RLM acrylic paints issue

[thepureness]

Hi everyone

I'm having some issues with getting the right paint for my German aircraft.

I've been using Tamiya for 8 years with my airbrush and I'm very happy with it, but their range is pretty limited with German colours. I've picked up some humbrol pots to test out, but really could not get on with them (been test spraying thinned with water or tamiya thinners)

trying to think of the best solution, anyone know any tamiya mixes for RLM 70/71/72/73/74

[wildman]

How about vallejo model air ?

• Olive Grey - RLM 71 (71015)
• US Dark Green - RLM 73 (71016)
• Black Green - RLM 70(71021)
• Grey Violet - RLM 75 (71128)
• Dark Grey Blue - RLM 74 (71054)

also maybe Mr Hobby, but not 100% sure if they do the full RLM range

all else failing you could try the paint conversion chart to see what manufacturers do which colours if any

http://www.paint4models.com/paintchart/paintconversionchart20100101g.html#

I am still pretty new to this haven't got much more advice other than that, hope it helps

[Ranger 2506]

I've just started using Vallejo paints and have found them to be very good don't need to thin them down but I do add a small amount just to spread the paint over the model. They do come in a large variety and they do them in packs for example. German aircraft colours, allied, panzer allied amour. I found them on Amazon and prices went bad a pack of 16 cost me under £30 free shipping and next day delivery. Hope this helps.

[John Laidlaw]

I gathered these in my journey through Tamiya acrylics - can't vouch for them, but they might be a good place to start:

RLM 02 Grau XF22:1 + XF49:1 or just XF22

RLM 65 Hellblau XF23:1 + XF2:1

LM 70 Schwartzgrun XF27

RLM 71 Dunkelgrun XF62:1 + XF49:1

RLM 74 Graugrün XF24:3 + XF27:2

RLM 75 Grauviolett XF24:5 + XF50:1

RLM 76 Lichtblau XF2:7 + XF23:1 + XF66:2

RLM 79 Sandbraun XF59:3 + XF64:1

RLM 80 Olivegrün XF58

RLM 81 Braunviolett XF51:1 + XF64:2

RLM 82 Lichtgrün XF5 or XF5:1 + XF2:1 or XF5:1 +XF3:1 (Bright Green)

RLM 83 Dunkelgrün XF61 or XF24:1 + XF51:1 (Dark Green)

[dogsbody]

I've got this:

LUFTWAFFE
RLM 02: XF22:1 + XF49:1 + XF2:2
RLM 04: XF3:7 + XF7:1
RLM 65: XF23:2 + XF2:1
RLM 66: XF24 Straight from the bottle.
RLM 70: XF27 Straight from the bottle, OR XF27:3 + XF49:1 (slightly faded effect).
RLM 71: XF81 straight from the bottle, OR XF61:1 + XF49:1
RLM 73 XF24:2 + XF27:3, lightened with a touch of white
RLM 74: XF2:3 + XF24: 2 + XF27:1
RLM 75: XF2:7 + XF24:3 + XF27:.5 (yup, half a drop!)
RLM 76: XF2:7 + XF23:1 + XF66:2
RLM 78: XF23:4 + XF50:1
RLM 79: XF59:3 + XF64:1
RLM 80: XF58:6 + XF2:1
RLM 81: XF51:1 + XF64:2 OR Dunkelgrun = XF61:7 + XF60:3 (FS34083)
RLM 82: XF5:1 +XF3:1 (Bright Green)
RLM 83: XF5 Straight from the bottle.

Chris

[John Laidlaw]

I am absolutely certain that the mixes Chris has are better than the ones I have - I am by no means an expert on Luftwaffe colours, and have simply collected and stored what I've found. I did, however, find the following along with approving comments from others for the mixes:

RLM 02 GRAU (ver 1)
XF-22 RLM GREY: 1
XF-49 KHAKI: 1
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE: 1

RLM 02 GRAU(ver 2)
XF-22 RLM GREY: 60%
XF-52 FLAT EARTH 30%
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE 10%

