Scale aviation modeller international

KColors Paint Review

by James Cann

T

he paint market today

is full of options, with

brands releasing new

ranges left, right, and centre in

a competition for the top spot.

One of the newer companies is

KColors, an Italian brand with

experience in the motor industry,

and more recently in the eastern

market with the likes of Gundam

kits and custom artwork.

KColors paints are water-based

acrylics and boast a large range of

colours, primers, and varnishes,

and a brilliant range of metallics; as

well, some really handy sets have

been recently released of various

military subjects and nations. The

paints are supplied in two types

of pot: the primers and most of

the colours are supplied in 30 ml

pots, and newer pots of 17 ml in a

dropper bottle are now available.

My review sample of KColors

paint consisted of a selection of

primers – black, red, white, and

grey; two clear coats; Gloss and

Military Matt (a flat coat with

the tiniest amount of sheen); a

flat black; and a selection of RLM

colours for a Luftwaffe project: RLM

76 Lichtblau, 70 Schwarzgrun, 74

Graugrun, 75 Grauviolet, and 04

Gelb. The RLM colours look accurate

compared to my references.

How does it handle? The paints

are advertised as a ready-to-use,

airbrush-friendly solution, keeping

cleanup minimal and odour free.

The first ones I sprayed were the

primers, and the colour went

down nicely with my 0.2 Iwata at

about 25-30 psi. The finish when

dry was scratch resistant and

levelled nicely, without grain,

which is really nice for a primer.

Next up came the regular

colours. The paint needed a good

shake before spraying (adding

some bb’s would speed the process

up). I went in at 15 psi, as the

colours are thin (not a bad thing).

The first thing I noticed was the

atomisation, which was excellent;

it is really easy to get clean

freehand lines and camouflage

patterns without thinning or

adjusting the paint in any way.

The paints really suit light layers

and can be built up wonderfully,

and on the flip side if you blast on

a thicker coat it is very difficult to

get the paint to run. One thing I was

really pleased with was the coverage

of the RLM 04 Gelb (Yellow), which

is usually notorious to spray.

The clearcoats are really

nice, with the gloss providing

a nice smooth finish, while the

Military Matt gives the usual

dead flat finish a little more sheen

and it looks and sprays great.

CONCLUSION

So how did KColors do? The paints

are really easy to use; no thinning

is required for airbrush use. They

are quite tough as well and with a

wide range of individual colours and

sets there should be something for

everyone, whether you like military,

aviation, or automotive modelling.

Since using the review set I

have already picked up some RAF

colours. If you want a hassle-free

spraying experience, look no further.

You can get KColors in the UK at

http://www.modelinovations.co.uk.

Sierra Hotel

A

t the US Nationals, Sierra

Hotel passed us some

new items from their

range. Last month we featured

the F-22 Raptor correction for

the Academy 1/48 scale kit, and

an ECM adaptor for any 1/32

Phantom. This month we have

an under-fuselage store seen on

F-16 Block 50 and 52 Fighting

Falcons, when being used in the

Wild Weasel SAM suppression

role in, both 1/48 and 1/32 scale.

The AN/ASQ-213 HARM

Targeting System is carried on the

port side shoulder station (Station

5L), and though it has been

included in kits before, no one has

nailed the shape

of pod and pylon

as well as Sierra

Hotel. Supplied

in just two parts,

assembly is easy,

and you even

have a small decal

sheet to provide

the stencils

for the pod.

1/48 SCALE

SH48-617 AN/ASQ-

213 F-16 HTS POD

Designed for: Tamiya

1/32 SCALE

SH32-617 AN/ASQ-213 F-16 HTS POD

Designed for: Tamiya

CONCLUSION

Many modellers like producing

a USAF Wild Weasel theme

featuring the F-100F

Super Sabre, F-105

Thunderchief, F-4

Phantom, and finally

the F-16 (until the F-35

takes over the role). This

set should certainly be

considered by anyone

producing the F-16

version from the state-

of-the-art Tamiya kit.

A quick visit to http://www.

sierrahotel.webs.com

will show just how large

and comprehensive

this range has become,

and I will feature

some other items

we have missed from the range

over the next few months.

Our thanks to Sierra Hotel for

supplying the review samples.

46 • OCTOBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

ACCESSORIES

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