Reviews of general scale modeling products such as paint, glue, etc.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
November 11, 2023
Company
ICM
MSRP
$19.99

ICM continues to announce new models despite the ongoing Russian initiated war in Ukraine. While most subjects released by ICM are welcome, the current conflict subjects are even more relevant and timely. The Acrylic Paint Set for Armed Forces of Ukraine (Camouflage Uniform) is designed to be used with ICM figure sets No. 35752 (“Quietly came, quietly went…” Special Operations Forces of Ukraine) and No. 35754 (“Always the first” Air Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine). This paint set is designed for the Multicam, not the Ukrainian pixel, camouflage.

The Acrylic Paint Set for Armed Forces of Ukraine consists of six 12ml paint bottles, that are surprisingly not dropper top, but rather are wide mouthed. The colors include:

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
November 9, 2023
Company
ICM
MSRP
$19.99

ICM continues to come out with interesting paint sets for their kits, and this one is no exception. As with all of the ICM acrylic paints that I’ve tested so far, I’ve found these to be smooth and creamy with no pigment separation in the bottle. They have excellent opacity and cover nicely with one coat and are clearly intended for hand painting rather than airbrushing. I’m finally overcoming my reluctance to paint figures with acrylics because of the excellent quality of these paints.

This set includes all the basic colors necessary to paint British infantry of World War 1. However, it is also applicable to British infantry in World War 2, U.S. Infantry in World War 1, and various Commonwealth forces in World War 1.

Here are the paints supplied in the set:

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
November 3, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
All
MSRP
$19.99

ICM continues to come out with interesting paint sets for their kits, and this one is no exception. As with all of the ICM acrylic paints that I’ve tested so far, I’ve found these to be smooth and creamy with no pigment separation in the bottle. They have excellent opacity and cover nicely with one coat, and are clearly intended for hand painting rather than airbrushing. I’m finally overcoming my reluctance to paint figures with acrylics because of the excellent quality of these paints.

This set is a bit different from others in that it includes paints representing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for figures that can be found in several of their Chernobyl series, rather than just the latest Brave Divers set. However, I had already assembled the Brave Divers set for another review so decided to test the entire range on these figures.

Here are the paints supplied in the set:

Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
October 15, 2023
Company
Tru-Color Paint
Scale
NA
MSRP
$42.95

Bottom Line: I am going to purchase other paints from Tru-Color Paints after my excellent experiences. Tru-Color Paint was founded in 2008 in Phoenix Az by Rick Galazzo & Scott Cohen. They have hundreds of paints, mostly for automobiles and railroad train hobbyists, but also military colors for aircraft, armament and ships. Starting in 2017, Tru-Color provides paints for German, Japanese, Royal Navy and US navies, from 1920s to modern era, but particularly WW2 colors. This review tries out the Royal Navy early WW2 basic warships colors in Set #1, TCP-13002. This is the first Royal Navy warship paint set from Tru-Color Paint, with more sets promised.

What You Get:

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
October 13, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
N/A
MSRP
$24.95

Anyone familiar with my modeling work is aware of my aversion to water-based paints. When acrylic paints first came on the market, I tested several types and found them indifferently opaque and tending to extreme fragility. As a commercial figure painter, I simply didn’t trust them to stand up to the rigors of customer handling.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Value Gear
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$17.00

I jumped at the chance to review the Value Gear USA Modern Gear Set #2 as I am a huge fan of Value Gear, its amazing sets, and its owner (and producer, shipper, sales, customer service, and everything else to make a company work guy), Steve Munsell (also known as one of the nicest guys in our hobby).

To best set the stage for this review, here is Value Gear's Goal from their website:

The Value Gear idea is to give model builders (me included) a more useful spares box! Creating and casting sets of Generic/Universal stowage. No helmets no weapons and nothing to keep you from using it in a wooden cart, a chariot, a truck, or a panther tank. "Any Army Any Era!" is my motto. They won't work on everything but so far, I have seen people use them on so many different trucks and tanks and even some War Hammer tanks and dioramas. Stowage are accents to help give your model some story or a lived-in realistic look. Armies live under canvas.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Value Gear
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$17.00

I jumped at the chance to review the Value Gear M10-ACH as I am a huge fan of Value Gear, its amazing sets, and its owner (and producer, shipper, sales, customer service, and everything else to make a company work guy), Steve Munsell (also known as one of the nicest guys in our hobby).

To best set the stage for this review, here is Value Gear's Goal from their website:

The Value Gear idea is to give model builders (me included) a more useful spares box! Creating and casting sets of Generic/Universal stowage. No helmets no weapons and nothing to keep you from using it in a wooden cart, a chariot, a truck, or a panther tank. "Any Army Any Era!" is my motto. They won't work on everything but so far I have seen people use them on so many different trucks and tanks and even some War Hammer tanks and dioramas. Stowage are accents to help give your model some story or a lived in realistic look. Armies live under canvas...

Review Author
Chris Martin
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
NA
MSRP
$11.99

About ICM Paints

Water-based acrylic paints by ICM. Paints are prepared for brush, for airbrush dilute it with water or ICM Thinner. The range includes 77 base colors, but colors can be mixed with each other to easily achieve a desired shade. The paint is stable after drying. A wide assortment of paint sets are also available.

The Set

ICM acrylic paint set “Item 3031: Fire Trucks” contains six basic colors for use on most any type of fire truck. The front of the box has artwork of the AR-2 (43105) Special Fire Hose Truck. A small square of the six colors provided in the set appears in the lower right. The top has a photo of the six bottles. The rear of the box shows color callouts for an AR-2 (43105) Special Fire Hose Truck. Instructions for use are printed on the bottom of the box.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
September 30, 2023
Company
Hauler
Scale
1:48
MSRP
$8.00

Hauler has provided another addition to the great Accessories releases with this WWII German 5 5-litre oil can set. The set includes a 6 oil can.

The detail quality is great. The parts only need to be removed from the mold base, cleaned up are ready to paint.

The only assembly after painting them green is to add the single decal.

Thanks go to Hauler for providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
September 16, 2023
Company
Green Stuff World
MSRP
$21.25

Green Stuff World is a company based out of Spain. It specializes in the design and production of tools, paints, and other related products for modeling, crafts, and war games. Green Stuff World has provided IPMS-USA an eight (8) bottle acrylic paint set for review.

In the Box

The paint set contains eight (8) 17ml bottles with nontoxic water based acrylic paints. Inside each bottle is an agitator ball to help mix the paint when shaking. The following colors are provided: