Several of my modeling friends have been using Mission Model Paints and telling really good things about them. When I had the chance to review some of them I jump on that opportunity.

Before I go into the particular details of these color change colors, I wanted to mention a few things about the Mission Models Paints:

The very first thing you notice is the volume you get in each bottle: 1 fluid oz. That would keep you painting for a while. You might worry about the fact that the paint might go bad before you are out of it, but don’t worry. Based on the chemistry of it, it is shelf stable. I don’t know if after 5 or 10 years it will still be as good as pristine, but it should last you a long, long time.

Another thing to highlight is that each bottle has a “mixing ball” inside. I’m not sure if it is truly a ball, but you can shake that bottle and the little “rattle” will help you mix the paint thoroughly.

The Mission Models Paint website has an extensive section on “FAQ” and “Tips”. I would recommend you read it before you use this paints. As they say there “…we are teaching you new tricks”.

This paint seems to be thicker than other paints, yet it sprays wonderfully. The recommended way to prepare it is 10:1:1 parts of Paint, Thinner and optionally a Urethane finish for enhanced strength.

The bottles have a small opening, which works like an “eye dropper” of sorts making very easy to get the correct ratios. Even if you get the “wrong ratio”, based on my tests this paint is still very forgiving.

To prepare the paint I simply counted drops into a beaker, mix the paint and additives well and then pour into the airbrush. Set the pressure to about 20 psi and spray away.

Another consideration to have is how little these paints smell. While spraying I had a respirator on (always do that), but once I was done with the spraying, I didn’t need to keep my respirator on while cleaning the airbrush as there was no remnant vapor or smell.

Cleaning of the paints is trivial as well. Simply put some water in the airbrush cup and scrub gently. Spray it out and then put a few drops of the thinner in the cup. Spray it out and you are done!

In particular, for this article I have reviewed the following paints

• Color Change Red (MMP-166)
• Color Change Purple (MMP-162)
• Color Change Green (MMP-165)
• Color Change Blue (MMP-163)

I had to think how to better demonstrate these colors, so I took some parts and sprayed them with an aluminum/silvery color from my personal set of paints (Acrylic based). Once the paint was fully cured, I placed to strips of tape in the center of each wing, as to preserve the original color and each section of the wing was then sprayed with each one of the colors listed above.

In this case I sprayed about 4 inches/10 cm away from the surface. I was doing my best to make sure I had a light, slightly wet coat to have good coverage.

From the pictures you can tell that the finish of the paints is flat (see how much shinny the centers of the wings are). The paints also impart a slight shade of the applicable color in each case. It is hard to see and often you need to have an almost specular reflection relative to the light source to make it stand out.

That actually is quite cool, as it means that first you might think it is a given color and as you look at the model from different angles you get different shades.

I can think of a few applications for these paints

• Car paint finishes (to get that extra “Ah!” as you look at the model from different angles
• Exhaust finishes (cars, planes, armor)
• Metal paint finishes to show some heat distress
• Figures (think of a wizard cape having different shades)

Truly these paints enable you to push your imagination to the limit and create new finishes and applications.

Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Mission Models and IPMS/USA for the review sample