LifeColor have released tow dedicated Royal Navy Paint sets, both sets come in the usual LifeColor format, six 22ml plastic jars containing related colours in a box. The attractive box art is as always related to the contents, the colours inside are also displayed on the outside with both their official name and their LifeColor reference.

The paints are acrylic, brushes can be cleaned in water, and for brush painting thinned with water. For airbrushing, LifeColor thinners are better for thinning, the paints are quite close to the right consistency for airbrushing, and just need a few drops of thinner.

The paints sprayed on well to bare plasticard, a couple of mist coats and a wet coat gave good coverage across the range of colours. The paints brush paint quite well straight out of the pot, best onto primed plastic, in all cases I applied one coat straight of a well mixed pot, and a second thinned 80-20 with water, this gave a good smooth finish. The only colour that was an issue over a light grey primer was the Western Approaches White, however as can be seen from the photographs no issues over a white primer. Also I tested the hull red both over light grey and a red base coat, the colour density was strong enough that there was no noticeable difference between the two top coats.

LifeColor Royal Navy WWII Eastern Approach - Early War Set 1

Titled “Eastern Approach, Early war” contains AP507A dark grey, AP507B medium grey, AP507C light grey, B20 Light grey, MS3 medium grey green and B5 dark blue-grey.

The Colours look reasonably accurate compared with the paint chips on Alan Raven’s Warships Perspective series on Royal Navy Camouflage. The only thing I find a little odd is the inclusion of B20 rather than say MS1 or B6 which would have fitted in better for the early war schemes.

LifeColor Royal Navy WWII Western Approach - Late War Set 2

Titled “Western Approach, Late war” contains Hull Red, W.A. Blue, W.A. Green, White, semtex green and Corcetine.

Again the colours appear reasonably accurate against the above mentioned colour chips, although the W.A. Green and W.A. Blue might need a little tone down for 1/700th scale. The white is very good as it has subtle slightly dirty off white tone. As this is billed as a late was set I would have G10 would have been more appropriate than Corcetine.

Conclusion

Would highly recommend both the LifeColor Royal Navy WWII Eastern Approach - Early War Set 1 and LifeColor Royal Navy WWII Western Approach - Late War Set 2 sets for Royal Navy Shipbuilders. The paints are user friendly, and although I am not a great airbrush user, I had no difficulty in obtaining an even finish. Over a primed surface they brush paint very well. The colours look good, and even with my comments above I would highly recommend these set, and at a UK Price of £16.99 they represent good value.


Personal Rating - Contents 9/10. Accuracy 9.5/10 value 9.5/10

The LifeColor Royal Navy WWII Western Approach - Late War Set 2 and LifeColor Royal Navy WWII Eastern Approach - Early War Set 1 can be purchased through Airbrushes.com in the UK!

Model Shipwrights would like to thank Airbrushes.com for supplying these review samples.