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First Look Review
RAAF WW2 Paint Set #1
Life Color WW II Royal Australian Air Force Paint Set #1
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by: Rob Storey [ 29FOXTROT ]

As a modeller I normally use enamels on my aircraft subjects, being asked to review the LifeColor acrylic set, for Australian service aircraft of '39 - 45, the box contains 6 colours which are.
UA 513 / FS 20099 Earth Brown, UA 514 / FS 24092 Foliage Green, UA 515 / FS 25550 Sky Blue, UA 516 / FS 36118 Dark Sea Grey, UA 517 / FS 35042 Dark Ocean Blue, UA 518 / FS 35231 Sky Blue Azure.
Using as a reference the Ian Baker 'RAAF Colour Schemes and Markings, 1942 - 1946' compairing the bottle colours to a borrowed FS Colour chip chat, I found them to be a very accurate match, as the instructions state to use Lifecolor thinner and not having any at hand, at the time I used, clear 'Windex' as a thinning agent, (a glass cleaner, as water will not adhere to plastic).

My test subject for this review, which would allow me to use 3 of the colours provided, (Earth Brown/Foliage Green over Sky Blue), was a 72 scale Special Hobby Vultee Vengeange Mk I/II, which I also borrowed from a friend, as this is a multi-media kit I used enamels on the cockpit interior, the radial engine resin plug, cowling interior, wheel wells, undercarriage doors and the white 'Pacific Theatre' tailplane, measuring the paint / 'thinner' mix on a ratio of 8 paint and 2 'thinner' I applied the Sky Blue to the under surfaces of the model, using sevral light coats in each pass of the airbrush, as I found these paints to be translucent in colour to start with, after the first 3 passes the greyish plastic, still showed though and to atain the apropriate finish on the under surface I applied several more light coats over a period of 3 days.

After masking the lower surfaces, I then applied the 'Foliage Green' in an uneven patern of light coats over a few days, then applied the 'Earth Brown' free hand to the remaining upper surfaces of the model and when finished then masked the tail section of the fuselage to apply the White enamel to the tailplanes. Before completing the model with it's decals.

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SUMMARY
Highs: I found these paints accurate to my references and easy to apply, they also dry quickly.
Lows: Extremely thin or translucent and several passes are needed to atain the camouflaged effect.
Verdict: Accurate in colour but manufactured for brush painting.
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: Other
  PUBLISHED: Feb 10, 2010
  NATIONALITY: Australia
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 90.00%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 89.44%

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About Rob Storey (29Foxtrot)
FROM: VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Retired at 55. Ex Serviceman [Australian Army] 1969 - 1980. I've been building models for over 50 years, speciallising with Royal Australian Air Force subjects of '39 - '45, but will build any aircraft subject up to present day. Contracted model maker to the Royal Australian Air Force at R.A.A....

Copyright ©2021 text by Rob Storey [ 29FOXTROT ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



Comments

Thanks for the review Rob. I have the other Lifecolour set to use on my 1/32 Special Hobby P-39. Just a quick question, when you used the clead WIndex to thin the paints, what ratio did you use for Paint:Windex ?? Cheers, D
FEB 10, 2010 - 06:48 PM
   
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