Tru-Color Paint is a US-based model paints manufacturer. They have an extensive line of railroad and car paints and are continuously expanding their military line (aircraft, naval, armor).

This set includes the following colors (all of them already available in their line).

• TCP-433 Matte Black
• TCP-1226 Titanium
• TCP-1272 FS-33531 Middlestone
• TCP-1274 FS-30219 Brown
• TCP-1275 FS-34424 Sky Green
• TCP-1277 FS-36375 Light Compass Ghost Gray

Based on my research -use it at your own risk. The colors included in this set are all the main colors used in the camouflage for the F-16, F-15 and some Kfir C2 (late service) and most Kfir C7 (late service).

You can still use the Middlestone and Brown for other IAF aircraft (like Super Mystere, Mirages, F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk) but the underside color and/or green color used in these airframes are different than the ones included in the set.

One minor word of caution is that the instruction sheet shows a picture of a Phantom, a Super Mystere and a Kfir (early camo scheme) which used a different shade of green on their upper camouflage or a different underside color. The instruction sheet and box also show the Lt. Compass Ghost Grey being a bit more blueish than is the actual paint. In my opinion, the paint has the correct shade.

These paint bottles are larger than the standard hobby bottles; they come in 1 oz (and 2 oz are available too but are not part of this set). That means their smallest bottle has about twice -or more- the paint provided from most other hobby paint manufactures. Consider that fact when you think on their price of the 6-color set.

Another thing you notice about these paints is that when you open the bottle, they are smelly. Make sure you have proper protection when using them. Now, having said that the paints are smelly -perhaps a drawback- they also dry fast, which is an advantage.

I’ve found the paint is ready to be sprayed out of the bottle (after mixing it with a paint mixer as to homogenized the paint). The paint has a consistency similar to partially skim milk. I sprayed the paint at 25 psi (dynamic, not static) and it atomized beautifully. I should point out that the manufacturer recommended pressure is 28 to 35 psi, but 25 psi did just fine. Although, I live in Colorado and altitude might have played a role in getting away with just 25 psi. By the way, the manufacturer recommends to not use their paints when outdoor temperatures are about 95F.

All the colors had good density. A couple of light coats, probably about 3-4 inches, were all that was needed to get a uniform dense color as shown by the test cards, which were sprayed with white primer the night before.

On the topic of the paint finish: they dry to a satin finish. If you have good quality aftermarket decals you might not need to apply a gloss coat to the paint job.

In summary: these paints are excellent. With proper ventilation and a respirator, the strong smell of them is no problem. They dry fast and can be masked over within a few hours. They have good color density. They atomize fantastically and are ready to spray out of the bottle. To top them off, the adhesion (to a primed surface) is outstanding as shown by some tests using tape and removing it from the test card.

Finally - and this might or might not be a consideration for you-, Tru-Color Paint is based in Arizona. That means your modeling budget money stays in the US economy, supporting jobs in the US, rather than overseas.

Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Tru-Color Paints and IPMS/USA for the review sample.