Introduction

The company website states:

“This set includes the base colors and products essential for imitating the accumulation and weathering effects produced by mud”.

“With this set, you will be able to replicate different types of effects including dry mud, wet mud, and mud splashes. These sets are the perfect solution for casual modelers and those experienced enthusiasts looking for the most realistic painting options in one convenient box.

I have been using enamels for many years (decades) now. Enamel hobby paints are getting harder to find and there are the health considerations on enamels, so I have been exploring different acrylics options out there. I was excited to see I had the chance to review the AMMO products, as some of my modeling buddies had good things to say about them.

Readying the AMMO website, you learn that these paints are odorless, water soluble, and non-toxic. All of those above make these paints interesting alternatives as non-toxicity is a great thing and odorless makes the rest of the family happy.

I have to say that I did find a very faint smell on these paints. It is not strong at all and it is not offensive nor headache-inducing as enamels or lacquers. The best I can describe the smell is ‘earthly’. A bit like mud or clay, from a pottery workshop.

This set is designed for Academy’s new F-14A kit. The set provides masks not only for the canopy and the windscreen, but also for the tires or wheel hubs.

There are three parts to the windscreen mask, one for each side and the central panel. The main canopy has 4 parts for each section, two for each side. The instructions advise you to cover the rest of the canopy area with liquid masking, but I prefer to cut small strips out of the unused parts of the masking sheet and use these strips to mask off the rest of the canopy.

After masking the canopy and tacking it over the cockpit, I painted the canopy frames with flat black as this is the interior color of the Tomcat canopy. When this had dried, I then painted the canopy light gull grey when I painted the topside color as I was building an early Tomcat. After painting and decaling were complete, I removed the masks from the canopy sections and discovered a perfectly painted canopy.

The AMMO website listing for this set of AMMO paints includes this description; “The AMMO range of acrylic paints for figures has been designed to make your painting sessions a more enjoyable experience thanks to the speed and simplicity of use. This set includes 4 colours for painting the infantry uniforms widely used by British troops during WWII. The colours have been selected through rigorous research of period uniforms, allowing you to accurately paint the base tones of uniforms, add highlights, and enhance details.”

The four colors included in this set are AMMO F-504 Yellow Green, F-545 British Brown, F-546 Ochre Brown, and F-547 Pale Earth.

Scroll down until you see the Quick Tips Logo and click on it. An image of that logo accompanies this review. A pdf will open and can be downloaded. This pdf provides detailed “Tips”, in English and Spanish, to employ a combination of airbrushing and hand-painting to achieve the desired result.

Background

The United Kingdom bought versions based on the U.S. Navy's F-4J for use with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The UK was the only country outside the United States to operate the Phantom at sea, launching them from HMS Ark Royal. The main differences were the use of the British Rolls-Royce Spey engines and of British-made avionics. The RN and RAF versions were given the designation F-4K and F-4M respectively, and entered service with the British military aircraft designations Phantom FG.1 (fighter/ground attack) and Phantom FGR.2 (fighter/ground attack/reconnaissance).