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Modern Royal Air Force Aircraft Acrylic Colours (AK11755) AK Interactive It had been a while since we’d reviewed any products from Spanish Paint & Weathering company AK Interactive, but they hadn’t been sat idly twiddling their thumbs. They’d been working on a new range of acrylic paints, which they refer to as third generation acrylics, aiming for excellent coverage, what they describe as awesome grip, and a promise of no clogging of your airbrush if you use one. They also state that they’re great for use with a paint brush undiluted, but they should be diluted with water or their own thinners if using with an airbrush, which I’ve successfully tested with my usual vague “semi-skimmed milk thickness” goal for the thinned paint, and using Ultimate Thinners as my thinners of choice. Each pot arrives in a 17ml dropper bottle with sharp contours at the shoulder and a cruciform profile to the white screw-top cap, which is also knurled near the bottom to improve grip further. The labels wrap around the body of the bottle giving general information about the new range, plus its name and product code near the top, with a bar code along one short edge. Overall, it’s a nice look, but that’s not why we’re here. The set arrives in a cardboard box with a clear plastic inner tray containing eight bottles of paint to which I’m probably going to add glass beads, as I feel that they make paint mixing quicker and easier. The design of the packaging is simple and based on an overall white theme, with a slightly retro font on the front that is a little hard to read. The usual orange AK logo with the negative silhouette of an AK-47 in the centre is prominently displayed, as well as the Air Series logo that refers to the fact that this is an aviation set, not an airbrush specific set. That’s something that could be clearer, and could confuse new users. The 3G Acrylics brand logo is also present, with the product code above and the strapline “Scale Reduction Factor” below. This refers to scale colour, which can be a divisive theme, although I’m personally OK with that. Essentially, it refers to the perceived lightening of a colour applied to a scale model, as if seeing it through “scale air”, or aerial perspective, which reduces the saturation of any colour over distance, a well-known technique used in art, especially to depict the effects of distance in scenery and other distant objects. Some folks may not subscribe to it however, and that’s ok too. For example, would the “scale reduction factor” be the same for a 1:72 and a 1:24 aircraft? Would the difference be visible? So many questions, so little inclination on my part to answer them. This set is packed full of British RAF colours for your modern aircraft, not that we’ve got many, or many different types left! Surprisingly, the term modern incorporates a lot of post WWII and Cold War shades, as the examples on the back of the box show, with an old Vampire next to more modern options. The set includes the following colours: AK11840 RAF Dark Green AK11843 RAF Medium Sea Grey BS381C/637 AK11851 RAF Dark Sea Grey NS381C/638 AK11852 RAF RAF PRU Blue BS381C/636 AK11853 RAF Light Aircraft Grey BS381C/627 AK11854 RAF Camouflage (Barley) Grey BS381C/626 AK11855 RAF Dark Camouflage Grey BS381C/629 AK11856 RAF Camouflage Beige (Help) BS381C/389 These paints are just as easy to apply by airbrush or paint brush, and once dry they are very tough as acrylics go, especially if you key the surface beforehand with a buffing-type sanding stick. A primed and buffed surface is slightly ahead in terms of adhesion, but not by much so it’s good news all round whether you’re a modeller that primes religiously or not. In addition to airbrushing well without clogging, the paint goes on well with a paintbrush, needing one or sometimes two coats depending on the colour, and brushing out well with very little in the way of brush marks if you use a broad filbert brush. I’m not normally a brush-painter, and was really pleasantly surprised at how well the paint went down despite my lack of experience. Conclusion I like these paints and their bottles are practical and attractive, although I’m not massively keen on the fonts used on the box artwork, but that’s just my personal taste. This set gives you plenty of (mostly grey) shades for the modern RAF, and once you add some white and black for colour modulation, they’ll be very useful for the RAF modeller. The recently reviewed RAF Coastal Command & RN FAA includes a black and a white bottle, if that’s convenient or appealing. There’s a whole range of these colours available both individually and in sets for aircraft, AFV and other modelling genres, some that we’ve now reviewed, and the rest we’ll be getting to soon. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

WWII German Uniform Acrylic Colours (AK11759) Personal Mixes by Calvin Tam AK Interactive This is another box of AK Interactive’s third generation acrylics, aiming for excellent coverage, with what they describe as awesome grip, and a promise of no clogging of your airbrush if you use one. They’re also great for use with a paint brush undiluted, but they should be diluted with water or their own thinners if using with an airbrush, which I’ve successfully tested with my usual vague “semi-skimmed milk thickness” goal for the thinned paint, and using Ultimate Thinners as my thinners of choice. Each pot arrives in a 17ml dropper bottle with sharp contours at the shoulder and a cruciform profile to the white screw-top cap, which is also knurled near the bottom to improve grip further. The labels wrap around the body of the bottle giving general information about the new range, plus its name and product code near the top, with a bar code along one short edge. Overall, it’s a nice look, but that’s not why we’re here. This is a bit of a monster set that arrives in a large flat rectangular box, with an impressive eighteen bottles filling the interior, plus a small booklet showing some possible uses of the paint on some impressive-looking figures of unknown scale (they look larger than 1:35 to my eyes). If you’re wondering who Calvin Tam is, he’s a master figure painter that is a well-regarded professional in the genre, and you can find out a little more about him and see a photo of him at work by flipping over the box to expose the underside. Calvin’s prowess with a paintbrush is in evidence across the packaging, and most of us can only aspire to be a fraction as good at painting, but it’s a bar we can all aim for and be inspired by. Having the correct colours in an excellent brand of paint will help us get a few steps up the ladder towards that lofty goal. The usual orange AK logo with the negative silhouette of an AK-47 in the centre is prominently displayed, as well as the 3G Acrylics brand logo and Calvin’s name, with the product code above and the number of bottles below that. The booklet is a sheet of A5 folded into three and printed on both sides with figures that have colour balloons and arrows leading to the colour in question, sometimes with multiple balloons converging on a camouflaged smock or trousering. This expansive set includes the following colours: AK11411 Light Green AK11420 Waffen Green AK11424 Grey Green AK11419 Waffen Red Brown AK11418 Ocher AK11409 Orange Tan AK11189 Dark Prussian Blue AK11417 Waffen Brown AK11425 Field Grey Base #1 AK11412 Medium Green AK11115 Light Earth AK11036 Ice Yellow AK11008 Grimy Grey AK11021 Basalt Grey AK11027 Rubber Black AK11004 Ivory AK11407 Black Uniform Base AK11414 Splitter-Muster Base These paints are just as easy to apply as base coats by airbrush or paint brush, although paintbrush is the most likely for this application in the later stages, and once dry they are very tough as acrylics go, especially if you key the surface beforehand with a buffing-type sanding stick. A primed and buffed surface is slightly ahead in terms of adhesion, but not by much so it’s good news all round whether you’re a modeller that primes religiously or not. In addition to airbrushing well without clogging, the paint goes on very well with a paintbrush, needing one or sometimes two coats dependent on the colour, and brushing out well with very little in the way of brush marks evident on larger areas if you use a broad filbert brush. I’m not a regular brush-painter these days, although I used to be a figure painter in the distant past, and was really pleasantly surprised at how well the paint went down despite my lack of recent experience. Conclusion I like these paints, their bottles are practical and attractive, and this large set gives you the shades you’ll need to complete your German WWII figures, which will be very useful for the figure modeller. There’s a whole range of these colours available both individually and in sets for aircraft, AFV and other modelling genres, some that we’ve now reviewed, and the rest we’ll be getting to as they arrive at HQ. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of