RLM 70 Schwartzgrun
XF-11 J.N. GREEN 90%
XF- 1 FLAT BLACK 10%

RLM 71 Dunkelgrun
XF-11 J.N. GREEN 70%
XF-60 DARK YELLOW 25%
XF-10 FLAT BROWN 5%

RLM 74 Graugrun
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE 2
XF-24 DARK GREY 2
XF-27 BLACK GREEN 1

RLM 75 Grauviolett
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE 15
XF- 24 DARK GREY 5
X-27 CLEAR RED 1

RLM 76 Lichtblau(ver 1)
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE 19
XF-19 SKY GREY 6
XF-23 LIGHT BLUE 3
X-23 CLEAR BLUE 1

RLM 76 Lichtblau(ver 2)
XF-19 SKY GREY 55%
XF-23 LIGHT BLUE 30%
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE 15%

RLM 81 Braunviolett
XF-61 DARK GREEN 7
XF-64 RED BROWN 3
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE 1

RLM 82 Hellgrun (ver 1)*
XF-26 DEEP GREEN 8
XF-61 DARK GREEN 1
XF- 2 FLAT WHITE 1

RLM 82 Hellgrun (ver 2)*
XF-26 DEEP GREEN 8
XF-61 DARK GREEN 1

[Basilisk]

If you are used to airbrushing Tamiya paint, you should have no problem with Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color which have a good range on RLM colours http://www.modelsrgo.co.uk/luftwaffe-rlm-colours-to-mr-hobby-aqueous-hobby-color.html

Cheers, Peter

[RayB24]

If you have good access to Gunze Mr Hobby Acrylics, they have a wider range than Tamiya and they airbrush the same, with the added benefit they are shinier. Of course here in North America they have just about vanished. ;(

Another option is Ak-Intertacive Air Series. They brush paint and spray really well and they have a couple of RLM sets.

http://ak-interactive.com/v2/?product=luftwaffe-camouflages-air-series

Ray

[ANovaScotian]

I would stay away from the Vallejo Model Air "RLM" colours as most of them look pretty dodgy to my eye. Model Master are pretty good, with only the RLM 72 and 73 not being very close. In addition, I find that if you switch 70 and 74 they look a lot better

[Duncan B]

If you got on well enough with Tamiya paints then try Mr Hobby, they are very similar (although I think the quality is slightly better than Tamiya) as they have almost the full RLM range (just missing 72 and 73 from the most commonly used colours). I tried Vallejo but found they were too fragile, not a good match and not much fun to use as they kept clogging up the airbrush, something that Mr Hobby doesn't do at all.

Duncan B

[thepureness]

Thanks for the info chaps, Kit i'm planning to build is the Revell 172 FW 200 condor but I need RLM 72/73 Which appears to be the hard mix or no one stocks

[vppelt68]

Have you access to Akan? They do 72 and 73 too. And then there's Humbrol, but I know nothing about their acrylics range.

Edited February 2, 2016 by vppelt68

[Duncan B]

Mr Paint also do the full range of RLM colours including 72 and 73. You can buy them direct from their website. I have the full range but have not had the chance to try them out yet.

Duncan B

[AnonymousLL45]

Have tried Mr Paint and they are great, very much like spraying Alclad.

We shall start stocking them at Blackbird Models shortly

[ANovaScotian]

Thanks for the info chaps, Kit i'm planning to build is the Revell 172 FW 200 condor but I need RLM 72/73 Which appears to be the hard mix or no one stocks

Vallejo Model Air 71.021 Black Green and 71.124 USAF Green are perfect for RLM 72 and 73

The picture isn't the best, but judge the colour for yourself...

Edited February 2, 2016 by ANovaScotian

[Don McIntyre]

Mixing water or Tamiya thinners will definitely cause you problems. I assume you're talking about Humbrol enamels in the tins?

[thepureness]

Mixing water or Tamiya thinners will definitely cause you problems. I assume you're talking about Humbrol enamels in the tins?

humbrol acrylics don

[Greif]

I use Life Color acrilycs and I'm happy with their results, even if I find that RLM 02 is a bit too much green.

Important thing: never shake the jars upside down but use a toothpick or a piece of plastic sprues to mix the paint. If you shake it, the paint will turn to foam...very bad to apply.

