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 colors 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 the likes of ABC Modelsport.



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 color marker or a label making machine. They are available singly, or in packs of 6 or 12 colors, 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.



Lifecolor pride themselves on color fidelity, and produce a range of 34 basic colors in matt and 20 in gloss, plus a general range of 101 colors 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" colors 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 color - 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 colors 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 color. 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 color, or any variation in between. Mixing your own variations on the colors is as simple as adding a few drops of the lightening or darkening color, 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 colors 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 colors 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 colors 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 color shades matching swatches and black & white photographs to others, but I will say that every color that I have picked out meets with my perception of its "true" color, and I've been impressed with attention to detail in some sets where the same base color 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 color 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 colors available. Of the various acrylic colors 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 cleanup 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.



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:

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

Stephen

I like Lifecolour paints!

I prefer them to Xtracrylics.

I use their paints as well and find them very good

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

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.

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

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!

They remove well from suede sofas too, I hear


You can never have too many paints

..and jeans (today)

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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!!

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

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.

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

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?

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

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.

First post updated with Middle East British Vehicle Camouflage, NATO MERDC and Flesh sets.

Ooh, they've bought out a set for caunter camoflage - very brave! I love my Tamiya acrylics, but think I think I'm going to have to check these out soon.

Mike Starmer was dismissive of that set, and I suppose he's the expert, but they look pretty good to my amateur eye.

I'm quite interested in the new WW2 Soviet armour set they have in the pipeline.

Great review Mike, I've used these paints for a few years now and find them very user friendly. One thing, UA022 is too grey for Dark Sea Grey, UA108 is a better match IMO and is labelled Dark Sea grey.. Dal, out of interest which colour did you use for the foliage green?

Tony

Hi Mike,

Great review. These paints are first class, and I would recommend them to anyone.

Best wishes,

Cruiserguy.

G'day, Tony.

Dal, out of interest which colour did you use for the foliage green?

In the end I left the Lifecolor for the Foliage Green and used Xtracolor's RAF Dark Green. There's a visible difference between the two, though whether that will survive a flat coat is another matter. I've since sprayed the Lifecolor RAF Dark Green and RAAF Foliage Green onto white plastic card and got the same result- they seem to be the same colour. I did the same with their Earth Brown and RAF Dark Earth and got a visible difference, so not sure what I did wrong the fist time- probably not mixed enough.

I do like the Lifecolor paint, especially now I'm getting the air pressure and thinner type (I use tank water) and ratios sorted out.

Dal.

Also here in Australia the sets go for about A$34 but buying the same colours individually costs about A$24!!??

peter

Yes, I contacted Frontline Hobbies (they are the Australian distributors) and they agree that it doesn't make any sense, but apparently it's LifeColor themselves who insist on that pricing structure. So you pay about $10 for the "convenience" of getting a bunch of colours together in a box (as well as the cost of the packaging itself). It is convenient, but I'm not sure that it's worth $10 a box!

I use these for spraying, but as they are acrylics some colours need quite a few coats, I have found that using Lifecolor cleaner works just as well when thinning the paint, I also mix my paints in the spraygun as the Lifecolor cleaner has a droplet top so you can put the amount in you need with the paint

I've updated the review to include the Soviet WWII Army (CS23) set - see the first post for details

Does Lifecolor have their own website?

They're made by Astromodel in Italy

Hi Mike,

I enjoyed the review on Lifecolor. However, do you know anything about the set of USN colours Lifecolor is said to have released? Other than one post on "Steelnavy", I can't frind any info on them.

Best Wishes,

Will.

Hi Will,

They're on their way - I think they should hit us in the UK either side of Christmas... I forget which side at present

Is it just me or do others find the LC paints dry up in their pots very quickly? in fact I've bought some from my LHS & they've been dry2 days later when I opened them! Apart from that they good

I've never had that at all, and I've got a lot of their paints. Just be careful to clean the lip of the pot and nip it up tightly before you put it away

Some great new sets have been added to the original review - US Navy sets 1 & 2, which should interest the ship builders big time, and Finnish WWII Army, which is a real niche one!

Greetings
These paints look good but does anyone know if they cover well on Halfords primer? I am looking at trying to move on from enamals!
Cheers now
Bob

Looks really good, Max! Infact I think the green is spot.

The problem I had with Lifecolor was that all the Gloss White flaked/peeled off from my F-111A undersides when I wet sanded the top sides, i.e. the Lifecolor paint got wet. Drying time was around two days and I thought that to be sufficient for the paint to dry up to be water-resistant.
That was a very bad experience as acrylic paints usually dry rather fast.
Next I tried interior green on another model, waited 3 days, then exposed it to water. This time the paint resisted the water.
Just a hint to be careful when it comes to water meeting Lifecolor paints.
Ingo

Why on earth would you want to expose any unsealed acrylic paint to water? Are there any brands of hobby acrylic paint that claim to be water-resistant? (Gunze "Mr Hobby" paints, maybe, but they're not water-based.)

I'd expand the hint from "be careful" to "don't do it!!".

Used them plenty of time on Halford's white primer and they did very well.

I've just recently started using them (last two kits and current). Started with Humbrol Acyrlics, but they go like thick soup quickly once opened and I find difficult to brush (as a novice). LC paints are more "fluid" and although they do take 3-4 coats, they are easier to apply and rarely leave brush strokes (and strokes are a technique / brush factor, as well as paint).

If I were to fault them, is that they are fragile on early coats, so careful handling is necessary to avoid some flaking. nothing that cannot be remedied with technique.

I don't thin - well only on the top of my head, only use brushes and do not use flow enhancer, certainly not with LC.

One wish - that we could somehow get a better system of matching FS/BS stds with paints by manufacturer by name by type against scale effect! I know there are numerous sites trying to do this (except for scale effect), but some are way off (Revell Aqua NATO Olive = LC Israeli Green - in a coal bunker maybe).

Review updated with two Kriegsmarine and two Tensocrom sets - see the first post for details

Anybody else see lots of "\" backslashes in the review or it just me?