For a a few months already I've been trying to show you - the readers of this blog, gamers, modellers and miniatures painters - that in this huge market there are many manufacturers that offer very good products. Sometimes I'm showing you things the existence of which I was not aware of but can be useful for us. Acrylic paints are something we all use, but did you know that one of the biggest modeling companies - REVELL - is offering such paints? They are called "AQUA COLOR".
Polską wersję tego artykułu znajdziesz w tym miejscu.
For over 17 years I used mainly paints of one manufacturer. It is simply difficult to "change" to a different brand once you develop a habit. But I got the opportunity to check something else. You can be sure that the following review contains my objective overview of "Aqua Color" with which I spent ten long nights (to my wife's despair;).
For over 17 years I used mainly paints of one manufacturer. It is simply difficult to "change" to a different brand once you develop a habit. But I got the opportunity to check something else. You can be sure that the following review contains my objective overview of "Aqua Color" with which I spent ten long nights (to my wife's despair;).
PALLETE
The whole palette of paints per day 15.11.2012 contains 88 colors and supplementary:
Aqua Color Clean, 100ml
Brush Cleaner, useful when we want clean dried brushes.
Thinner which slows down the drying, useful when you want to paint with the airbrush.
Full list in PDF format can be found on the manufacturer's website at this LINK.
Let's look at particular groups of paints.
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| SOLID METALLIC (7 colors) |
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| SOLID GLOSS (14colors) |
Solid Gloss are unfortunately non applicable in my work. I resigned from testing them too because in my opinion, painting figures with gloss paint is pointless and very problematic. For sure though they may have a lot of use in modeling (eg, model of car).
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| SOLID SILK MATT (20 colors) |
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| SOLID MATT (44 colors) |
CLEAR (3 colors)
Unfortunately, these paints were not available for testing.
PACKAGING
The container contains 18ml of paint. At the top of the container is a sticker with the color of the paint and the exact code and name. I think it is a very big advantage. You do not have to do any colored dots like on the Citadel's paints.The shape of the container is quite a novelty and differentiates the product from the ones we are all accustomed to. Quite a bold move of the manufacturer, because these containers will not fit to most commercially available Paint Stations and various types of paint racks. Most of these products are designed for cups of round containers. However, if you do not use props or Paint Station this should not be a problem.
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| Containers Aqua Color in Paint Station |
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| Comparison of containers of paints from different manufacturers. |
This square container isn't though just a plain container. It is an interesting "patent", revealed once opened.
OPENING CONTAINER
Container is sealed with a sticker, which prevents it from opening and also guarantees that the paint is brand new.
Sticker in that spot should be cut with a knife. Not a problem.
The top panel shows the arrow indicating which way to turn the lid to open.
This is the container after opening.
Both the container and its lid are equipped in small elements facilitating their combination. 
This way, we get quite interesting whole, which is stable and which can be use like a palette. Of course if you use a wet palette at work you do not need such additional solution. However, I think that this idea is worth of attention and certainly very convenient, especially for novice painters.
I encountered some problems with closing the containers at certain point. I'm affraid that after a while it may turn out that the containers are not completely sealed. To verify this however, I need a little more time.
SCENT
The paints are completely odorless and non-toxic. We all know the peculiar smell which some of Games Workshop washes have. Here though you do not come across any unpleasant odor with any of the colors.
DRIES IN PAINTING
To be honest I have no idea why such information. These are acrylic paint and dry as fast as the Citadel or Vallejo paints. The only thing I noticed is that the colors from the series of metallic gold dry a bit longer.
AIRBRUSH
I tested the paints with airbrush painting. Nozzle 0.2. I diluted the paints with water, Revell and Vallejo thinners. In each of these cases, there were no problems. In the same way they were tested by my friend modeler and he also confirmed good paints interaction with airbrush.
TEST AND COMPARISON
... something of most interest to you.
I made a comparison of different colors of three manufacturers: Vallejo Model Color, Citadel (the old and the new palette) and Revell Aqua Color. I tried to take pictures so that you can pick up differences, but this turned out to be quite problematic.
... something of most interest to you.
I made a comparison of different colors of three manufacturers: Vallejo Model Color, Citadel (the old and the new palette) and Revell Aqua Color. I tried to take pictures so that you can pick up differences, but this turned out to be quite problematic.
Black. As you know black is not always black :) Excellent article comparing black paints can be found on Massive Voodoo blog. In my test Citadel paint scored the worst. Vallejo on satisfactory level. Revell has two shades of black color and they are really quite matt. Definitely the best was Revell color BLACK 36302.
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| BLACK |
White. Photo makes it easy to draw conclusions. Revell 36105 white is not white but more creamy. 36301 color is closer to the White Citadel Skull White. But as you can see, all 3 colors leave much to be desired. According to the opinion of many painters, the best white paint on the market is P3.
