Thoughts on Pre-Packaged Paint Kits

[PJ Fisher]

Hi there,

As I'm easing back into modeling I see there's a whole mess of products that weren't available 20 years ago.  One is the AK Interactive Air Series for British RFC/RNAS camouflage colors.  A forum search showed that others use this brand on their German builds.  Any pros/cons to using this paint?  Do other manufacturers offer better RFC paint schemes?

     

P.S. Hoping not to start a what-is-the-correct-formula-for-PC10 argument!

[masterKamera]

Well the actual question a person needs to ask..

1. do they like the brands reputation?  I havent heard a whole lot on the brand here or at britmodeler so i am not sure on that aspect

2. can you equivalate the colors?  Going by the AK website, there colors do not match/do not have a match with Humbrol colors, and everything airfix and MOST european companies use is HUMBROL paint..

3. Do you understand the special needs fo the paint?  their web advertisement says "airbrush directly from bottle, thin with water or AK thinner if paint brushing"  yet the package photos say the opposite

[torbiorn]

I cannot tell you anything about the RFC package, but I do have the German and am very happy with it. The  light and dark green and rust brown are a tad dark in my personal opinion, and I lighten them a bit (I’m building 1/72). Compared to Vallejo air, they are slightly thinner. They mix perfectly with Vallejo colours - I use Vallejo colours to lighten them.

[pepperman42]

I like the AK brand. I use their Real Colours more which are lacquer but the acrylics are good too. The line is extensive and sometimes the sets they put together are not as "job specific" as they suggest. ie there is a German panzer  primer set but the colours are actually hull red, mahogany brown, dark brown and light brown. They are, to my mind, definitely an airbrush paint and to be safe I use the same brand of thinner as the paint when I have to. We aren't exactly slopping gallons of this stuff around when we paint so 2 or 3 400ml bottles of different brands of thinners isn't a disaster. Eventually you will gravitate toward a brand you're comfortable with and streamline your thinner inventory. Takom, Meng, Border etc seem to be using AK paint references quite a bit now. Matching brand to brand is less important than matching your paint to the actual colour you're trying to represent. That's part of the fun in research!

Steve   

[PJ Fisher]

All helpful, thanks everyone.

[Stuart Malone]

I got talked into ordering the Lifecolor WWI german aircraft set by my local plastic pusher.  It hasn't come in yet.  I am hopeful that they'll be close to one of the aircraft manufacturers' colors.  We shall see.

Stuart

[masterKamera]

as long as the colors look good with each other, then its fine and dandy.

SO much is merely 1 shade difference between brands... and in other times its a case of "ok this color chart says humbrol XXX is Tamiya SXY,,, but the humbrol color is a lime green and the tamiya is purple.. WTF..."

[Dave W]

Accurate WW1 colours are anything but an exact science so when choosing paints for my WW1 models I try to be flexible on precise shades because nobody actually knows the precise colours used on the aircraft of WW1. Surviving fabric samples only tell us so much and their shades may be affected by age/ storage conditions etc.

As a brush painter I opt for paint manufacturers whose products are brush friendly- Vallejo Model Color, Humbrol acrylic and Humbrol enamels, but others will have other choices. Don't be afraid to mix up your own blends of paint to achieve a desired colour.

I have some AK WW1 colours which are a bit thin for brush work and need several coats to cover. As for the accuracy of the AK paints I would defer to people like Ray Rimell and go with whatever shades he recommends.

Lifecolor has just released a new set of German WW1 aircraft paints which I have not seen yet but will be trying out when they land in Australia.

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

[PJ Fisher]

Thanks again everyone.

[masterKamera]

Accurate WW1 colours are anything but an exact science so when choosing paints for my WW1 models I try to be flexible on precise shades because nobody actually knows the precise colours used on the aircraft of WW1. Surviving fabric samples only tell us so much and their shades may be affected by age/ storage conditions etc.

As a brush painter I opt for paint manufacturers whose products are brush friendly- Vallejo Model Color, Humbrol acrylic and Humbrol enamels, but others will have other choices. Don't be afraid to mix up your own blends of paint to achieve a desired colour.

I have some AK WW1 colours which are a bit thin for brush work and need several coats to cover. As for the accuracy of the AK paints I would defer to people like Ray Rimell and go with whatever shades he recommends.

Lifecolor has just released a new set of German WW1 aircraft paints which I have not seen yet but will be trying out when they land in Australia.

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

certain colors cannot be replicate due to the fact th eoriginal sources used in the war no longer exist.