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In-Box Review
11
Military Color paint set
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by: Darren Baker [ CMOT ]

Introduction

In my recent review of Badger’s Renegade Krome airbrush (Reviewed here), I used Badgers Military paint set to check the performance of the airbrush and now I am going to cover the paints in their own right.

Contents

With this military colour paint set you get 7 colours which are;
• 16-94 field drab
• 16-96 olive drab
• 16-97 camouflage gray
• 16-100 European dark green
• 16-102 forest green
• 16-103 armor sand
• 16-105 medium green FSC 33102

Review

The paints in this set are packaged in 1oz (30ml) pots, with each pot having a seal attached to the pot under the lid. This seal seems to be a foam based product which does not peel off easily but needs to be cut away, so this seal should ensure no accidental spillage during transit if ordered online. The paints in this range are acrylic and the paint in each pot is described as perfectly thinned ready for use with an airbrush and gives good coverage indicating fair pigmentation. Brush painting is also possible with them requiring two coats minimum. The pots are opaque which does make paint selection difficult if you are like me and tend to use your eye for colour selection in some cases.

Drying times will vary depending on the conditions where you are, here in the UK drying time was 5 to 10 minutes depending of course on you laying down the paint in a reasonable thickness. Brush painting caught me out as that was also dry in 5 to 10 minutes and touch dry in 15 to 20 minutes, I would still recommend leaving at least an hour before applying a second coat of paint using either application method. When dry the paint is reasonably durable as even running my thumb nail across it did not cause any obvious damage to the finish.

Cleaning the brush and airbrush is easily accomplished using water, which in the case of the brush is perhaps the easiest cleaning task I have attempted. Holding the brush under running water completely cleaned all of the paint out of the brush in seconds rather than minutes, and when I wiped the brush with clean tissue paper no paint residue was left on the tissue. While the same is probably true of airbrush cleaning I would still recommend blowing some cleaning product through the airbrush as well as water.

Conclusion

These acrylic paints from Badger have no obvious faults that I can detect, there is a slight odor to them but it is not over powering or repugnant. They are in my opinion more user friendly than my usual paint of choice (Tamiya acrylic range), in every way from use to cleaning with the possible exception that drying time when sprayed is equal. They do however have a weakness that can only be cured by Badger themselves, which is a very limited colour range and as I have never seen them in the UK I am guessing limited availability.

If you get a chance to use these paints give them a go as I think you will be pleasantly surprised by their use. The only thing that stops me highly recommending this paint range is the limited colour choice available.

SUMMARY
Highs: The highs are many; perfectly thinned for spraying, fast drying time, low odour, easy clean up, and brush-able.
Lows: A very limited colour range currently harms its usage but that situation may change in the future.
Verdict: If you get a chance to try this paint give it a go as I think you may like it.
  Scale: 1:1
  Mfg. ID: 1704 Military Color set
  PUBLISHED: Aug 05, 2012
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 87.04%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 92.69%

Our Thanks to Badger Airbrush!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Darren Baker (CMOT)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

I have been building model kits since the early 70’s starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70’s, I have had lots of opportunitie...

Copyright ©2021 text by Darren Baker [ CMOT ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Good review Darren. Great idea to try brush painting as well. I wasn't aware of this range from badger. Maybe just my monitor but the Olive drab looks very dark.
AUG 05, 2012 - 07:57 AM
Pat in fairness the colours cannot be displayed accurately as it not only depends on the viewers PC but as you know we have to edit the pictures which also alters the colours. This was the reason I also did a blob colour guide as rough guide to the colours.
AUG 05, 2012 - 09:41 AM
Pat, the Olive Drab is a nice shade, close to the Polly Scale these paints will be replacing for me. Darren, did you have any trouble with these paints drying on and clogging the needle of the airbrush?
AUG 05, 2012 - 10:28 AM
I used them for a 5 minute play stopping and starting while playing with the pressure on the new Badger airbrush, during that time I did not encounter any obvious issues with build up and I have used the airbrush since with out issue. It has had 10 outings now and so is most likely due a strip clean. I also found them the easiest paints to remove from a brush with water.
AUG 05, 2012 - 11:01 AM
I have used the Badger Paint before using the Model Railroad colors, always found the colors to be accurate, but usually took 3-4 coats with the airbrush to get a real opaque color. Great review Darren. Kevin
AUG 05, 2012 - 11:40 AM
Nice review Darren- interesting stuff- always good to see more paints to choose from!
AUG 05, 2012 - 10:31 PM
I've been using ModelFlex on and off for a few years now, it sprays very nicely and with an added drop or two of their Extender, there is never any issue with the paint drying on the tip. I find the Olive Green to be far too 'green' right out of the bottle. In the August issue of Military in Scale I mention this and actually mix a few colors to get the shade of olive drab I personally prefer.
AUG 06, 2012 - 12:12 AM
   
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