AMMO by Mig has released a new line of acrylic paints for railroad modellers called the Rail Center. There are 41 railroad specific colors in the series, with twelve box sets:

• Ammo.R-1000 Spanish Renfe Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1001 Dutch Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1002 British Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1003 German DB Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1004 German DR Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1005 Germany DRG-DB Steam Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1006 Via Rail Canada Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1007 Classic American Railroad Companies – Locomotives Vol. 1
• Ammo.R-1008 Classic American Railroad Companies – Locomotives Vol. 2
• Ammo.R-1009 British Freight Cars
• Ammo.R-1010 American Freight Cars
• Ammo.R-1011 German Freight Cars

The paints depart from the familiar Ammo by Mig 17ml eye drop containers and are packaged in 15ml cylinders with stirring balls.

This new release from prolific AMMO by Mig Jimenez, is Classic American Railroad Companies – Locomotives Vol. 2. The paint comes in 15ml plastic bottles, complete with a stirring ball, in a sturdy cardboard box. The following paints are included:

• AMMO.R-0002 RAIL CENTER Engine Black
• AMMO.R-0007 RAIL CENTER Caboose Red
• AMMO.R-0008 RAIL CENTER Aluminium
• AMMO.R-0012 RAIL CENTER Signal Yellow
• AMMO.R-0021 RAIL CENTER Medium Blue
• AMMO.R-0038 RAIL CENTER Deep Blue Livery

While no railroad company is mentioned on the box art or website, there are prominent photos of Amtrak engines in their livery, specifically California branches. Amtrak has had a series of seven schemes (also called phases) widely used since 1972, identified by Roman numerals. This paint set includes the colors for the “California Color” of blue and yellow and the red nose “Bloody Nose” liveries; both liveries carry the “Pointless Arrow” chevrons.

I am a fan of AMMO acrylic paints and am very impressed with this paint set. While advanced modelers and painters can mix their own colors, basic modelers like myself prefer the easy off-the-shelf solution provided in this set. These new RAIL CENTER paint sets are designed for easy use, without resorting to mixing paints to get the color. The paints are also odorless and non-toxic.

With this review, I did research on the actual colors used by Amtrak and found the usual comments about factory application, wear, repainting, etc. The included colors can be used for several railroad companies. Mig RAIL CENTER recommends using their AMMO.R-0500 RAIL CENTER acrylic thinner, but I had no problem with another thinner. For this review, I primed a sheet of plastic with gray primer, then shot the color directly without thinner (please see the accompanying photos for the result). These paints spray and brush paint well and look good. The possibilities are amazing, as is this paint set.

Profuse thanks to AMMO by Mig Jimenez and IPMS/USA for providing the review sample.