I am really enjoying the ICM acrylic paint sets I have added to my repertoire. This is a basic color set that lends itself to many uses, not just wargaming. The “DEEP” colors of red (ICM #1007), blue (1010), and yellow (1003) are very versatile. They are your 3 basic colors, but they are beautifully bright! I wanted to highlight how each of these 3 basic colors reacts with the common primer colors — black, grey, and white. On the black, I used deep red. It was basically a washout, requiring multiple coats to give smooth coverage. I would not recommend the black with these colors. I used the deep blue on the grey, and it was beautiful with just 1 coat. The color covered well and smoothly, and popped! Of course, I used the deep yellow on the white, as I always use yellow over whit (or pink) for the best coverage, and vibrancy of the color. I achieved a nice, smooth coverage after only 2 coats, which is almost unheard of when painting (especially brush painting) with yellow.

The “Basic Skin Tone” (1044) was used on the face of the red Marine. This color works well on black primer, as it gives natural highlights in the face with very little effort. The “Pale Sand” (1042) was used on each base, and again, the natural highlights came out on the black and grey primers. The “Natural Steel” (1025) was used on the backpacks and weapons on each. This is a nice paint, although a little bit brighter than I usually think Steel being. This is the only metallic paint I have used by ICM. The metallic sheen really pops and makes me really want to try some of their other metallic colors.

Some other colors I used were from other ICM paint sets — “Deep Brown” (1008), “Black Primer” (2005), and “Dark Sea Grey” (1034). As I said earlier, I wanted to see how these colors reacted to the 3 basic primers, but one of the things I really like about these ICM paints is that in most cases, they all work very well WITHOUT primers, and I often use them as such.

If you have not tried the ICM paints yet, I highly recommend using them and adding them to your paint options. With a bit of thinning, they work great in an airbrush, or straight out of the pot for brush painting (you can also thin for this purpose as well), and they are great for dry brushing for weathering as well. One other thing I would say on these ICM paints — the sets can be ordered by themselves, but they also have sets for their kits as well that contain most, if not all, of the paints you need to complete that kit. Great pairing, and forethought from ICM.