ICM WWII Japanese Aviation Acrylic Paint Set (3021)

[Mike]

WWII Japanese Aviation Acrylic Paint Set (3021)

ICM via H G Hannants Ltd

 

 

ICM have recently released their own brand of acrylic paints on the market, and are creating some kit specific sets to go with their major releases, of which this is one.  The set arrives in a cardboard box with six screw-capped bottles inside, each containing 12ml of paint.  The bottles are clear Polypropylene, and are capped with cylindrical tops with knurled sides, and a one-time security seal that you break on first opening.  A label on the side gives you basic information about the colour and code, a little information regarding application in English and Ukrainian and a bar-code.

 

This set provides the major colours to assist you in painting your Ki-21-Ib Sally in 1:72 from ICM themselves as well as plenty of other kits from ICM and other manufacturers, and you will find the following colours in the box:

 

 

1063 Green-Grey

1023 Aluminium

1025 Natural Steel

1062 British Khaki

1073 4BO Green

2002 Satin Varnish

 

The paint is thick in the bottle, with plenty of headroom between the surface of the paint and the lip of the neck.  I dropped a glass stirring ball into each bottle, and they took a few seconds to disappear beneath the surface, indicating their viscosity. 

 

 

During testing, I used Ultimate Acrylic Thinners to dilute the paint to spray through my Gunze PS770 airbrush, which has a 0.18 needle chucked in.  The paint dilutes well once it has been mixed thoroughly, and sprays well through my airbrush, which has a smaller than usual needle that is a good test of the finesse of the pigment grind of any brand, some of which don’t spray very well though anything less than a 0.3mm needle.  There were no problems with blockages at all, and the coverage was excellent after my usual ad hoc dilution method, which was probably nowhere near the 40-60% thinners or water that’s suggested on the pack.  Apart from the varnish, the other paints all dry to a matt finish.

 

In past tests, the Satin Varnish worked very well diluted with water, sprayed over the spoons that were also partially taped up to perform two functions at once.  The satin patina that resulted is exactly what was expected, and the tape lifted no paint at all, despite my best efforts to do so.  Bear in mind that the spoons were prepped by a buff with a very fine sanding sponge to give them the best chance of adhesion.  Using a brush, the colours cover well two coats with minimal brush marks visible.

 

 

Conclusion

The paints were excellent through the airbrush with nothing in the way of drama during the testing process, including the Oily Steel and Satin Varnish.  The colours also brushed out very well, as did the varnish.  There is a little less paint in the bottles than some brands, but a shade more than others, so it’s about average.  That is more than offset by the very reasonable price they’re asking for the set, even at RRP.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd.

 

Review sample courtesy of