The IPMS-USA recently began receiving items for review from Gaahleri. The company is relatively new and first introduced airbrushes and has since expanded into the production of their own line of paints. Kaleido ColorWorks is their premium sub-brand of water-based paints, which are developed with RapidAir Technology. In addition to all the individual colors, Gaahleri also has sets of paint available for consumers.

One of the latest releases is the 24 Auto Colors Set. Using their Rapid Air Technology, the paints deliver a lacquer-like performance in a water-based paint that is non-toxic, and environmentally responsible (as described on their website). These paints are formulated for airbrushing and are contained in unique 20ml bottles made of clear plastic that supports easy viewing of the paint. I find this most appropriate for allowing you to verify that the paint is thoroughly mixed up prior to use. The bottles also contain a mixing ball for your convenience, and there is a tip that allows you to release the paint drop by drop.

The paint set is contained in a nice sturdy box that has pieces of foam on the top and bottom to fully protect the bottles inside. In addition to the paint, the set includes a bottle of Airbrush Thinner (KT101) as well as a bottle of Airbrush Cleaner (KT103), both in larger 60ml bottles. There was also a pamphlet enclosed with a Color Chart that included the equivalent Mr. Color paints as well as information about the paints. This set consists of the following paints:

• K201 Italian Racing Red
• K202 Flame Orange
• K203 Modena Yellow
• K204 Mint Green
• K205 Racing Emerald
• K206 Baby Blue
• K207 Scotia Blue
• K208 Trace Gray
• K301 Diamond White
• K302 Cosmic Black
• K303 Metallic Racing Red
• K304 Magma Orange
• K306 Verde Green
• K307 Turquoise
• K308 Metallic Oak Green
• K309 Almond Green
• K310 Inferno Green
• K311 Rally Spirit Blue
• K312 Liquid Blue
• K313 Metallic Blue Gray
• K314 Metallic Purple Red
• K315 Twilight Purple
• K316 Graphite Gray

As advertised, the paints sprayed without issue using my Badger Renegade Velocity with a medium needle and nozzle at 20psig. I typically find that acrylic paints advertised for airbrushing need a little thinner to spray properly, but not with the Kaleido ColorWorks paints. As a side note, in a previous review on the Metallic Paint Set, I thinned the paint (3 parts paint to 1 part thinner) for use in my Gaahleri Mobius 0.2mm airbrush, which worked perfectly at 15psig.

To test this set I used a few different items as I am not one to paint spoons. I painted the trunk lid and rear bumper from a 1985 Pontiac GT kit using the Italian Racing Red, the trailer top from the Prestige Silhouette (1987 boxing) with Metallic Purple Red over Stynylrez Gray Primer, and the barrels for a CIWS from RPG with Graphite Gray. To try some additional colors, I applied Modena Yellow, Racing Emerald Green, and Scotia Blue over Stynylrez Gloss Black Primer on part of an old F-117 kit. Only the Italian Racing Red was applied in two coats, and I was truly impressed with the coverage of all the paints, especially the Modena Yellow over black primer.

It just worked out that I let the Modena Yellow dry for about 24 hours before I masked it with tape, and the Racing Emerald Green set for about 12 hours before masking. I had no issues with the paint lifting after removing the tape. I accidentally bumped the tip of the wing after painting the yellow when I moved to clean my airbrush. This provided an opportunity to apply the yellow paint with a paint brush to touchup the scrape. While the touchup worked, I would not recommend painting larger areas or parts using a paint brush.

Overall, I highly recommend these paints, and I look forward to future releases in this paint line! The paint dries with a nice glossy finish, but folks who specialize in model cars with likely want to apply a gloss varnish, or polish the paint for an additional shine. I thank the folks at Gaahleri for providing this set to the IPMS-USA Review Corps, and I appreciate having had the opportunity to perform this assessment.

Special Offers from Gaahleri

As a couple of Special Offers from Gaahleri to the IPMS-USA, use the following link for a 5% discount: https://www.gaahleri.com/discount/IPMSUS?ref=ipmsus

In addition, if you use the code [IPMSUS], you will receive an extra 10% discount on your purchase.