AMMO ATOM vs. AK 3rd GEN vs. VALLEJO MODEL AIR - Comparing acrylics airbrushing RLM 65 lightblue

#airbrush #acrylicpainting #hobby
New test with Atom paints: What is the new Atom paint range of Ammo designed for and how good can this paint be airbrushed compared to Model Air of Vallejo and 3rd Gen of AK? A comparison in price, consistency, handling, behaviour and finish.
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0:00 The 3 suspects
1:06 The test
5:41 The comparison

[@thepiratepenguin4465]

This is why I love the RLM, RAL & FS codes. It allows you to match colour to text descriptions regardless of the brand's own naming convention.

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes i wish they had these codes for all the ww2 colours, it makes things a lot easier Thanks for the feedback!

[@cptkretin]

Really like Vallejo paints but found Tamiya masking tape can pull the paint off, even after using Mr Surfacer primer and leaving them 48 hours to dry, so moved on to Tamiya acrylics which are lovely to use. Its just a shame Tamiya don't do more colours.

[@DrewsModels]

I like Vallejo. I think the bottom line is to find a paint you like and, if it works well for you, stick with it. Thanks for the review.

[@chrisveya7556]

Exactly! It takes some time to get the right handling. Once found its best to stick with it👍🏻 Thanks for the feedback!

[@FinsburyPhil]

How about a Hataka vs Lifecolour vs AK 3rd Gen or Model Air (as a control sample) now? My 'thinner' mix for acrylic is 70% flow improver + 30% thinner and then add 10% retarder to that. I'm using AK 3G. I have used Atom for detail brush painting and they are excellent. I'd like to try through the airbrush but I build almost exclusively RAF aircraft, so I'm waiting for an appropriate colour set to come out

[@chrisveya7556]

I have Hataka ordered and ready😃. Atom are okey with the airbrush but in my opinion they are not made for it and AK 3rd Gen or Model Air are better options Thanks for the feedback!

[@LemurKrazy]

I like AK. Camo was grainy for me at 50/50. About 65% thinner and it started spraying beautifully through a .2 airbrush. Keen to try ammo - they claim it's fairly durable.

[@chrisveya7556]

The Ammo acrylic metal colours are very nice, they have a good range of different tones Im also fond of AKs 3rd Gen and the huge colour range they offer. Thanks for the feedback!

[@pawpawstew]

I know you didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of whether the colors are accurate, but I think it's at least noting that the Atom looks green, which is completely wrong. It almost looks like a match for the IJN green that draws so much contention. The Vallejo looks gray. The only one that really looks like a light blue is the AK (middle one?). Of course, it's hard to tell via a video seen on a phone screen.

[@DrewsModels]

I’ve used Vallejo RLM 65 and it looks a bit more blue….

[@MartinSparks-ef9gr]

I agree . The atom looks like rlm 78 and neither of the others looked light blue enough . I've recently bought 20 ak gen 3 paints and i will be buying more . Love em , easy ,even compared to tamiya and you get 7ml more .. result .

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes i thought the same thing tbh, it seemed to me the Atom version of RLM 65 looks more like RLM 76, which is also light blue but has a greenish tone to it. But its a highly contested colour tone anyway. I also think the AK, in the middle, matches best to my eyes. Thanks for the feedback!

[@cdpgbc-mw2kz]

@@chrisveya7556 I will go out on a limb and be fairly confident that RLM 65, or any other paint, whether Allied, or Axis, during WW2, likely had a variety of hues, depending upon who manufactured the paint, the base they used, etc. For example, I owned a SUV, and my brother wanted to repaint a panel. He took the paint code to get the paint mixed: the same paint code had four different hues, depending upon which manufacturer made the paint for FORD. The only way to get the true match was to take the gas cap off, and they scanned the paint, from the inside cap color to get the correct hue. So, even in this day and age of technology, chemistry and science, other than prime colors, there can be a variety of hues for the same color. Great video, BTW.

[@palamj2]

Like your review and have subscribed. Keep up the good work.

[@chrisveya7556]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@Unyielding_Modeller]

Thank you for your review. I already use Vallejo Model Air and AK Gen3, and I do prefer the latter. Unfortunately I’m not able to airbrush German WW2 camouflage with these acrylics. For German WW2 camouflage I still use my Mr.hobby lacquers. I'm not sure if I will test Atom because I find that there are not enough FS/RLM/BSC colours in their range.

[@chrisveya7556]

I really think Atom are made for high covering easy brush painting figures. Not primary for fine airbrush works. A lot of people swear on Mr.Hobby RLM colours, heard only good things about it. Thanks for the feedback!

[@richardjordan5036]

Rusty I want to thank you for these videos. I use enamels for paint but also thinking about going to acrylics,so these videos like yours and Manns model moments help in deciding of going to this medium.also I see that the Vallejo is a thinner paint cause of some of the black base was showing through in the edges on the video.

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes, its likely Vallejo lets more of the underneath base showing through and maybe needs one more coat on top. Thanks for the feedback!

[@andyshaw5378]

I remember when I was an airbrush noob I assumed as the paint was for an airbrush it was already thinned and just used it straight from the bottle. You can imagine what happened next 😢

[@chrisveya7556]

I think i know exactly, cause i been there too😄

[@lesvenus3788]

Really helpful and I have subscribed. I’d like to know how they respond to Tamiya masking tape if possible. Thanks again for your help. Les

[@chrisveya7556]

Good point, everybody uses these right? Thanks for the feedback!

[@DansModelBench]

I think the Atom paint broke down because you overthinned it the first time and then made it worse by diluting it again to 50 percent. From what I could find on the Mig site they recommend 30 percent thinner to paint ratio for airbrushing. I think this is one of the acyclic paints that is meant to be sprayed with a thicker consistency then milk. Mission Models paints is another brand that comes to mind that is the same. Not a fan of the Atom bottle design, but according to the video from Mig I watched you are supposed to tip them completely vertical and then the drops will come out of the bottle in a controlled fashion. They specifically mention not to tip the bottle and then try and get the paint out at an angle, which is what you did and I think most of us do when handling these types of paints. I don't have an Atom bottle to try this with, but might be worth experimenting with. Unfortunately I cant find the video to link here for you, but the demo was by Mig Jimenez himself and was at some model show. He was also spraying the paints with no thinner and did make a point you don't need a lot of thinner for these paints. Perhaps you might be able to find the video on KZbin. Anyway, you might want to repeat your experiment with 30 percent thinner and perhaps no thinner at all and a higher airbrush pressure and see if you still get the spotty finish with the Ammo paint. I would be curious if with less thinner that still remains a problem for you. Thanks for putting up the video. Always interesting to see other modellers experience with paints. Cheers, Dan

[@chrisveya7556]

Okey so 30 percent thinner is recommended. This would suggest to use a bigger sized needle and more air pressure than i usually use. But i couldnt work the way i want under these conditions. So this is another proof, Atom paints are best applied by brush in thicker consistency. I will try to use the bottle as suggested by Mig and see if it works better👌🏼 Thanks for the feedback!

[@LouisBB330]

Funny that Vallejo is the most expensive. In the US, Vallejo is the least expensive for me.

[@chrisveya7556]

Oh really? I didnt expect that. Must be a import tax thing or something. Thanks for the feedback!

[@rogeriofernandes8867]

For me it's Vallejo

[@chrisveya7556]

They are very reliable, but in this one the AK 3rd Gen did very good i must say. Thanks for the feedback!