I life Color has a quite extended range of RLM .

Cheers

[Guest]

We have intercepted the Tamiya codes and our best code breakers are on the job. With a little time we will crack the codes and prevent the invasion of Albania by the Japanese. We cracked the code in 1942 and we can do it again!

[Arniec]

It's not a totall answer, but this is my list.

LUFTWAFFE

RLM 02 : XF22:1 + XF49:1 or only XF22

RLM 65 : XF23:1 + XF2:1

RLM 71 : XF62:1 + XF49:1

RLM 74 : XF24:3 + XF27:2

RLM 75 : XF24:5 + XF50:1

RLM 76 : XF2:7 + XF23:1 + XF66:2

RLM 79 : XF59:3 + XF64:1

RLM 80 : XF58

RLM 81 : XF51:1 + XF64:2

RLM 82 : XF5 of XF5:1 + XF2:1 of XF5:1 + XF3:1

(BRIGHT GREEN)

RLM 83 : XF61 of XF24:1 + XF51:1(DARK GREEN)

I have made RLM 72/73 with adding a tiny hint of blue to the rlm 70/71 mix.

I used it quite a few years back and from memory it looked great to me.

Cheers,

[Navy Bird]

If you got on well enough with Tamiya paints then try Mr Hobby, they are very similar (although I think the quality is slightly better than Tamiya) as they have almost the full RLM range (just missing 72 and 73 from the most commonly used colours). I tried Vallejo but found they were too fragile, not a good match and not much fun to use as they kept clogging up the airbrush, something that Mr Hobby doesn't do at all.

Duncan B

+1

My favourite paints - you can get some amazing fine lines due to their very small pigment size (which I think is why they never clog my airbrush).

Cheers,

Bill

[Mike]

Mr Hobby do a good range of RLM paints which spray very well, and Lifecolor also do a couple of boxes of Luftwaffe colours in acrylic that I use a lot. Not quite as robust as enamel, but when thinned correctly they go down really well You can read my review of the Lifecolor range here, and if you scroll down a bit you'll see the Luftwaffe sets

[Cuppa_joe]

On 02/02/2016 at 11:13, dogsbody said:

I've got this:

LUFTWAFFE
RLM 02: XF22:1 + XF49:1 + XF2:2
RLM 04: XF3:7 + XF7:1
RLM 65: XF23:2 + XF2:1
RLM 66: XF24 Straight from the bottle.
RLM 70: XF27 Straight from the bottle, OR XF27:3 + XF49:1 (slightly faded effect).
RLM 71: XF81 straight from the bottle, OR XF61:1 + XF49:1
RLM 73 XF24:2 + XF27:3, lightened with a touch of white
RLM 74: XF2:3 + XF24: 2 + XF27:1
RLM 75: XF2:7 + XF24:3 + XF27:.5 (yup, half a drop!)
RLM 76: XF2:7 + XF23:1 + XF66:2
RLM 78: XF23:4 + XF50:1
RLM 79: XF59:3 + XF64:1
RLM 80: XF58:6 + XF2:1
RLM 81: XF51:1 + XF64:2 OR Dunkelgrun = XF61:7 + XF60:3 (FS34083)
RLM 82: XF5:1 +XF3:1 (Bright Green)
RLM 83: XF5 Straight from the bottle.

Chris

Tried some of these and got nice results, the RLM 65 was a treat!

[Tail-Dragon]

I've been quite happy with these Tamiya acrylic mixes ...

 

RLM 65 Light  Blue              -           XF 23:2,  XF 02:1

RLM 66 Black Grey              -           XF 24

RLM 70 Black green            -           XF 27 (lighter, matched to Monogram and Kookaburra chips)

RLM 71 Dark Green             -           XF 81 (lighter, matched to Monogram and Kookaburra chips)

 

RLM 74 Dark Grey               -           XF 24:3,  XF 27:1  (matched to Monogram and Kookaburra chips)

RLM 75 Grey-Violet             -           XF 75:8,  XF 07:1  (matched to Monogram and Kookaburra chips)

RLM 76 Light Blue               -           lighten XF 23 with grey, not white

Hope this helps,

Happy New Year!

 

Colin