thinning, it was either so thin it spider legged or to thick and blocked the airbrush, i never seamed to strike a happy medium. The hole experience put me off them but seeing others comments i'm thinking that maybe it was just me, i'd like to get on with them they've got an excellent range of colours.

Nick

You'll notice in my review that I overthinned it once, and I got the spider legs you were talking about. If you'd ever watched me thinning my paint, you'd be surprised at how slapdash I am about it, so overall they can't be difficult to thin, as every time I mix 'em up, the ratio will be different. Just make sure you let the bottle contents settle a bit before you decant them into the paint cup, so you don't get any bits, and I find that adding a drop of water to a dry paint cup saves you from getting un-mixed paint in the needle at outset - Yes, I mix in the cup, and some people would have me hanged for that, as well as not counting my drops of paint to thinner ratio

[keefr22]

You'll notice in my review that I overthinned it once, and I got the spider legs you were talking about. If you'd ever watched me thinning my paint, you'd be surprised at how slapdash I am about it, so overall they can't be difficult to thin, as every time I mix 'em up, the ratio will be different. Just make sure you let the bottle contents settle a bit before you decant them into the paint cup, so you don't get any bits, and I find that adding a drop of water to a dry paint cup saves you from getting un-mixed paint in the needle at outset - Yes, I mix in the cup, and some people would have me hanged for that, as well as not counting my drops of paint to thinner ratio

I've never been able to visualise this 'consistency of semi skimmed milk' business! I always mix paints in a separate pot, & the best way I've always found to mix is to add small drops of the thinner of choice at a time, then touch a drop of the thinned paint off the stirrer onto the side of the cup. As soon as the paint runs freely down the side of the mixing pot its good to go! Works 99% of the time.....!!!

Keef

[Enzo the Magnificent]

I have recently started using Lifecolor and I think the stuff is great.

One minor issue though... If you are looking for WW2 Liftwaffe colours, be aware that there are two versions of each color. The ones with low catalogue numbers are simply a reasonably close FS match. Those with higher catalogue numbers are a much more accurate match.

For instance, with RLM 65: UA061 is a delicate pale blue (FS35526) while UA503 is a more accurate shade.

RLM 76: UA076 is a pure pale grey (FS36473) which I believe matches ADC Gray. UA509 is the accurate light blue/grey colour.

Just bear that in mind when choosing your paint.

[Mike]

Best to just get the available 2 sets of Luftwaffle colors, as they have all the higher numbered colors in 2 boxes. I thought the boxed sets would get annoying as I accumulated more of them, but I'm coming round to the idea of keeping the paints in there now, as instead of hunting high and low when you're doing a particular model, you just pull the right box off the shelf, and there they all are

[warreni]

I just ordered the two RAAF sets.. If mixing paints is a problem there is a very easy solution. Go to your local chemist and buy 5 ml syringes. The graduations on the sides make it very easy to mix paint/s and thinner, and you mix them in the syringe by giving it a little shake while covering the tip with your finger or tissue or whatever. Another wonder product I have found is Windex (blue variety). Best airbrush cleaner I have found for acrylics. Even gets dried paint off with ease.

Have a great day!!

[Julien]

I cant recomend these enough they do spray well. I just use valejho airbrush cleaner it works really well as a thinner for these.

Julien

[Dal]

G'dy, Mike.

That's a great review. I've been trying them as well and now I've sorted the thinning ratio (except for their French Bleu-Gris Claire- that #$%^&*! colour refuses to be tamed......) I'm pleased.

However, I was disappointed with the RAAF sets. I'm doing an RAAF A20, A28-6, "G", 'Japanese Ghost Producer'. The colour scheme is the US-delivered equivalent to RAF Dark Green and Dark Earth over Sky, with RAAF Foliage Green nose panels (where they replaced the "glass nose" with aluminium) and some repaired areas. The DG/DE came out well and I got ready to do the Foliage Green, which I thought looked close to the RAF Dark Green. It's not just close- it's identical. You can't see any difference under sunlight nor artificial light. So I tried the same with the Dark Earth and Earth Brown. There's a slight difference, but not as great as I expected.

If anything the RAF Dark Green looks too dark and blue- more like Foliage Green (I like their version). When it warms up a bit I'll respray the Dark Green, adding a bit of grey and perhaps French Khaki Green, and see how that looks. The (rather poor) photo below shows how things stand- the nose and part of the outer wing are supposed to be foliage green, the rest of the green Dark Green.

Cheers.

Dal.

[Mike]

Updated with German Uniforms Sets 1 & 2, Axis Tank Interior Set, and Master Mixer Set

[crookedmouth]

Mike. Interesting review. I currently use Tammy acrylics, but I've occasionally been a bit stumped getting precisely the colour I'm after (RLMs for my FW190's for instance) so I'm beginning to become a little more interested in alternatives. A couple of questions...

How do they brush paint onto larger flat surfaces like wings rather than small textured areas like soldiers? (EDIT: OH! I've just noticed Max Headroom's Brewster Buffalo at post 13. Question answered)

Also, the one UK stockist I've seen (Graphic Air) sells the sets at £13.27 but the individual pots at £1.96 - surely it makes more sense to buy them individually? Or am I being thick?

Edited September 14, 2010 by crookedmouth

[keefr22]

Also, the one UK stockist I've seen (Graphic Air) sells the sets at £13.27 but the individual pots at £1.96 - surely it makes more sense to buy them individually? Or am I being thick?

If you are, you're not the only one - I can't work out why you pay so much more for a cardboard box...!!

Keef

[Damocles]

Excellent Review Mike, and thanks to your good self, I am now £30 lighter with a combined 12 pot 'German WWII Military Vehicles Set' and thinners winging its way to Belfast.

Chris.