(The caps are black - the colors were sprayed by me.)
Feldgrau 1939/45 German Uniforms Paint Set, Set CS 55
Airbrushes.com kindly provided this set for review. They state of these paints:
- Water soluble acrylic colours for modelling and hobby. LifeColor is excellent for paint brushing or airbrushing on plastic, resin, metal, vinyl, wood, cloth and ceramic.
You can read about this set on their site at Feldgrau 1939/45.
Set CS 55 is packaged in an attractive flip-top cardboard box with the six 22ml plastic bottles in individual compartments. The bottle caps are molded with an internal rim which both provides a small palette cup as well as inhibits paint fouling the bottle cap thread. Multilingual text on the back of the box explains how to use these paints.
I found that these water soluble paints are made with very fine ground pigments. They have no noticeable odor. Often, I find them to be much thinner than other brands I use but this set is just about right for brush painting.
There are no instructions other than examples printed on the box. Lifecolor reminds us that these can be mixed with their Tensocrom Medium to create washes and glazes.
This set includes:
- UA 464 Feldgendarmerie Uniforms and Trousers
- UA 465 Feldgendarmerie Uniforms and Trousers
- UA 466 Panzer Div. Commander Coat
- UA 467 Artilleryman Trousers Early War
- UA 468 Waxed Coat M40
- UA 469 Coat M42
Packaging and Instructions
These are printed on the back of the box in English and Italian. The text is very fine and challenging to read for my old eyes.
Application
These LifeColor paints sprayed well at 12-15 psi. I used LifeColor thinner on three of the colors and the rest were shot straight from the jar without thinning. I used a 25%/75% thinner to paint ratio.
I airbrushed and paintbrushed each color. None of the colors ran nor puddled. They are advertised as drying matte and I agree they do so. For the test canvases I used white plastic spoons and white illustration board.
Airbrushing
After shaking each jar 20 times, I shot the colors through a medium airbrush tip at the aforementioned 12-15 psi. All colors covered with one coat.
Bristle Brushing
Paintbrushing works well. A couple of colors required a second coat. They dried rapidly.
Adhesion Like many previously tested LifeColors, these stick to the surface and resist scratching.
The Colors
Gone are the days of an universal feldgrau for all seasons. Volumes of research have been published over the decades and we continue to learn of new revelations of Wehrmacht uniform colors and variations. This review does not intend to verify or validate if a hue exists or its accuracy, I leave that to your tastes.
Nothing beats sunlight to illuminate a color and I shot these outside in a clear pleasant afternoon. This time I did not shoot them in a model’s usual habitat, indoors with artificial light. If I receive requests, I will do so and update this review.
Conclusion
LifeColor has created a fine set of paint colors with Feldgrau 1939/45, and I am enthusiastic about these acrylic paints. They did not thicken or clump after the bottles were opened. Three colors worked well out of the pot and none presented challenges. LifeColor states they should be thinned with their brand thinner, and it worked as advertised.
Adhesion is flawless. The bottle design is great, as is the packaging. These paints cleaned thoroughly through an airbrush and by swishing a brush in water.
This is a interesting set to expand LifeColor's other German uniform sets. I recommend these.
Please tell retailers and vendors that you saw this review here - on Armorama.