Reference number: CS04
Review by: Bill Curtis
Our thanks to The Airbrush Company Ltd for supplying our review sample. 
Initial Assessment
This is the now-familiar packaging for the paint sets, which contains six paints of various shades. This particular one has the following:
- UA401 Tropical Tan 1
- UA402 Field grey 1
- UA403 Field grey 2
- UA404 Field blue
- UA405 Brown service shirt
- UA406 Tropical Tan 2
Accuracy
The accuracy of the paint is very good, but I feel this is a subjective subject, which has caused many an argument over the years as to which shade is correct, as well as the effects of scale on the shade and hue.
Suffice to say that with weathering, effects of washing and the different manufacturers of the original cloth, the colours were not exactly the same.
Quality
A really lovely paint to spray and I have to say I like it a great deal for its coverage, colour, drying and hardness when dry.
For brush painting, I have to admit I had problems with some earlier sets. However, this was down to me and not the paints.
I had tried to cover in one coat, thinking it was household acrylic from that famous company with the slogan “Covers in one coat”, but if you apply the first coat it goes on thinly and is somewhat translucent. After allowing this to dry, a second coat can then be applied thinly which will cover the required area.
In some cases, a third touch up may be required after it dries. If only I had taken the advice on the back of the box!
Instructions
Instructions for the use of the paints are on the rear of the box, as is the paint number and where it was used, i.e. UA402 Field Grey shade 1, M35/36 tunics, trousers and M36-42 great coats.
Conclusion
I have to say I am a fan of this paint range and would advise anyone starting out in this great hobby to consider this option for the paint box, as it is very good and will thin with water as well as its own thinner.
I have to say that for airbrushing this is excellent and for brush painting comes a very close second to Vallejo. As with most things though, I feel one has to try it and see how you get on with it. Have fun finding out. The paints intermix well and will “hold” for a few days with a shake of the pot.
A final thought on clean-up was that the best results on cleaning the air brush and bristle brushes was with the proper thinner, but no doubt water does work well but requires more clean up with paper towels and Q tips.
Very highly recommended.
A Demonstration
By Neil Pepper
After Bill’s excellent review above, I have been asked to put these paints to the test and see how they go on when using a paint brush, compared to an air brush. Basically I am just going to have a play and see how they perform.
A couple of 1:35 figures are going to be the subjects.
I have been thinking of a way to make it easy but still get a good look to the figure. And I think I’ve come up with it…
Step one; give it a coat of Field Grey 1
You quickly notice that the paint is very thin (great for use with the air brush) so a couple of coats are applied.
When dry, I give it a wash all over made with dark oil paints and this is put aside to dry over night.
The next day I give the whole uniform a dry brush with Field Grey 2, which seemed to do the job to make it look as it should (instead of a mess) with shadows and highlights in the right places.
To anyone’s that’s asked, I think the answer is that you can hand paint with Lifecolor paints – you just need to take a little more time.
While I was doing the one figure, I thought I would have a go at a method I have seen elsewhere just recently. This is to spray the shadows black first and then to airbrush the main colour on top of that.
As I said, you start with spraying black from underneath to give your shadows.
Field Grey 1 is then lightly airbrushed over the figure and left to dry overnight.
Then with Field Grey 2 I lightly sprayed the larger areas of highlights i.e. shoulders and front of his trousers.
When dry, I give the whole uniform a dry-brush with Field Grey 2 to pick out other highlights.
I found this to be a good way of painting these pesky figures. For me, this may be the best way as you don’t get the build up of paint that you would with a paint brush, so you’re not losing any detail.
Neil P.