Lifecolor Guns and Weapons paint set, as used by Adam Kuller
 



























I recently received this very nifty new Lifecolor Guns & Weapons set  in the post from Robin, and made a few attempts at showing it in an in-use-trial, as it’s a bit different sort of set. The examples shown are on the cheap and common Tamiya German Infantry Weapons set--same as shown on the LC Boxart. The Thompson is Alpine and the M1 Carbine from Verlinden.

Two colours are included for gunstocks and other wood effects, and though these seemed to be quite on-target, it was my feeling from the start that additional colours would be desirable, such as some darker browns and black in some cases, depending on the required finish.  In any case I did my best to try some different things  to get the job done with what’s provided, [though I did finish some parts with a gloss varnish, as the paints finish was a bit ‘paper-like’.]  I base-coated with the Light Wood Stock and following with some lightly-painted striping using the Dark Wood Stock, applied thinly with a rigger. I then bled out each band of colour before letting the paint dry .[ I would even suggest allowing ‘watermarks’ to form, and following this chaos to make realistic wood grain patterns. This technique can be better seen towards the end of my blog for the LZ Models M29C Weasel, where I first tried these paints on the OV tools.]

The real standout feature of this kit is a metallic powder additive for the metal areas of weapons, which is mixed into the gunmetal colour of your choosing. Three paints are included for gun-steel,  Gun Blue, Gun Red, & Gun Grey. I found that none we’re quite right alone, but mixed together in different formulas formed quite interesting and appropriate metal making colours. Pictured are the colours alone with the powder, and also a picture showing some of these mixed together. The metallic powder is not detectable when you paint on the metal colours [unless adding a lot of it--then it quickly thickens the paint], and only appears later when the dried paint is rubbed, revealing a nice metal tone, though it’s not too different from conventional graphite methods, it has the benefit of appearing naturally and only on the metal areas.

I liked the colours, but again I believe these would greatly benefit from the addition of other colours/ Certainly paint sets do offer fast immersion into different subjects, but are not “magic bullets” and require great care to get good results and the addition of other paints for a complete finish. Even so, I made a few trials to get some idea what this set might be nice for. Certainly “Buffable” metallic paints are nothing new, but this one is something a bit different, being able to add as much or as little sheen as desired. [I even added some powder to some Lifecolor Black and sure enough, it seems to work in any of their paints] I didn’t try the powder with any other brands yet, and am wondering if it’s available aside from the whole set. I was sort of wanting a gold-ish additive also, so I might get a ‘brass’ sheen when rubbing O.D. parts, such as on U.S. webbing hardware. One thing to beware, is when adding a fair amount of additive powder [needed to get a strong sheen effect] the paint becomes thick enough to fill in details and become unsuitable for some highly detailed small-scale models. Certainly  best results would be easier on larger guns and simpler surfaces, however, will care and careful application, interesting results seem possible even on tiny bits.

My thanks again to Robin and The Airbrush Company (the UK Importers) for the sample kit.
 
Adam Kuller