AMMO AV-8S Spanish Matador Acrylic Paint Set (A.MIG-7245)

[Mike]

AV-8S Spanish Matador Acrylic Paint Set (A.MIG-7245)

AMMO of Mig Jiménez

 

 

Spain was one of the overseas customers for the Hawker/BAe Harrier, built in the UK, but sold as US aircraft due to political friction between UK and Spain at the time.  They operated the first generation Harrier as the Matador from the mid 70s, with a small quantity bought directly from the UK later on to replace those lost or too badly damaged to be repaired.  When Spain withdrew their first-generation Matadors, they sold the remainder to the Royal Thai Navy, who were unable to maintain them well enough to keep them in the air for very long.

 

This four-paint set arrives in a clear clamshell box with a card header with some colour use suggestions on the rear in the form of three-view profiles of the aircraft.  Inside are four bottles that are best described as shades of grey and white.  Each bottle contains 17ml of paint that is dispensed from a dropper that is found under the yellow screw-top cap.  Inside each bottle is a little stirring ball that rattles when agitated.  AMMO paints separate quite readily as you can see from the box photo, so having a ball in the bottle makes distributing the pigment in the bottle a lot easier.  We’re all familiar with the quality of AMMO paints by now, as they have a pretty good reputation amongst us modellers, and dry a little slower than some of the competition, which can be of benefit when hand painting details.

 

The paints are as follows:

 

A.MIG-0211 FS36270 Medium Grey (Cockpit)

A.MIG-0047 Satin White (Underside)

A.MIG-0119 Cold Grey (Sides)

A.MIG-0241 FS36440 Light Gull Grey (Upper surfaces)

 

 

The bottles all look rather similar when they have been allowed to separate in their carton, but once agitated the differences become slightly more apparent.  The white can be used to modulate the greys to depict fading, or by using a darker grey if you have one to hand to paint a base onto which the pure and lightened colours can be applied, if that's your thing.  The cockpit colour is also good to have in the box, and the set has been produced with the new AMMO themed boxing of the Kinetic early Harrier in Spanish guise in mind, which is available now.

 

 

 

Conclusion

If you want to create a more unusual "niche" Harrier or have the new AMMO kit, this is going to be very useful to take away any guesswork when it comes time for paint.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of