A recent arrival for the Review Corps were Shaders from Ammo by Mig Jimenez, which are a unique addition for modelers of just about anything. For this review in particular, I was provided with five of the colors including Light Gray (0856), Navy Gray (0857), Light Blue (0860), Marine Blue (0861), and Night Blue (0862). The full line consists of 20 different colors. The Shaders are unique to begin with as they are packaged in 10ml bottles, so they are about half the size of a typical bottle of acrylic paint. Shaders do not require shaking prior to use (they are about the consistency of ink), and they can be mixed to create different shades, and may be thinned with water if desired.

For this review I used only two drops of each of my five Shaders, and this was enough of the product to cover approximately 2 square inches. I primed the inside of an upper scrap fuselage with Stynylrez White, Gray, Metal, and Blue-Gray, leaving a small strip of bare plastic between colors. I used pieces of Post-it notes to mask over the Shaders with no issues of lifting. These colors do need to be over sprayed with a clear coat once they are dry in order to seal them.

I mentioned these as being useful to modelers of just about anything, so here are some potential uses:

• Panel lines on aircraft
• Shadows on vehicles or buildings
• Shading (adding tonal variations to paint)
• Representing sheer fabrics on figures
• Filters for any subject (with the advantage of being applied with an airbrush)

In watching some available YouTube videos, aircraft, armor, railroad buildings, figure, and Gundam kits are all mentioned.

Based on an early YouTube video on the Shaders as well as a new video added recently in English, here are some things to keep in mind when using this product.

• Start with light shades (you can only make base colors darker with these).
• Shaders are meant to be applied with an airbrush.
• Only a few drops are needed to cover a large area.
• Mig recommends having decals in place before using the Shaders.
• Excess accumulation will result in a glossy appearance.
• Shaders are meant to be applied over a flat finish.
• If a mistake is made, these colors may be wiped off with water.
• If adding more layers of Shaders, flat coat the underlying layer first.
• Coat the Shaders with a gloss or semi-gloss coat prior to adding washes.
• Your airbrush can be cleaned with water.

My plusses are the unique finishes that you can obtain with the Shaders whether adding shadows, panels of different tones, color differences along panel lines, or creating a new color on a piece of plastic. The unique bottle design is intentional so that these are not confused with other acrylic paints as these are not intended to be used as base colors. With a nice range of colors, you can achieve different effects, and you can easily mix even more colors yourself. I have no minuses to mention with the Shaders.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend these paints to anyone wanting to add another option when creating shadows, panels with different tones, or any other effect mentioned. Mig mentions that he created the Shaders to make modeling easier, and he hit the mark with this product. Modelers with some experience with their airbrush should have no issues with using the Shaders.

I would like to thank the folks at Ammo by Mig Jimenez for being gracious enough to provide these Shaders to the IPMS-USA for review! Thanks to Phil Peterson for running the Review Corps along with our Post Master Bill, and the other folks behind the scenes publishing the reviews. Finally, my sincere appreciation to all who take the time to read this.