AK 3rd Gen Acrylics.

[stillp]

Great methodical review Andy.
Pete

[Dave Ward]

This is my take on the AK 3rd Generation acrylics ( so far )
These are the six colours kindly supplied by John:

Each bottle top has a small dimple, that you can deposit a drop of the paint, to identify the bottle from above..........................

I'm doing this in two parts, Paint brush & Airbrush
I'm using white foamboard, primed with Stylnylrez Black & White, and left to dry for about 36 hours.

In addition, I'm going to do some masking tests on a model that I knocked up for the purpose ( that's all it's fit for! ), primed with AK grey primer



For the paint brush test, I used a No.3 soft brush. I did shake the bottles ( as it says on the side ), then applied one coat to a patch, not going over it at all, using undiluted paint straight from the bottle. Can't say that it dried any faster, or slower than other paint. Temperature 17C, indoors.
I did this to both Black & White boards:


Given that black & white are not the most useful primer bases to use for some paints, the result wasn't bad, brush strokes showed up, particularly on the Russian Green/White combination. The Natural Steel and Bronze both looked better on the black priming.
The brush painting is good, but not significantly better than other brands.
The crunch will be the airbrushing & masking tests, which may take a while ( cleaning the airbrush 6 or more times - oh joy! )
and I'll put up the results in the next day or two.
Dave

[Guest]

Cheers Dave for doing a paint brush test I was one wondering if you could brush paint it or not.
Pete.

[Guest]

It's made for brush painting Pete but can be thinned for the airbrush too. The few parts I've brushed in it have come out really well, but haven't yet got around to a proper test. My son has tried a few of the colours on his miniatures and says they compare favourably to his usual paints. Eventually I'll get some pictures out of him!

[JR]

Thanks to both of you Andy and Dave.
Some excellent tests being carried out , looking fwd to the others.
The point about the paint not having tip drying is I'm sure going to be a big point in it's favour. Agree with you Andy on that aluminum colour, ok if you want to do heavily corroded !
If the spraying proves coverage wise to be successful I'll be interested .
Do feel though that they have included in the mix a volume of flow improver.

I've found that if I use slightly more than the amount Vallejo recommend and some thinners ( depending on if it's Model Air or Model Colour ) I can achieve a reasonable finish, but don't like the differing results you can get between the two types of paint. Having to have several " recipes " for mixing is not something I want .

[Guest]

Do feel though that they have included in the mix a volume of flow improver.

I've just read a very similar comment on a farcebook group from someone that has done much more testing than I have.

[JR]

I've just read a very similar comment on a farcebook group from someone that has done much more testing than I have.

That's interesting Andy, can't see the paint being ground any finer than it it, so it must be in the mix with thinners /flow improver.

[Dave Ward]

Part Two - airbrush tests
I used this 0.2mm airbrush, bought from SMS last year - 0.2mm being worst for paint choking - it also is one of the easiest airbrushes I have to clean - important when doing multiple colour


I sprayed at about 20 psi ( according to my gauge) - a little lower than I normally use ( 25 psi ). I decided to use straight tap water to mix for a/b. Spray tests - same sequence as brush ( top ). There was no problem with tip drying or clogging, with any paint. Temperature 17C, indoors.


Mix was 50/50 - until I got to the metallic - you can see that the bronze has splattered, through being too thin ( middle ). I adjusted the mix to 70/30, which was more successful ( bottom ). Can't say the paint dried any faster, or slower than other paints.
Mixing with tap water worked well - I tried IPA, and the results were not promising, the paint seemed to coagulate, or curdle slightly & be a little lumpy - I certainly wouldn't want to attempt spraying with that! ( I mixed the paints in plastic shot glasses, before commiting to the airbrush cup ). The AK thinner worked well, it obviously has more ingredients than just IPA.............
I brush painted the rudders & elevators of the YF-22 with the six colours, then airbrushed the upper & lower wings & upper & lower fuselage, again with the six paints.


The coverage is a little patchy in places with the 50/50 paint mix, probably 60/40 will be better. A little more experience will give you the correct ratio, or give two coats. The metallics are a bit different, and I bet each one will be have a slightly differing ratio.
I'm going to leave the paints to really dry overnight before I do the masking tests, tomorrow
Dave

[Guest]

Great to see some proper testing on a model. I found the same when I tried to thin it with IPA, didn't seem right at all.

[topgazza]

Models looking good Dave. Quality work as always :tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy::tears-of-joy:

[Dave Ward]

Yes, I bought the YF-22 at a pound shop in Gloucester many many years ago for - you guessed it - £1. For that, it was worth a punt - one look in the box, and it was consigned to the not worth the glue pile. I needed to replace my 1/48 Bf-109, it was getting too messy, so as an empty canvas, I threw it together. The fit is truly awful - I had to resist the temptation to do a bit of filing & filling. The 'recessed' panel lines show where the Matchbox trencher ended up. The canopy, which was pretty well moulded, wouldn't fit the cockpit recess at all! At last, it's going to have an actual display purpose!
Dave

[topgazza]

I think people were hoping for something "special" but maybe it takes a while to get used to them. But as John alluded to another process in mixing and dealing with is a hassle.

[Dave Ward]

Masking Tests, I used Tamiya Masking sheet, offcuts from a Russian tank camo scheme, and as such some irregular shapes. I rubbed the edges down firmly, but expected bleed along the trench like panel lines........................
Using the same airbrush, and same air pressure & tap water, I tried to do darkest over lightest, lighter over darkest, and so on. I took a little more care in mixing ratios, especially the metallics. I had no problem with spraying, no clogging, or other hiccups

I left the model for about an hour, or so, the paint was touch dry..................


This Rubber black over Dark Sand

Dark Sand over Rubber Black


Russian Green over French Blue

French Blue over Russian Green


Tyre Black & Bronze over Natural Steel

Natural Steel over Bronze

You'll have to excuse the oversprays & minor errors....................... obviously I'd take much more care, if it was the model I was testing.
There was no signs of paint lifting at all, there were areas where there was some bleed, but that was expected. All in all pretty successful.
My thoughts on AK 3rd Generation Acrylics:
The paints brushed pretty well, straight from the bottle - apart from the Russian Green, which didn't cover well, both brush & airbrush.
All airbrushed smoothly, with no tip drying, or clogging, once you get the mixing ratios right, they should be able to do one coat finishes ( apart from the Russian Green! ). The metallics sprayed particularly well, once the mix ratio was sorted ( c. 60/40 ). One thing I did notice, cleaning the airbrush so many times, was that they didn't seem to leave a lot of residue - cleanup was easy.
No problems in masking - I did leave the primed model for 24hrs to eliminate any primer lift.

So, what about AK 3rd Generation? It's a good paint, and airbrushes well, the metallics were very good. - It'll take a little while to get used to the mixing ratio, which I have to say seems doesn't seem that high. The ratio was 50/50 - If I use Vallejo Model Color for my airbrush, I normally mix 25/75, so the AK bottle won't last as long. One thing I do find disappointing is that IPA seemed to cause coagulating problems, luckily tap water worked well, I don't like having to use a bespoke thinner!
I may try some more metallics - Aluminium & Gun Metal, but I'm not going to rush out and buy any of the 3rd. generation standard colours, I don't think they show any massive advance over other brands at the moment. Maybe when I'm more familiar with the characteristics, I may change my mind, but not now.
Many thanks to John for supplying me with the paint samples.
Dave

[stillp]

No good for JR then!
Pete

[topgazza]

Good job Dave. I have a couple to try which I'll mainly use for brushing on small components but I'll keep an eye out as people will start to use them