AK Interactive makes all sorts of very nice modeling materials from books to weathering items to paints. This review covers their Luftwaffe Camouflages from their Air Series. Inside you will find eight 17 ml eyedropper bottles of paint specifically matched to WWII Luftwaffe colors. The following colors are included:

• Interior Colors - RLM 02 and RLM 66
• Bottom and Base Colors - RLM 65 and RLM 76
• Top and Mottle Colors - RLM 70, 71, 74, and 75

These can be used on many Luftwaffe planes, for example, Bf 109s, Fw 190s, Me 410s and He 219s. Most of these are early war colors. The paints are acrylic and are made by Vallejo. They are very fine grained and result in a medium-flat finish. AK recommends their AK712 thinner. Not having this, I tried a few other brands. The best substitute I found was Createx thinner/airbrush cleaner.

To try this paint, I used a Hobby Boss 1/48 scale Fw 190 D-9. I brush painted part of the cockpit in RLM 66. It paints well and needed a couple of thin coats for very good coverage. For airbrushing trials, I sprayed RLM 02 into the wheel wells, inner parts of the engine compartment, and tail wheel well. I then airbrushed the RLM 76 onto the bottom and up the sides. Since I have some experience with acrylics, I got used to the paints quickly. They need to be thinned about 50/50 with Createx. Make sure the surface is clean and build slowly. If you get too thin or go too fast, it will run. If you build slowly and get a couple coats on over a tack coat, you are rewarded with a wonderful smooth surface with a slight satin sheen.

Once the paint was on, AK recommends letting it sit overnight or 24 hours to allow it to dry thoroughly. I hand sprayed the RLM 75 without masking the fuselage and found it worked well and feathered nicely. Since the scheme I chose needed RLM 83, I had a chance to spray over the AK RLM 75 with another brand of paint to test its reaction. I used Aeromaster RLM 83, and it did not cause any problems with the AK paints underneath it.

Lastly, I wanted to give it the masking tape test, so I masked the wing roots with Tamiya tape over the AK RLM 76 and shot the Aeromaster over it. There was no lift off at all; the adhesion was very good.

These AK Interactive paints are excellent and stack up against all comers. The colors are nice and subdued. The have great adhesion, brush and spray well, and are certainly recommended. I would also recommend AK Interactive’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK0GcediTfRsVsedEpJkr8w. It has a lot of great tutorials and examples of everything from painting to weathering.

I would like to thank AK Interactive for the chance to review these paints.