Tru-Color Paint was formed in 2008 by Rick Galazzo and Scott Cohen, both of whom come from extensive backgrounds in formulating paint on the commercial scale. They set out on their own to develop this paint line of solvent based paint by reformulating the old Accupaint formulation to flow better and give a more glossy appearance after drying. They currently offer over 600 colors offered with more to follow. Sets and single bottles are available and include lines for railroad, automotive, and military aircraft and armament lines.

The specific set I tested was specifically for armored subjects painted olive drab from the years 1939-1956 and include the following colors in 1 oz. bottles:

• TCP-1400: Olive Drab #1, 1944-1945; All Theaters
• TCP-1401: Olive Drab #2, 1939-1941; All Theaters
• TCP-1402: Olive Drab #3, 1942-1944; All Theaters
• TCP-1423: Olive Drab #4, 1950-1956; US Army Only
• TCP-403: Matte Mud, #1
• TCP-408: Matte Aged Rust

The set also included a sample of their masking / frisket paper.

Tru-Color suggests spraying their sprayable paints at 28-35 PSI using a medium tip on the airbrush 4-6” away from the model for best results. I sprayed the TCP-1400 Olive Drab #1 on my Takom CDL Lee tank using my Badger 100LG at 30 PSI on a 73 degree day with 86% humidity. Tru-Color says thinning is not required, but if a person wants to do so, they suggest using their TCP-015 Thinner or TCP-310 Retarder. I sprayed the color as was and was rewarded excellent coverage and nice opacity. The paint contains acetone and clean-up is also using acetone. I did so and found it did the job nicely with no residual paint.

For some additional testing, I tried my hand on hand brush painting. With the disclaimer that these paints are designed to be sprayed through an airbrush and not for brush painting, I went ahead and tested this anyway. Reason is, often times when I paint and remove masking, there are areas that usually require a touch-up. I often hate dirtying up the airbrush for such small tasks and use a regular brush. These paints are quite thin and so coverage using a regular brush is thus not ideal. Also, I was a bit heavy-handed in one spot and the paint dripped down onto a spot it was not wanted. I went quickly to wipe it with a soft cloth and found in doing so, I also rubbed off the coat of paint already present. As the paint contains acetone and cleans up with acetone, this is something to be careful of if you are careless like I am.

I highly recommend these paints for the modeler. They are very easy to use and even easier to clean up. The opacity is excellent and often only one coat is truly needed. As they continue to expand their range, I look forward to seeing more military paints for WWII and modern subjects. Their customer service is also excellent- I hit the contact us form to inquire as to the cost of the sets as they only list individual bottle color prices. I had a reply in my inbox within an hour from Rick Galazzo himself. My sincere thanks to Rick and Tru-Color paints, as well as to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for providing me with this sample set to test.