I'm guessing that occasionally modellers have an epiphany. Mine just happened - AK Real Colors. Having spent the last few months using them I rate them so highly I thought I'd endorse them here. They really appear to have 'revolutionised' my airbrush work - they spray beautifully, have great self levelling qualities and excellent color coverage in thin coats. I feel in full control of the airbrush which was rare with my usual enamels - Colourcoats, Xtracolor, Humbrol, whatever. I find they spray even better when thinned a little with Mr Color Leveling Thinner (MCLT). They are easy to gloss coat with Gunze GX100 or 112 or Galeria. No compatibility issues. They spray fine lines and handle even the smallest mottles (1:72 Luftwaffe fighters..) without issue. Even better, they clean up so easily! They come in 'dropper' type bottles, so a couple of drops into the cup, a quick dip of a brush into the Leveling Thinner and you are good to go! I have yet to try the own-brand thinner - AK Real Colors High Compatibility Thinner. Like MCLT this is formulated for lacquer-based paints and has a retarder. I was going to say that AK Real Colors are in the same category as Gunze and Tamiya - but they are better in my view; Gunze is very good too albeit a little thick, requiring more thinning compared to Tamiya and AK (thinned with MCLT). My ranking is AK first, Hobby Color a very close second and Tamiya third. Why is Tamiya third? I find that Tamiya colour occasionally requires mixing while the other two brands usually have the colour I want out of the bottle. As for colour accuracy - I think that is a given. In conclusion, a no-nonsense paint that works brilliantly. I rank them very highly. Buy with confidence - the various Luftwaffe sets come in packs of four or six bottles, which basically equates to one 'free'.
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