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| WHITE |
Yellow. One of the most problematic color for most painters. The biggest problem is its opacity. Personally, I usually first paint the first layer of paint on a white backing Citadel Foundation Iyanden Darksun, then a second coat already doing of paint Citadel Flash Gitz. Revell 36115 Yellow seemed best in this test. After dryingit is completely matte, and as you can see covered well a black primer.
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| YELLOW |
Red. Another problematic color. Red shades of Aqua Color seem not worse than well-known to all of us Blood Red paint. Moreover, it is much more matte after drying
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| RED |
Metallics. Honestly I was most curious of this test. I tested all 7 colors. Comparison can be found in the pictures. I am very pleasantly surprised with these metallics, in particular, all those silver shades. Cover sensational, better than Citadel paint, which I am most familiar with. Silver filings in the paint are very small. I think that the silver paints just got a permanent place among my most widely used metallics.
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| METALLICS |
As you can see, unfortunately, golden shades are not as good. The problem with gold color however have all manufacturers. Definitely the best, in the opinion of many people, are alcohol paints series Vallejo Liquid Gold.
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| METALLICS |
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| METALLICS |
Once I have checked the colors, which I was most curious about, I divided the rest of the matt paints into groups. Grouped them the primary colors and their shades. Once again I realized that the matte colors cover equally well as the Citadel Foundation, and in some cases even better, and are 100% matt when dry. However, they are also very thick and you have to dilute them. Mention more about this later, but in the pictures there are streaks, because I did not diluated paints at the beginning of testing.
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| BROWN |
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| BROWN |
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| GREEN (silk matt) |
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| GRAY |
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| LUMINOUS |
Luminous is a kind of fluorescent paint available in a palette of Pactra or Vallejo. Revell counterparts, however, are of far better quality and consistency.
CONSISTENCY
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| The not mixed paint |
In general (except for metallics) paints are quite thick. This can be imagined as something between a normal Citadel Layer and Citadel Base (Citadel Foundation). We should always dilute the paints on the palette before painting, but I think this can be a rule applied to all paints (yes, even washes can be diluted :)).
PRICE
SUMMARY
PLUS:
+ Metalillics sensational silver-tone paint
+ Matt paint conceals very well and are 100% opaque when dry
+ Sticker with color glued to the closing of containers
+ Good price for the quality and the quantity of paint
+ Pluggable container pallet is a good option for beginner painters
+ No odor
MINUS:
- No use for gloss paint when painting miniatures
- Gold metallic paint shades are not the best
- Poor availability on the market
- Sometimes there is a problem with the closure of containers
I could not resist comparing the prices of different manufacturers of paint (the cheapest price I could find in polish online stores):
REVELL (18ml) - 8.99PLN
Citadel (12ml) - 9.41PLN
Vallejo (17ml) - 9.24PLN
Revell paints win here slightly, but the difference is small and still very often we are not able to use the whole container of paint over a long period of time. Very often we just keep them till dry.
REVELL (18ml) - 8.99PLN
Citadel (12ml) - 9.41PLN
Vallejo (17ml) - 9.24PLN
Revell paints win here slightly, but the difference is small and still very often we are not able to use the whole container of paint over a long period of time. Very often we just keep them till dry.
SUMMARY
PLUS:
+ Metalillics sensational silver-tone paint
+ Matt paint conceals very well and are 100% opaque when dry
+ Sticker with color glued to the closing of containers
+ Good price for the quality and the quantity of paint
+ Pluggable container pallet is a good option for beginner painters
+ No odor
MINUS:
- No use for gloss paint when painting miniatures
- Gold metallic paint shades are not the best
- Poor availability on the market
- Sometimes there is a problem with the closure of containers
In my opinion Revell paints from the series "Aqua Color" can fully compete with the most popular paints on the market - Citadel or Vallejo. They are not perfect, but I know none of the other pallet companies are able to provide me with all kinds of paints with perfect quality. It is a pity that they are not popular and they are quite hard to find in shops, but definitely deserve your attention.
I hope I succeeded to encourage you to test these paints independently, as well as show that in the world of miniatures modellers and painters are many excellent products, the existence of which many of us do not know. Even if you are players of such battle systems as Warhammer or Warhammer 40000 it is worth to look beyond the products of "the only legitimate publisher."
I hope I succeeded to encourage you to test these paints independently, as well as show that in the world of miniatures modellers and painters are many excellent products, the existence of which many of us do not know. Even if you are players of such battle systems as Warhammer or Warhammer 40000 it is worth to look beyond the products of "the only legitimate publisher."
The above review of AQUA COLOR Revell was facilitated by Polish distributor of the brand - company COBI SA, which I thank for the support. If you would like to buy the paints tested above and you are from Poland you can do it directly in distributor online store.
Have fun painting,
ARBAL
P.S.
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It may also be interested in one of my previous articles - How to make a winter themed base?