An in action report from Gareth Jordan
A big thank you to The Airbrush Company for providing us with these samples. Get these paints here now at: www.airbrushes.com
I have always liked the German World War two aircraft paint styles because of the multitude of options that these schemes offer, no two aircraft actually being the same. Having decided that I was going to attempt building some Luftwaffe types, I set about planning what to build and which schemes to apply. The choices I made were the Revell/Monogram JU52, ME410, and a Hasegawa Bf-109 each with varying schemes to test my airbrushing methods and all to 1:48th scale.
For the painting requirements I was asked to review the Lifecolor Luftwaffe sets 1 and 2 each in a box containing six 22mil pots of acrylic flat/satin. Set 1 contains RLM’s 02, 65, 70, 71, 79 and 80, and set 2 with RLM’s 74, 75, 76, 78, 81 and 82. As you can see a good mix covering most of the Luftwaffe colours found during this period.
First up came the Ju52 with an unusual scheme to say the least. This was painted using Dunklegrun 
RLM 71 and Schwarzgrun RLM 70 for the normal splinter camouflage. RLM 65 Hellblau for the under surfaces. Each one shaken and stirred well before being thinned using acrylic thinners (I recommend Lifecolor thinner – always good to use the manufacturer’s own brand of thinner unless you are certain of the outcome if using another brand) to the consistency of semi skimmed milk for airbrushing. I do not thin my mixture by a set amount but by sight, judgment and plenty of luck! I sprayed each colour at around 12 psi and received some pleasing results. The paint sprayed well and did not clog my brush and surprisingly very little was required to cover such a large subject, do decent opacity – I like it. Once dry I used Vallejo gloss varnish before decaling and a final coat of matt varnish before weathering. The paint took all of this without reaction and a good finish was the result.
Next up was the ME410 and following my normal guidelines this was completed in much the same manner as the Ju52. This time though the colours used were RLM 02 Grau for the interior giving a near perfect match on internal colouring. RLM 70 once again for the splinter camouflage along with RLM 75 Grauviolet. The under surfaces were sprayed the lighter RLM 76 Lichtblau, again good results all round. This time though I thinned the paint using everyday tap water which dried very rapidly allowing me to progress quicker than expected. Having never tried to spray the mottled effect before, I was reluctant to attempt it but I bit the bullet and went ahead with it anyway, so down went the pressure some more to around 6 psi and with eyes closed I gave it a go. I am very happy with the result!
Finally it was time for the Bf-109, for this a desert scheme was the order of the day and is made up of two main colours, RLM 79 Sandgelb, for the upper and RLM 78 Hellblau for the lower surfaces. The first was mixed with water and the second with thinners and neither reacted with each other in any way. Before painting could take place I used Tamiya’s fine white primer as a base and no problems were evident when spraying Lifecolor on to this surface. Unfortunately yellow paint was not provided and the correct shade had to be sourced from other stocks to complete the model.
On the whole I was impressed by the Lifecolor range; all the pigments seemed to match the correct shades well and were applied with ease. They are thin allowing easy mixture of the paint for airbrushing but I found hard to brush paint if you need to touch up any areas. Once dry they are robust and stand up well to the rigours of weathering. I will be keeping my eye out for more in their ranges as they release them.
Gareth J.